Chapter Text
These past few months have made Zoey realize many things.
The first being that, no matter how clear you make your status, you can't stop people from shipping you with your friend. It's just a common thing in the idol industry, apparently. Zoeystery is popular in the fandom, but she's also seen herself being shipped with Abby a few times. She remembers this one edit of her and Romance, too. Never anything with Baby, though.
Not to mention the countless fanfics she's read of her with Mira and Rumi. It's hard not to read those fics when they're so well written.
The second thing she's realized is that she really, really loves Baby. One of the main reasons they agreed to keep their relationship a secret was because neither of them were sure it would actually work out, and they didn't want it to become a whole thing in the media and amongst their fans if they were to break up. But in the months they've been dating, Zoey has come to the conclusion that she genuinely loves him.
So much so that she's thinking about making their relationship public. It's a thought that's been on her mind ever since that night on the rooftop.
There wasn't any kind of dating ban in their contracts with the company, so there really wasn't any reason to keep it a secret any longer. Which is why she decided to sit Baby down and talk to him about it.
It was one of those rare nights when Mira and Rumi were out, so she had Baby come over. They were sitting on the couch in the living area, the TV offering some quiet background noise to fill the silence as she tried to figure out how to approach the topic.
"I want to make our relationship public," She starts the conversation off by getting straight to the point, feeling a bit nervous despite being confident in her decision. Baby never had an issue with keeping their relationship secret, so even though she was ready to make it public, there was no telling if he was. If he isn't, then… she'd support that, and patiently wait however long she had to.
But judging from the way he perked up almost immediately at her words, she probably had no reason to be nervous.
"…Are you sure?" He asks.
Zoey nods, her response immediate, "I am, yeah. I want to be able to hold your hand in public and wear cheesy couple outfits with you, and gush about you in interviews until everyone gets sick of me." She wanted to do a lot more than just those three things, but if she started listing those off, they'd be here all night.
There's a beat of silence, and Zoey nervously twirls a stray strand of hair around her finger as she waits for Baby's reaction. She was expecting something nonchalant, to be honest. A simple 'okay', really. So she can't help but be a little surprised when his entire body relaxes as he exhales, leaning back on the couch like she had just told him the meaning of life.
"Oh, thank god," He says. There's this heavy tone of relief to his words, and a smile on his face that he wasn't even trying to hide, "I was going insane seeing all those posts about you and Mystery."
There's this hint of disdain in his words, though she's known him long enough to know that it wasn't directed at her or Mystery, but rather the situation itself.
Zoey thought it was bad enough for her, having to see all these fans make up stories about how she and Mystery were secretly dating, or married, or whatever. And it was, it was bad. It made her feel uncomfortable, and it was hard to do anything with Mystery because all she could think about was whether or not someone would turn this into a Zoeystery post on social media.
Even Rumi and Mira joking about her old crush on Mystery left her with a bad feeling in her stomach because of all the speculation.
It was bad for her, so it must've been bad for Baby, too. He's her boyfriend after all, and he had to see all those posts as well. He's not the social media type, but she's seen him doomscroll a few times, so it's no surprise that he's seen some of the posts. It makes a lot of sense, actually, and explains his oddly clingy behavior in the recent months.
The feeling of warmth on her hand brings her out of her thoughts as she blinks, looking down to see that Baby has intertwined their fingers. She instinctively squeezes his hand, her heart picking up in pace as she looks up to meet his gaze. There's a tenderness there, one only reserved for her. It made her feel seen and special. Like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.
"You're sure this is what you want?" He asks one last time, and she can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"I am." She responds.
This wasn't going to be an easy road, she knew that. Her friends would accept the relationship with ease, and she doesn't care much about what the company has to say about the relationship. Her only concern was the inevitable backlash she and Baby would get from those fans. The ones who take shipping way too seriously, or the ones who think of idols as property to be owned rather than human beings with lives.
As nauseous as she gets thinking about the harsh words people might say, Zoey refuses to let what-ifs rule over her life.
So, when it was time to actually tell everyone the following morning, she stomped down her nerves and just blurted everything out.
"So, uhm, funny story, uh, Baby and I are dating!" She says, clapping her hands together as she stares at Rumi and Mira, along with the Saja Boys. It was early in the morning, and she honestly should've waited until everyone was wide awake and ready for the day, but she just had to tell them all right now, otherwise she'd lose her mind.
The only one who seemed remotely surprised was Romance, who perked up with wide eyes. Everyone else seemed… like they already knew, actually.
"I thought you were telling us something new," Abby grumbles, muffling a yawn before Mira elbows his side, shooting him a glare as if telling him to behave.
"Wait, wait," Romance tries to speak up, but he's being quickly cut off by Rumi.
"Zoey, I love you lots, but… you're a terrible liar," She says, which causes the raven-haired idol's cheeks to darken a bit, a feeling of embarrassment quickly creeping up on her.
"Well, now I feel like I've just woken everyone up for nothing," She grumbles, and Baby pulls her down so she's sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist as she crosses her arms, a faux pout on her lips, "I had this whole thing planned, I was gonna tell you every little detail, but no."
"No, no, you can still tell us the details," Mira chimes in, her chin resting on the back of her hand, "I need to know who made the first move, otherwise I'll lose–" She's cut off by Jinu nudging her side, and Zoey can't help but narrow her gaze at the two.
Jinu smiles. It's his smile he reserved for interviews, the one when he's trying to be overly nice, "What she means to say is, we'd love to hear all about how you two got together."
…Suspicious.
Baby seemed to think so too, because he finally spoke up, "You didn't make a bet, did you?" He asks, and Zoey tilts her head back a bit to look at her boyfriend. There's this knowing look in his gaze as he stares Jinu down, and she finds herself looking over at Mira to see her friend now looking at everything else in the room but her.
"What?! No!" He scoffs, waving his hand as if to brush away the mere idea, "Why would we do that? We would never!" The laugh coming from him sounds forced, and he's soon sitting up straight, clearing his throat, and leaning forward a bit, "But, uhm, just out of curiosity… who confessed?"
Baby lets out a huff, and Zoey perks up a bit, excited to share all the details. But before she can get a word out, Romance is butting in.
"Guys!" He nearly shouts, and everyone looks at him. There's a look akin to distress in his eyes as he speaks, "Am I the only one who didn't know?" The poor guy sounds genuinely distraught, and Abby sighs, patting the man on his shoulder and muttering some words to offer comfort.
The conversation remained lively for a while, with Zoey happily going into detail about her relationship with Baby. Mira cheered when she confirmed that Baby had made the first move, and Jinu begrudingly handed over the won they'd apparently bet on.
Romance, although still sulking over the fact that he'd been oblivious to the secret romance, unlike everyone else, still happily listened to every detail Zoey provided.
Everyone was happy for them, offering soft congratulations and making jokes about how the fans would probably lose their minds when they found out, which got a laugh from Zoey, but her gaze started to drift over to Mystery. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't participating in the conversation as much, opting to awkwardly hover in the kitchen.
"He loves you," Baby murmurs, his cheeks pressing against her shoulder. He wasn't looking at Mystery, glancing up at her instead. His words cause the idol to frown a bit, a feeling of guilt settling in her chest, knowing that she played a part in Mystery's dim mood.
"…Should I talk to him?" She asks quietly, looking away from Mystery to meet Baby's gaze.
Her boyfriend's grip on her waist tightens just a bit at the question, a clear indication that he didn't want her leaving his lap, "He'll be okay, he just needs time. He'll come around when he's ready."
Zoey doesn't feel good about leaving him alone, but she knows that she was probably the last person Mystery wanted to talk to right now. He'd known they were dating from day one, and she'd been using him to sneak around with Baby, and all she could think about was how awful that must've been for him.
"Hey, hey, what are you two whispering about?" Abby's voice cuts in, interrupting her train of thought and their conversation.
Baby rolls his eyes, "Whether or not we should ditch you all and go on a date."
"No! Zoey hasn't finished telling me about your first kiss!" Romance butts in, clearly distraught at the mere idea of them leaving before he can finish getting every detail about their relationship.
This has Baby shooting the man a glare, "She's my girlfriend. If I wanna take her out on a date, I'll take her out on a date." He says, and as if to prove a point, he nudges Zoey off his lap to stand up, pulling her with him, his hand gently holding her own.
Romance shoots up as well, his hand shooting out to grab Zoey's free one, tugging her towards him, "You can go on a date after she finishes telling me everything!"
Baby looks personally offended by this, pulling Zoey back to his side. It turns into a tug of war, with her in the middle, and the conversation devolves into bickering. Zoey can only laugh, all her doubts and worries bleeding from her body as her nerves finally relax. She's glad she finally felt comfortable enough to tell them.
Bobby had been absolutely thrilled by the news when they told him, which wasn't all that surprising. Whenever dating rumors started to emerge, he'd always sit the girls down and tell them that he supported any relationships they might be in. He then proceeded to threaten Baby, of course. Zoey still laughs whenever she thinks about the conversation.
("If you so much as make her cry, so help me, I will ruin your career. Don't think I won't!" Bobby says, jabbing his finger at Baby's chest. A threat that's impossible to take seriously, seeing as the man had tears streaming down his face from the sheer joy he felt over the fact that Zoey was dating someone. He cried like this when Rumi and Jinu announced their relationship to the public as well.
Baby had to grab Bobby's wrist to stop his poking, "You can find all my dirty secrets on my phone," He says.
Bobby sniffs, nodding as he wipes the tears from his face with the sleeve of his suit jacket, "Good. You treat her well, okay?")
She'd been a bit more hesitant when telling Celine. The woman never seemed against the idea of them dating anyone, but she was always so intense, and Zoey was just a little worried that she might not approve of the relationship. She's not even sure if Rumi and Jinu have told her they're dating yet, honestly! That's how scary she is!
But she pushed her worries aside, and she told Celine. She apologized profusely for keeping it a secret for so long and stumbles over her words trying to explain everything, while the woman just watches her. It takes Celine putting a hand on her shoulder to get the words to stop coming out.
"Are you happy?" She simply asks.
Zoey nods, and Celine smiles. It was an odd conversation, to say the least. But she got Celine's approval! So… a win! All that was left was to tell the fans.
And later that night, she posts a collection of photos for all her fans to see. Photos she'd taken over the course of her relationship with Baby.
The photo she took of Baby playing a game in his room. A photo she took on her birthday earlier that year, of Baby diligently in the kitchen of the HUNTR/X penthouse, making a small cake in the shape of a turtle. A very crooked, messy, and oddly yellow turtle. And finally, a photo of just their hands intertwined, the two of them wearing matching bracelets she'd bought online for their three-month anniversary.
All those pictures, with a caption that read, 'I'm in love.'
She'll never shut up about her love for her boyfriend now that the secret is out.