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Free

Summary:

Rumi and Jinu perform "Free" together.

Can be read as stand-alone.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

[EXCERPT FROM STARLINE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS — DIGITAL ARTICLE]

🔥 K-Pop Royalty Collide: Huntrix’s Rumi and Saja’s Jinu Confirm Emotional Duet Stage 🔥
In a surprise mid-season twist during Idol Clash: Survival Showdown, fan-favorite rivals-turned-viral-sensations Rumi of Huntrix and Jinu of Saja Boys will headline a special collaborative stage.

The announcement sent fans into a frenzy on social media, where hashtags like #JUMIStage and #HuntrixXSajaDuet trended globally within hours.

The choice of the singers performing a new, original song has raised eyebrows.

“It’s about letting your guard down,” a source from the show’s production team stated. “This isn’t just a performance, it’s a story they’re telling together. Something honest.”

Though neither Rumi nor Jinu has commented publicly, fans have already begun speculating about the intense chemistry between the two idols, which has been simmering since Episode 1.

The performance is scheduled for Episode 6 of the ongoing show.

Stay tuned. This might just be the moment everything changes.

Written by Lina Seo, Starline K-Beat Editor

The set was stripped of glitter and spectacle. No backup dancers, no flashing lights - just a circular stage glowing soft silver beneath a low-hung crescent moon projection. Mist curled gently at the feet of the single performer on stage. Rows of blue and white lights framed the floor like stars scattered across still water.

The hush of the crowd wasn’t just silence. It was reverence. Fans had waited months, had waited for what felt like eons for this special performance.

A single spotlight bloomed at center stage.

Rumi stepped into it.

For the first time in her entire career, while on stage, she was not dressed flashily - she was dressed somewhat understated and comfortable, a pair of comfortable blue jeans, old sneakers, and a worn hoodie. Her long hair was pulled back into her customary braid, a few strands framing her face. It was the first time any of the fans had ever seen her comfortable, not dressed to impress or outshine. She didn’t smile.

She didn’t need to.

The first few piano notes played: gentle, hesitant, like a question whispered into the dark.

🎶 I tried to hide ,but something broke
I tried to sing, couldn't hit the notes
The words kept catching in my throat
I tried to smile, I was suffocating though...🎶


Her voice was low, breathy, nearly trembling, but not from nerves. From truth. Her eyes didn't look out at the audience. They searched the shadows beyond the stage, like a memory lived in every corner. Her hands trembled just enough to make it real.

🎶 But here with you, I can finally breathe
You say you're no good, but you're good for me…
I've been hoping to change, now I know we can change
But I won't if you're not by my side 🎶


Jinu stepped forward from the edge of the stage where he had been waiting, slowly entering the second pool of light like he’d been called by her voice, as if he was just as mesmerized as the audience. He wore a loose black shirt, half-tucked into slate-gray pants, soft silver earrings glinting like tears. He, too, appeared simple and comfortable. Authentic in his appearance, just like Rumi.

They met in the middle, close but not touching. He reached a hesitant hand out, as if to get her attention, not yet joining her melody.

🎶 Why does it feel right every time I let you in?
Why does it feel like I can tell you anything?
All the secrets that keep me in chains and
All the damage that might make me dangerous…🎶


She looked up.

Right into his eyes.

🎶 You got a dark side, guess you're not the only one
What if we both tried fighting what we're running from?
We can't fix it if we never face it
What if we find a way to escape it? 🎶


As she sang, a soft screen behind them displayed abstract visuals: shattered mirrors mending in reverse, ink drops dispersing in water, slow waves crashing and pulling back. The lights shifted with the music, cool blues and faint purples rippling outward from them like breath.

🎶 We could be free…
Free…
We can't fix it if we never face it
Let the past be the past 'til it's weightless 🎶


On “weightless,” Rumi stepped back slightly, turning away as though afraid to look, afraid that he wouldn’t join in.

🎶 Ooh, time goes by, and I lose perspective
Yeah, hope only hurts, so I just forget it…🎶


His tone was velvet: raw and aching, with a touch of gravel in his falsetto. He moved slowly around her in a half circle, as if he couldn’t help orbiting her mere presence. His eyes never left hers. It almost seemed like the duo happened to be singing to each other, and not the fans.

🎶But you're breaking through all the dark in me
When I thought that nobody could…🎶


Rumi finally turned to face him again, and something shifted.

The air crackled, not with tension, but connection.

🎶 Between impostor and this monster
I've been lost inside my head…
Ain't no choice when all these voices
Keep me pointing toward no end…🎶


Rumi joined in, soft harmonies at first, then stronger, their voices building and folding into each other.

🎶 It's just easy when I'm with you
No one sees me the way you do…
I don't trust it, but I want to
I keep coming back to…🎶


Their faces were close now. Her hand, almost unconsciously, reached for his.

🎶 Why does it feel right every time I let you in?
Why does it feel like I can tell you anything?
We can't fix it if we never face it…
What if we find a way to escape it? 🎶


On “escape it,” their hands met. Fingers laced, first nervously, then strongly as if they were afraid to be apart from each other.

🎶 We could be free…
Free…
We can't fix it if we never face it
Let the past be the past 'til it's weightless…🎶


The screen behind them bloomed into a sky full of stars.

🎶No longer broken. Just open.
Oh, so take my hand, it's open…
Free, free…
What if we heal what's broken?
Free, free…🎶


Jinu lifted her hand gently, palm resting on his heart.

She looked at him, truly looked, and for the first time in the whole performance, smiled.

🎶 I tried to hide, but something broke…
I couldn't sing, but you give me hope…
We can't fix it if we never face it
Let the past be the past 'til it's weightless…🎶


Their final harmony rang like a sunrise.

As the last note faded, the spotlight dimmed, leaving only the starlight above them. Their hands were still linked.

The crowd was silent.

Then someone screamed. Then everyone did.

As their final harmony echoed across the silent stage, the lights softened into a gentle twilight hue, muted lavender and deep midnight blue, casting a dreamlike glow around them.

Rumi lowered her mic slowly. Her breath hitched, eyes still locked on Jinu.

Jinu didn’t move.

For a moment, it felt as if the entire world had stilled—no screaming fans, no cameras, no crew. Just them. Two hearts standing in the afterglow of something too raw to name.

He reached for her hand again. This time, not as part of the choreography.

His fingers brushed hers, hesitant.

She didn’t pull away.

Instead, she stepped closer, just enough that the space between them disappeared. Her forehead rested gently against his, and her eyes fluttered closed.

There was no kiss. No dramatics.

Just a quiet breath shared between them, a silent acknowledgment of each other.

It lingered in the stillness, in the way Juni’s hand curled around hers just a little tighter, in the way her thumb softly traced the back of his palm like a secret she’d been waiting to say aloud.

The crowd was silent.

Then someone screamed. Then everyone in the audience, everyone watching the live recording, did.

Only when the house lights fully came up did they move again.

They didn’t look at the cameras.

They didn’t wave to the crowd.

They walked offstage together, fingers intertwined, hearts still humming the same song.

And long after the applause faded, their harmony lingered.

Notes:

I cannot get them out of my head. I will forever be a lifelong shipper.

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