Chapter Text
An hour after Jinu had fallen asleep, Rumi started to get a little nervous. Waking people up was one of her least favorite things to do…should she wake him? Would he freak out if he woke up and she was gone? Would he freak out more if she woke him from a deep sleep?
Any calm, romantic ideas for waking him fled completely from her mind.
If there was one thing about catching feelings that Rumi couldn’t stand, it was how her brain suddenly fried every time she looked at him.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered to herself in annoyance, walking over to where he sat in her chair.
She poked his shoulder and jumped back.
Jinu didn’t react, still snoring softly with his head back.
Crap.
After a few more misgivings, she shook his shoulder more vigorously.
Why did he have to be a heavy sleeper?
She was committed now, but to do much more could get weird…
She tried again, a few harder pokes and shaking him again, stopping to stand over him not knowing what to do.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked at the door. “Rumi! The car Bobby sent is here!” Zoey called from outside.
Jinu started up at the sound, caught a glimpse of Rumi standing over him and yelped, jumping and landing gracelessly on the floor.
Rumi froze. “Sorry!”
“Wh–why were you just standing there like that?”
“Uh, I figured I should tell you I’m leaving now?” She offered him an apologetic hand, not realizing how off-balance her heels had made her and fell straight forward on top of him when he grabbed for it. “Ahhh!”
“Ow!”
“Rumi?” Zoey pushed the door open, noting the two of them tangled up on the floor and froze. “Nevermind, take all the time you need!” She slammed it shut again.
Rumi groaned in embarrassment, clambering off in an attempt not to squish Jinu again. “Are you okay? That’s–not how I pictured that going.”
To her surprise, Jinu laughed, picking himself gingerly off the floor, causing her to laugh nervously as well. “If I’d known you were gonna give me another heart attack, maybe I would have taken your bed. Then at least I’d already be lying down.”
Rumi snickered, already feeling her racing heart starting to slow as they both clambered to their feet.
She stilled when he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him.
“Can I at least give you a goodbye kiss?”
Rumi gazed into his eyes, still a little sleepy and his voice thick and slower than usual.
It took her breath away, how safe he must feel with her to be this vulnerable. Jump scares aside, he trusted her completely, even in the brief time they’d known each other.
The weight of that responsibility hit her deeply within her soul.
They deepened the kiss this time, Rumi running her fingertips through his hair.
Someone pounded on the door again, interrupting. “Rumi!” Mira’s voice was impatient. “You’re gonna be late again!”
“I’ll be right there!” she shouted back.
“Late? Again?” Jinu smirked.
“Shut up,” she kissed him again.
This time, it was him who pulled away. “So are you actually gonna go, or…”
“Urgh,” she groaned, dropping a hand to his shoulder. “Fine. Since me being late gives you so much anxiety…”
“It actually does, yes,” he laughed.
“You’re so old.” She shoved him playfully in the shoulder before grabbing her bag and heading out the door. He followed tentatively.
“Okay, let’s go,” she announced to the room, grabbing Zoey’s arm as they marched toward the elevator.
“Finally,” Zoey growled.
“Wait!” Rumi stopped as quickly as she’d started, pivoting and marching straight back to her room. “Forgot my phone.”
Zoey, Mira and Jinu stared at each other awkwardly for a moment.
Jinu rubbed the back of his neck. “Sooo….is she always like this, or…”
“Not all the time,” Zoey shrugged.
“Mostly when she’s distracted.” Mira pointedly raised an eyebrow at him.
Jinu desperately looked for anything besides them to stare at, wishing for Rumi to come back.
When she reemerged, Zoey rapidly pushed the elevator buttons.
“Listen,” Rumi raised a warning finger to both Jinu and Mira simultaneously, as Zoey grabbed her elbow and started pulling her. “Do NOT kill each other.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t die,” Jinu smirked.
“Wanna put money on that?” Mira was unimpressed.
Rumi scowled. “Act like grownups and get supplies ready like you’re supposed to!”
“Rumi, come ON!” Zoey gave her one final tug, slamming the elevator closed button with a scowl.
“No promises!” Mira offered her widest, fakest grin, waving goodbye.
“Bye,” Jinu waved awkwardly, also smiling.
“Have so much fun without us while we are nice to each other!”
“We’ll be nice to each other?”
“Don’t count on it!”
The elevator closed at last, leaving them alone.
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“Hi, girls!” Bobby greeted them, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face the only indication he gave of feeling rushed.
“Hi Bobby!” Zoey and Rumi replied in unison.
“Sorry we’re late,” Rumi apologized.
“It’s her fault,” Zoey pointed, eyelids lowering.
“It’s okay,” Bobby laughed nervously, “There’s actually been an issue with the lighting. So we’re not quite ready yet…but you both look great, makeup turned out well, didn’t it?”
“I love it,” Rumi agreed honestly, turning so he could see the curly sparkle designs emanating from the corners of her eyes.
“Yeah. It’s okay.” Zoey sounded unimpressed, burying her nose in her phone.
Bobby looked from one of them, to the other, a little unsure of what was going on. “I'm sensing some tension…um.”
Awkward silence ensued, save for Zoey’s erratic typing.
“I'll be right over here if you girls need anything. Snacks, drinks, caffeine…hangover patches…” he began edging away.
Rumi shook her head aggressively. “She does NOT need more caffeine.”
“How did you know we were drinking last night?” Zoey’s head popped up from her messaging. “You’re scary good.”
Bobby just grinned and shrugged. “I know!”
“Oh! Wait! Bobbyyyyy,” Zoey gasped, just as he was about to leave, “Please tell me you listened to Taylor Swift’s new album, finally?!”
His eyes widened. “I just finished it last night! Fate of Ophelia is pretty decent…”
“Did you watch the music video?!” Zoey gestured intensely.
“Not yet!” he sounded apologetic. “But I wasn't so sure about her other tracks, they were kinda slow.”
“Honestly yeah. Like, she's happy and in love, blegh.”
“Yeah, she doesn't have to rub our faces in it,” Bobby groaned.
“Rumi would probably like it…” Zoey mumbled, almost imperceptibly.
Rumi’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What, are you jealous now or something?”
Zoey shot her a glare, but it was halfhearted.
Bobby gasped. “Rumi, you're in love? Who's the lucky guy?! Or am I allowed to know that yet?” he added, almost dejectedly.
Rumi winced. Poor Bobby had no idea how many things he wasn't allowed to know yet…
“Uh, it's kind of new and…I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet. You'll be the first to know if we make it official, though!” She turned pink all the way to her roots.
Bobby was already practically vibrating with excitement. “Aweee, I’m so happy for you! I know it's got to be TOUGH dating with the pressure of being an idol, so I'm wishing you the best no matter what!”
Rumi felt warm inside, knowing this kind of support was rare to find in a manager. They were so lucky to have someone like Bobby who put their needs and happiness first.
Seeming to then sense Zoey not being nearly as enthusiastic, Bobby took it as his cue to leave, citing a staff member he had to check in with.
Both girls sat for a moment at a nearby bench, using the silence as an excuse to check their phones for absolutely no reason.
“Sooo…” Rumi knew she should be first to break the silence, “are you gonna tell me why you've been pissed at me all morning? Cuz…I guess technically you have no shortage of reasons. I’d just like to know which one I need to apologize for first.”
Zoey huffed. “Rumi, you don't need to apologize. You've done nothing wrong!” Her aggressive tone spoke that she felt otherwise, as she continued rapidly typing away at a text. Or maybe a note to herself…Zoey was always filing away lyric ideas.
Rumi scrolled idly through Instagram, then smiled at a video. “Is this the one you were talking about?” She showed Zoey the screen.
Her eyes widened. “YES! It’s trending like crazy right now. I think we should do the dance for TikTok.”
“It’s not exactly our usual vibe, but it looks fun. I’d be down.” Taylor’s bathtub scene kind of reminded her of their underwater pool scene in the ‘Takedown’ video.
A cold sensation suddenly gripped at Rumi’s head, causing her to gasp and drop her phone.
Zoey startled beside her. “Rumi? What's wrong?”
She grabbed at her head, groaning in pain as the studio vanished before her eyes, replaced with a vision of a dark, endless abyss. She was falling, trying to breathe but water closed around her…
A warm hand grabbed her shoulder and she gasped for air, shocked when water didn't fill her lungs.
Rumi blinked.
The dark waters were gone, replaced with Zoey's worried face as her friend knelt in front of her, holding her shoulders to ground her in reality.
Rumi took another shaky, panicked breath, still feeling like she was drowning.
‘Rumi! Breathe! You're–” Zoey's voice shook. “You're here, you’re in the studio with me. You're okay!”
She slumped against Zoey's outstretched arms, her muscles going rubbery. “Z–zoey?’ she struggled, taking one more breath, then another, slowly steadying.
“What happened?” Zoey was alarmed.
“I–I don't know,” Rumi answered honestly. She was shaking. “That's never happened before.”
Zoey's brow furrowed. “But…yesterday…”
Rumi shook her head. She struggled to remember what had happened so long ago, but she knew this was different. “I've never had this happen, Zoey, I swear. I think I had a vision.”
“So…it wasn't a panic attack?” Zoey’s face was strange, like she was putting things together.
“No–no it wasn't that. This…I was in a river. Jinu–he said this happened to him before, too,” she realized. “And then his sister showed us something similar in the Overlands…”
Zoey's features schooled carefully.
Rumi placed a hand on her arm, partly to ground herself and partly to get her point across. “Look, I know you've been upset about all this. But something is happening and…I need your help. Jinu and the other Saja boys do, too.”
Zoey's guarded expression fell a little, and she stood from where she was kneeling, going to sit beside her again on the bench, their thighs pressing together for comfort. “Are…” she hesitated. “Are you sure? This is…new for me. Your patterns, your demon side…I want to understand. I really do! But I don't know if I can. Not like Jinu can,” she mumbled.
Rumi took a breath, slowly feeling more distance between her and the crushing sensation of cold. “Is that what all this is about?” She placed her hands on Zoey’s shoulders this time. “Zoey, are you upset because you think I'm replacing you with Jinu?”
“Well when you say it like that it sounds dumb,” Zoey rolled her eyes.
“I don’t want to leave you out of this,” Rumi sighed. “But I get how it could feel that way. It’s all happening so fast.”
“Yeah,” Zoey breathed, leaning back. “I worry, you know? Everything's changing and I don’t–I don't know how to be there for you anymore.”
“Zoey,” Rumi’s lip wobbled, touched. “You’ve always been there. More than anyone else has. And yes, that includes Jinu,” she said firmly. “That’s your gift and your curse. You love so much–I–I don’t deserve you.”
Something shifted in Zoey’s eyes. “I–don’t think about it being anything that special,” she mumbled.
“Your heart’s bigger than most,” Rumi offered a wry smile. “I’m sorry I ever took that for granted. I spent so much time bogged down in my own problems. There’s a lot I never stopped to appreciate about you and Mira. I’m so lucky to have you both.”
Zoey swallowed hard, sniffling as she and Rumi hugged each other tightly.
“Please tell me I won’t lose you?” they both said simultaneously, before their eyes widened at each other and they burst out laughing, wiping their eyes at the same time.
“Never,” Zoey punched her playfully in the arm.
“In your dreams, Zoey-a.” Rumi grinned.
“Enough about our stupid feelings!” Zoey exclaimed, pulling away and grabbing for napkins to wipe her eyes, which were fortunately coated in ultra-waterproof makeup but hadn't entirely escaped the raccoon effect. “You had a vision! What kind of vision? What do you think it means?”
“Kinda spooky, right?” Rumi tried to laugh it off, make it sound less scary than it had been.
Like a Halloween prank.
She quieted. “I think Gwi-Ma is trying to scare me off, so I don't go to the demon realm.”
“You think this is Gwi-Ma?” Zoey’s eyes widened, and she glanced at the ground. “How could he get inside your head like this?” she added, almost in a whisper.
“I–I don't know. Maybe it isn't him. Either way, I think I saw a river that exists in the demon realm, and somehow it's connected to me, or Jinu or both of us. I just don't know how.”
“I never thought about the demon realm like, an actual place,” Zoey wrinkled her nose. “Has Jinu told you anything about what it's like? I wonder if it's almost like another planet…”
“No, but I bet Mira's grilling him about it right now,” Rumi was confident. “If they're getting along,” she added.
“Yeah, that seems unlikely,” Zoey raised an eyebrow. “Um. Rumi?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“I’ve–uh, um. Well…”
“Is something wrong?” Rumi’s frown creased in concern.
“Not…exactly it’s just that…I’ve been having these weird dream…Oh shit!”
Zoey leaped up as a producer nearby beckoned for them to join, glancing at her appearance in a window reflection.
“I gotta go get my makeup fixed. I'm so sorry, I'll be fast!” She bowed apologetically to the producer, running off.
Rumi stared after her, left to wonder if their lives would ever slow down enough to be on the same page.