Chapter Text
Rumi stares at the cup of ramyeon—her ramyeon, the flavor she specifically designed, the brand that she and the other girls begged to do a collab with because it’s their favorite—and disgust instantly curls in her stomach.
She tries to hide her grimace as she pushes the cup aside. When she receives raised eyebrows, she gives a tight smile and says, “I shouldn’t eat right before an interview.”
“That is the worst excuse I've ever heard,” Mira deadpans.
Rumi’s smile cracks slightly. She knows Mira is right. Nothing short of the honmoon breaking has ever stopped their snacking before.
“I’m just not hungry,” she tries again.
“But you haven't eaten all day,” Zoey reminds her gently.
“Or yesterday,” Mira adds, her tone clipped. Accusatory, almost.
“I’m just not hungry,” she repeats, trying her best to keep her voice even.
She glances away to avoid Mira’s gaze—a gaze filled with an impossible mix of anger and pain and care that hurts to look at. But as soon as Rumi turns her head, she’s met with Zoey’s sad puppy eyes, warm and pleading.
“Please,” Zoey says. “Please eat. You don’t even have to finish it. We just want you to have something.”
She slides the ramyeon closer to the older girl.
Her voice is soft as she admits, “We’re worried.”
Guilt settles heavy on Rumi’s chest. Her girls shouldn’t have to worry about her. Not after everything she’s put them through. And especially not after promising to explain her patterns only to lock herself in her room for two weeks, leaving them confused and frustrated and in the dark again.
Yet here they are, talking to her softly and trying to coax her into doing something so simple that she’s refusing to do anyway. She truly doesn’t deserve them.
Her expression must give away her thoughts, because next thing she knows, both her girls are reaching out, giving her shoulders and hands reassuring squeezes. She leans into their touch, trying her best to cherish it. She doesn’t know for how much longer they’ll be willing to give her affection like this.
“Okay,” she finally whispers. “I’ll eat.”
Both her girls smile slightly at that. Zoey hands her a pair of chopsticks, and Rumi takes one single bite of the ramyeon.
She knows what it’s supposed to taste like; a rich, savory flavor with hints of sweetness. But she doesn’t taste a thing, she can only feel the soggy, slimy texture of the noodles. She cringes at the feeling, and she nearly spits it out, but somehow she manages to swallow it. She has to force herself not to gag and takes a large sip of water to keep the food down.
She puts the chopsticks down and stands up, already feeling exhausted.
“I’m done,” she announces, causing the other girls to frown.
“Are- are you sure?” Zoey asks, her expression riddled with worry.
Rumi nods and puts on a smile again. It feels so strained that she wonders how her face can even stretch this far.
“I’m sure. Plus we’re on in three. We shouldn’t be distracted,” Rumi says.
Mira scowls, and it’s clear she wants to argue, but whatever she’s going to say is interrupted by a staff member calling for them to get in position. The taller girl lets out an annoyed huff, but walks towards the staff member regardless.
“We’re talking about this later,” Mira says as she passes by Rumi.
The half-demon feels her chest squeeze, and, not for the first time tonight, wishes her outfit had long sleeves. She tugs at the straps of her tank, even though she knows it won’t do anything to cover her arms.
But then she feels a hand on hers, trying to hold it still. Zoey is smiling sadly at her and gently intertwines their fingers, pulling Rumi’s hand away from her shoulders.
“Mira loves you,” she assures her. “But you know how she can get. She’s not mad. She’s just worried, you know?”
Rumi lets out a shaky breath, then nods.
“I know.”
Zoey’s smile brightens just a fraction.
“Good. Now let’s go impress everyone and show them how charming and sexy we are!”
Rumi can’t help but chuckle, and for the first time that night, her expression is genuine.
********
“And tonight we welcome: HUNTR/X!”
Applause and a scream of “I love you HUNTR/X!” is heard as the girls get seated.
The trio plaster on their PR faces, bright and dazzling and clearly practiced, but with just the right amount of happiness to pass as real. They hate having to use it, but now is one of the rare times they’re not excited for an interview.
“Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for having us. It’s an honor to be here,” Rumi says, and all three girls bow in unison.
Applause even louder than before rings through the room, along with wordless cheers and a few shouts of how much their fans love them.
The host of the show gives them a warm smile and bows back.
“No, no, the honor is all ours! We know you three have been very busy lately. First with your tour, and then with the release of Golden. Not to mention your incredible performance at Namsan Tower just two weeks ago!”
“Thank you,” Rumi says. “And of course, thank you to our fans. The tour and Golden wouldn’t have been possible without you guys!”
At least that isn’t a lie. Rumi feels something in her soften as she hears the fans aww over her words.
The host says, “Now, normally I like to start interviews with some small talk, but I was hoping we could just dive right into the bigger questions. There’s still a lot of confusion surrounding what happened at the Idol Awards, and we’re hoping you can all offer some clarification.”
“Of course, our fans deserve complete honesty,” Zoey says, which causes said fans to whoop and fawn over her words.
“Your company did release a statement regarding your alleged break-up, claiming it wasn’t real. But some theorize that the breakup was real, and that your company is just trying to cover it up. There’s even a rumor going around that the new, unreleased track you performed was written about Rumi.”
“Absolutely not,” Zoey says firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument.
Mira nods, her brows furrowed.
“We love Rumi. Anyone who says otherwise is either blind or stupid. She is our sister and an amazing leader. We would never say or write anything bad about her.”
Rumi smiles gratefully at them. But she wonders if that will still be true after the talk Mira wants to have with her.
“Of course, of course,” the host is quick to agree. “You three have always seemed very close, it seems impossible that you would fight like that.”
Rumi has to stop herself from wincing. If only the host knew what happened directly after the Takedown performance.
“I just brought up this rumor because I wanted to clear the air of any doubt,” the host continues. “Now, I’d like to ask about the actual performance. Your company claimed that your ‘fight’ was a performance mishap and misunderstanding, but didn’t give further details. Could you please elaborate on what exactly happened?”
“Well, we wanted to surprise the fans with our new song Takedown,” Zoey starts, following the cover-story the girls had rehearsed for the past hour. “So we planned to switch tracks mid-performance.”
“And the fight was completely staged,” Mira adds. “It was part of the choreography. But we got caught up in the performance and thought that taking off Rumi’s jacket would really sell the whole concept.”
“Yeah, but we didn’t know she was hiding a skin condition. So when it was exposed,” Zoey sucks in a shuddery breath. “She ran away. And a staff member turned off the lights.”
Her eyes flick to her leader.
“We… we didn’t know,” Zoey repeats. Her eyes are shining with tears.
Rumi pulls her into a side hug, which the maknae leans into.
“I always hid my skin condition with clothes or makeup,” she says quietly. “Since I was really self-conscious about it.”
It’s a gross understatement, and she can feel the way Zoey tenses upon hearing it.
“We understand. Idols deserve their privacy, too” the host says, a sympathetic expression crossing her face. “But, if I may ask, why didn’t you tell your members about it?”
“That’s a great question,” Mira says, crossing her arms as she turns to look at their leader. “Why didn’t you tell us, Rumi? I thought you trusted us.”
Her tone is playful, and to anyone else the words sound teasing. But the half-demon can sense the edge underneath it. Her heart rate starts to pick up, and she discreetly wipes her hands on her pants, drying the sweat starting to form.
“Of course I trust you,” Rumi says quickly, so quickly that it sounds more like a knee-jerk reaction instead of an actual answer. And judging from the looks Mira and Zoey give her, she’s not the only one who notices.
She gives them a small smile, not caring if it looks as forced as it feels.
“I just… I didn’t tell anyone,” she explains simply.
“But why not tell your members? It seems like an important thing to share since you work together so closely,” the host says, and for once Rumi wishes she could suck someone’s soul if it meant getting out of this interview.
But her girls are looking at her, and she can tell they’re wondering the exact same thing. More than that, she knows they’re wondering why their leader still hasn’t told them the whole truth, why she’s still hiding after swearing she was done keeping things to herself.
Rumi tugs at her way too-short sleeves again, trying to bring them down as much as she can.
“I was…”
Terrified.
“Worried,” she finally says. “I just-”
She cuts herself off, feeling her voice grow shaky.
She really, really doesn’t want to have this conversation now. Not in front of millions, not when she can’t cry. But she can’t back out now with the whole world watching. Especially not when her girls are staring so intently, hanging on her every word.
She knows they see her discomfort. Their lips are slightly downturned and their eyes are full of concern. They’re not enjoying this, that much is clear. But a part of Rumi wonders if they’re relieved this interview is happening. Relieved that for once, she can’t run from their questions.
Rumi takes a deep breath.
“I just thought if people knew, I’d be…”
Hated. Killed. Abandoned.
“Kicked out of the group,” she finishes. “I thought I’d bring Mira and Zoey down.”
Both of them are quick to hug Rumi tightly, and the half-demon feels herself melt into their embrace. She knows their comfort is temporary, but at the moment, she doesn’t care.
“You could never bring us down. We wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you,” Mira says.
“You make us better. We’d never want to do this without you,” Zoey adds.
Loud awws and cheering are heard through the crowd, and Rumi gives a flustered smile.
The host looks equally moved, her hands clasped over her heart.
“I’m so happy that you have such supportive friends, Rumi. And we all support you as well!” The host says, and the audience whoops and cheers in agreement.
“I do have to wonder, though, will Takedown ever be given a proper release?”
Mira is quick to answer, “No. After what happened at the Idol Awards, none of us feel comfortable singing or performing it again.”
Although there were a few disappointed noises from the audience, most of the fans were nodding in agreement.
“That’s completely reasonable,” The host replies. “Your comfort is the top priority.”
“Thank you,” Rumi says. “Thank you to everyone for being so understanding. We truly have the best fans.”
The crowd screams their support, and the girls respond with finger hearts.
The host gestures for the fans to quiet down before continuing.
“Now that the Idol Awards incident is sorted out, I’d like to talk about the Namsan Tower concert. Your company released a statement regarding it as well. Apparently, your concert with the Saja Boys was pre-planned?”
Mira snorts, but she plays it off as clearing her throat.
Rumi can’t blame her, since she also finds the question funny.
Unfortunately, demon hypnotization magic only does so much, and while no one at Namsan Tower remembers the supernatural aspects of that day, they still remember the Saja Boys performing a new song. This, of course, led to Zoey coming up with the crazy excuse of the two groups collaborating, and they’d stuck to that story since.
“Uh, yes,” Rumi stammers slightly. “Our groups were both planning to release new singles after the Idol Awards. So we decided to do a joint performance.”
“We wanted everyone to know that, no matter if we won or lost the Idol Awards, we support our hoobaes,” Zoey agrees.
Mira continues, “But when Rumi ran off, the Saja Boys still did their part of the concert.”
“Of course!” The host interrupts. “The show must go on, right?”
Both Mira and Zoey start shaking slightly, holding back their laughter. Rumi squeezes their arms to remind them to calm down.
“Right. So, eventually, Mira and Zoey found me and we talked about what happened. After that, we decided we still wanted to perform at Namsan. So we rushed over and got there just in time for the Saja Boys to finish their song. It was a great experience, and we’re glad we decided to perform despite what happened earlier.”
“That’s such a sweet story!” The host coos, and the crowd shouts their agreement.
“And will this new single have an official release?”
“Yes, this new song is very special to us, and we want to share it with everyone,” Rumi confirms, and she feels a genuine smile spread across her face. “To be honest, I think this song, What it Sounds Like, is even better than Golden. I think Golden was about living up to our ideal selves, but What it Sounds Like is about loving our real selves. And I think that’s a message everyone should get to hear.”
The crowd starts screaming, their excitement echoing through the whole room. Mira and Zoey reach for Rumi’s hands, and she takes them without hesitation. She tries not to overthink why their grips feel firmer than their usual gentle hold.
“That’s so lovely! I think I can speak for everyone when I say we’ll be eagerly waiting for its release.”
Agreement rings out from the crowds, and for a second, the honmoon flickers in the room, healthy and strong. The girls can feel their grins widen.
“Speaking of new releases, would you happen to know if the Saja Boys are planning to release their new song as well? Or are the rumors true, and they’ve gone on a sudden hiatus?”
“Uh…”
Rumi glances at her girls, who look just as lost as her. How were they supposed to explain that the Saja Boys—or at least three of them—are dead?
But thankfully, Zoey chimes in, “We’re not that close. So we don’t really know anything about that.”
The host frowns.
“That’s unfortunate. Lots of fans said they saw the Saja Boys’ staff force them off stage, and they’ve gone radio silent since then. Since you were there, do you have any idea why that might be?”
“Uh, no?” Zoey laughs awkwardly. “I mean, maybe their manager just needed to talk with them, or something.”
“Exactly. I think people are just reading too much into it,” Mira agrees.
“But several fans said the Saja Boys looked scared while being escorted, especially Abby and Mystery.”
“Some managers are just intimidating?” Zoey offers.
The host raises her eyebrows.
“Have you met the Saja Boys’ manager? Are they really that scary?”
“Oh, uh, yeah! He’s- he’s a really scary guy,” Zoey stammers, and looks to the other girls for help. They start to nod along, hoping they look convincing enough.
“I’d be scared too, if he was my manager.”
“Who is he?”
Zoey blinks.
“Uh. He's a brand new manager. His name is… Gwi-Ma.”
Mira's laughter fills the entire room before she tries to cover it with a fake coughing fit. Rumi wishes she could find it funny, too, but she can't help the expression of mild horror from crossing her face.
“Zoey!” She hisses, quiet enough for the cameras to miss.
The maknae just gives her a nervous smile and a shrug.
“Well, we all hope the Saja Boys are doing fine, and that they'll come back soon. And we hope their manager goes easy on them,” the host tries to joke.
“We, um, hope the same,” Rumi says.
“Rumi, I actually heard that you and Jinu shared a very meaningful moment during your joint performance. Fans said that he saved you.”
Rumi feels her entire body stiffen, and her pulse skips a beat. She looks at the host with wide eyes, for once forgetting about the cameras.
“What?”
The host gives Rumi a knowing smile.
“Oh, don’t be shy! You were about to get hit by a flame projector and Jinu pulled you out of the way! Such a gentleman, wouldn’t you agree? It’s such a charming move.”
A sudden flare of anger shoots through the half-demon, so fast and overwhelming that she nearly screams. Jinu gave his life for her. He gave his soul. And this host was treating it so casually, as if it was some cutesy couple’s moment. She has to physically bite her tongue to stop herself from yelling at the host.
She closes her eyes and tries to force the anger down.
“He- he did. He saved me,” she manages to say. Tears burn her eyes.
“He saved me,” she repeats. “And I… I haven’t even gotten to properly thank him, yet. I… I hope I can. I hope- I hope he knows how much it means to me.”
She can feel her girls watching her. Especially Mira. Rumi can feel the holes she’s staring into her side.
The host doesn’t notice, though.
“I’m sure he does. From the interactions I’ve seen between you two, it’s obvious he cares for you.”
“I feel the same,” she responds before she can even think it through.
Mira scoffs, which she masks with a cough.
“Is there any chance your groups will do a proper song collaboration? Or maybe just a duet between you and Jinu? I think your voices would sound beautiful together.”
Rumi feels like something is choking her. She can barely breathe.
Their voices do sound beautiful together. They sound like they're made for each other. And she'll never hear that voice again.
“I'd love to,” she gets out, and she hates how raw her voice sounds.
She doesn’t look at her girls. She doesn’t want to know what type of expression they have. She can already feel their disapproval without meeting their eyes.
The host smiles and claps her hands.
“Well, we look forward to any possible collaborations in the future. Which actually leads to my next and final question. What can we look forward to for HUNTR/X?”
“We’re actually going on a hiatus,” Mira answers quickly. “As our fans may know, we were supposed to take one after our tour, but instead, we released Golden.”
Her words are pointed, and Rumi resists the urge to wince.
“We’ll only be on hiatus for a few months though, and we’ll be back with new music before you know it!” Zoey assures the audience.
The host nods.
“Of course, you three deserve the break. We hope that you rest well, and we’ll be waiting for your return. Thank you once again for being here, it was a true honor. Ladies and gentlemen, this was HUNTR/X!”
*********
The door to their car closes, and Mira doesn’t hesitate to speak.
“I didn't realize you were that close with Jinu.”
Rumi glances at the partition separating them and their driver. It does offer them privacy, and it does muffle their conversation, but not if they speak too loudly.
“I don't think now's really the time-”
“Oh of course it isn't,” Mira rolls her eyes. “Apparently it's never the time with you.”
“Mira-”
“Two weeks, Rumi,” Mira snaps. “It's been two weeks since we learned about your… skin condition, and you haven't even told us why or how you have it. And now we find out you ‘care’ about Jinu? What else haven't you told us?”
“Mira, I promise I was going to tell you-”
“You also promised you'd explain yourself after Namsan Tower, but that hasn't happened yet, has it!” Mira cuts in.
“Stop yelling!” Zoey hisses. “Or else he'll hear us!” She gestures to the partition.
Mira scowls at Zoey, but eventually concedes. She sits back in her seat and crosses her arms. She looks pointedly out the window, away from Rumi.
“We are talking when we get home. And don't even think about running to your room like you've been doing.”
Rumi can already feel her anxiety clawing at her chest, trying to rip her apart from the inside out.
Suddenly, the twenty minutes left to get home feel much too short.