1.

“Okay girls take 5! Love your energy but we don’t want you to burn out, here grab some snacks I picked up” Bobby called out dropping off a basket full of junk food on the nearest table. Zoey ‘whooped’ as she raced towards the unexpecting basket of goods, Mira just right behind her, while Rumi stretched bones popping every movement before deciding to take a break herself. 

It’s been a month since they’ve defeated Gwi-Ma and everything is back to normal… Well almost, Rumi catches her reflection, she’s wearing a sleeveless shirt, a month ago she wouldn't be caught alive wearing such attire. It's surreal how a piece of clothing made her feel liberated, 

Rumi rummage at the basket looking for the perfect drink for her chips when she saw a familiar grape flavored juice, the beverage was cold when she grabbed it, Mira right beside her noticed it and let out a chuckle.

“Hey isn’t that the fake tonic that the probably-also-a-fake-doctor gave to you?” Mira exclaimed, scooting towards Rumi “Where do you even find this kind of person Zoey?” Zoey let out a loud groan.

“You guys would NOT let that gooo, I swear I have more legit and reliable sources! And besides the others swore on him too! Remember the guy on our set? What's his name again? Anyways what I’m trying to say is-” Rumi, already zoned out on Zoeys rambling, held out the grape juice smiling softly, recalling the first time she met Jinu. When she first saw him Rumi couldn't help but stare. She still can’t put her finger into why she was immediately drawn to him, probably just her instinct telling her he’s bad news, and hey her instinct was right! Even at their first encounter he already had the audacity to steal her tonic (and that he’s also a demon). Oh how she wanted to slash his stupid handsome smug face, Rumi wondered how her past self would react if she found out they’d end up being friends.

“Rumi hey, You down to continue practicing?” Mira asked, interrupting Rumi from reminiscing further.

“Yeah lets go” 

2.

The girls were out patrolling in the subway, they felt a demon presence in the area a few days ago. There were no missing person reports yet and demons' appearances are getting lesser and lesser these days but it's better safe than sorry. They scouted the area for 30 mins but decided to stay for another 10 just in case.

“Well that was pointless” Mira declared as they got up the stairs, agreeing to go home when the ten minute mark hit the clock, Exhaustion obvious on her face and posture. 

“Yeah but you can never be sure” Rumi responded unequipping her weapon.

“And anything for the fans!” Zoey chimed in, unsurprisingly still energetic after a long day, Rumi watched her bounce from stair to stair. She wondered if all this energy is from the unholy amount of calories the woman consumes on a daily basis, but Rumi’s sure they share the same amount of calorie consumption. Huh so probably just a Zoey thing.   “Yeahhhh! First one on top! I win~” she singsonged as she dances to victory at the top of the stairs. Mira rolled her eyes and scoffed fondly and she jogged towards Zoey.

The two were bickering when Rumi finally catched up to them, they were debating about what to get for dinner, Rumi was about to input her own thoughts on the matter when a flash of black blur caught her attention. A small bird, magpie, landed on the railings close to where she was standing. She blinked at the creature and it blinked back at her.

“Ohhhh is that a magpie? It's so small for their usual size” she didn’t notice Zoey right until she spoke next  to her, making Rumi jump slightly. She was crouching down a little too close to the magpie’s personal space that Rumi worries that it would fly off, but the creature just stayed there unafraid, and Rumi swore that it almost looked bored, it reminds her of Jinus bird, Sussie, she laugh lightly, it does resemble the Sussie’s impassive face, the way it always look judgemental whenever it’s unimpressed with Derpy, Jinu’s tiger spirit guide. She wonders what happened to them, she didn’t get to see them again after—

“Stay still, yeah that's right! Awwww you’re so adorable” Zoey cooed as she took pictures of the bird on her phone, Rumi’s train of thought once again interrupted. 

“Zoey come on” Mira said exasperatedly “I'm starving” she added when Zoey didn’t budge.

“Just a minute, I need a few more picture of this cutie”

“Rumi, aren't you hungry too?” Mira turned to her, almost begging to back her up. Rumi didn’t answer her, instead she took out her own phone, grinning at Mira, and snapping her own photo of the bird. The two of them snickered when Mira groaned loudly.

3.

Today was the perfect day to laze around the sofa, it was slightly was dark out, cloud overcasting the whole sky, even though it’s still early in the afternoon and with double jacket Rumi still shivered every time she felt the breeze hit her slightly, and she don’t understand why she’s spending her time outside when she can be draped at their sofa eating a hot ramyeon while planning their next album launch.

“Okay I’m pretty sure we are headed the right way, so according to this tweet you can still find these limited series at this small collectible shop when we go right this alleyway” Zoey babbled still hunched down on her phone, almost hitting a pole when she hastily turned right but dodging it just as quickly.

Oh right, Zoey happened. Rumi was sitting at their living room ready to be one with the couch the whole afternoon, tapping the pen repeatedly on the notepad unconsciously as ideas for the album launch runs out, she already has seven ideas mapped out but a backup planning the back up plan never hurts anyone, and waiting for Mira and Zoey to return with the snacks that they prepared.

“RUMI! LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK!!!” Just on cue Zoey burst onto the door excitedly shoving her phone into Rumi’s face, Mira just right behind her holding their snacks grinning at Rumi, Rumi sighed, she knew just by the look on Mira’s face and Zoey’s excitement she won’t be able to enjoy those snacks with Mira. “The Blind Box figurines are being sold just three blocks away from us!” 

“Allegedly” Mira added 

“No! I know it's for real this time! This user has never failed me yet. Please Rumi come with me please please please please pleaaaseeeee, I would ask Mira to come along but she just recovered  from her fever” And there it is, Rumi saw it was coming but still mourned her afternoon plans. 

“Here we are, Oh Rumi look! they have everything in here, why didn’t I find out about this place earlier?” Zoey said, already scanning around the store frantically, not able to focus on one thing at a time. Rumi let her look around on her own, not wanting to get on her way while she happily shops. 

Waiting for Zoey to finish up, Rumi’s eyes scanned the whole shop. She can't help but admire the cute figurines on the shelf close to her, she can see why Zoeys is passionate about these toys, especially since it's not guaranteed that you’ll get what you actually want, no matter how much you invest in it, she can imagine that the rush of dopamine is extra addictive. 

Carefully placing the figurine back to the shelf, Rumi’s eyes wandered across the store facing them, a small run-down boutique, it looks like it has been abandoned for months now, the door was boarded up and the windows glasses are scattered around but what really caught her attention was the last mannequin standing wearing a gray hoodie and black denim jacket, the same one Jinu was wearing every night they meet up. She can’t help as her face cracked a smile as she remembered the specific night where they officially became allies, Jinu screaming and clutching his heart when Rumi appeared out of nowhere. For a soul eating demon, Rumi can think of one word to describe Jinu, the real him, not his facade that he wears when he’s with his demon companions or the mask he uses when facing his fans, a dork . For instance whenever he thinks he’s being mischievous Jinu has this dorky laugh a full grin while snickering, the little hat he made for Derpy probably when he was still a cub, and how clumsy he gets when flustered. It was incredibly endearing. 

“What got you smiling like that?” Rumi bumped into a shelf, startled by Zoeys sudden arrival. She doesn’t even realize she was full on grinning until Zoey pointed it out.

“Oh Zoey! Hey your back! I uh- I didn’t expect you to be done so quickly, ehem I was just you know admiring this figurine I uh- I saw back here, did you find what you were looking for?” Rumi cringed at her own stuttering

“Yupp and I got some extra ones too! You would not believe how this store has everything I’ve been looking for, which makes me wonder how obscure it is from the other collectors, speaking of—” 

As they got out of the store the cold hit Rumi straight away, she shivered, hugging herself trying to fight off the cold. She took a final glance at the mannequin at the store, Rumi felt a sudden ache in her chest when she could no longer spot the mannequin from where they were standing.

4. 

Rumi has a lot of regrets in life, everyone have them after all she was only (half) human, but on top of her head she can name a few that she regrets the most;

Firstly was lying to her friends, even if she technically didn’t lie, she just didn’t tell them the truth which Rumi is pretty sure falls under the term lying nonetheless, it was the reason why they almost drifted apart, thankfully they forgave her and they were now closer than before, she couldn’t believe it herself.

Next is being so workaholic even in such a young age, before Gwi-Mas defeated she thought she had something to prove if she wants to keep living as a human, so she didn’t stopped working to be her very best, she always pushed herself to the limit, she expects herself to be better than she was the day before, she now realize how toxic that mindset was. Slowly she learned how to loosen up, it was difficult at first and she was far from being less workaholic than before, but it was progress.

And lastly, she regretted not coming to the bathhouse sooner, okay it’s not as severe as the first two other regrets, but she didn’t know how much she was missing out until she finally took her first dip into the hot tub with Mira and Zoey.The experience was truly life changing, after that she make sure to never miss a single invite.

“I think I’m gonna stay here forever” Rumi sighed happily as she submerged herself deeper into the tub.

“I knew you would love the bathhouse” Zoey replied sounding just as relaxed as she is “I mean out of all of us you needed it the most”

“Hey what's that supposed to mean!” Rumi feigns offended, slightly sitting up straighter.

“That you used to be uptight” Mira offered

“No that sounds too harsh, how about tense?”

“restless?”

“Workaholic?” 

“Yup that's the one!” 

“Wow thanks guys” The two laughed as Rumi sank under the water grumbling.

They’ve been in the tub for thirty minutes now and decided to head to the sauna, Rumi hasn’t felt this good for awhile, They’ve been on world tours the past week and it was taking a toll on her, she genuinely enjoys travelling the world and meeting international fans but it gets overwhelming even for her, on top of that she’s been having this feeling of dread every time she's alone with her own thoughts for too long, she doesn’t wanna dwell on it. 

“Careful there’s a puddle up ahead” Rumi hears Mira warning Zoey as they’re walking to the sauna area, looking ahead and there’s indeed a big puddle, Rumi mentally notes on telling the bath house helpers about it to prevent an accident. She can suddenly vividly see Jinu slipping as he tries to escape the bathhouse, she snorts trying to hold in her laughter, Mira and Zoey look at her direction, Rumi clears her throat acting as if she was just coughing.

5.

Rumi always looks forward to meeting their fans. They are always so sweet, telling stories about how their music changed their lives, how it inspired them to become the person that they are today, and motivates them from simple things like washing their laundry or big achievements like graduating or getting promoted to their work. Things like this are what drive Rumi to keep doing her best. Fansigns are the one of the things that personally connect her to the fans, and events where she can glimpse at the life that they’ve been saving from behind the scene. 

“And who should I make this out to?” Rumi asked, twirling the pen around her finger.

“To your biggest fan!” Rumi gripped her pen, a sense of deja vu hitting her hard, but shook it off as she signed the poster. 

“Here you go thank you for coming” 

“Oh before I forget! Here’s a bracelet I made for you” The fan reaches out of her bag and hands her a blue and purple bracelet intertwined together in a knot forming a flower shape in the middle, Rumi’s stomach drops. She tried to swallow down the nausea and smiled at the fan in front of her. 

“Th-Thank you so much” The fans' faces brightened up and left the table, Rumi clutched the bracelet tightly, smiling as the image of Jinu awkwardly getting the bracelet off her hands crossed her mind. A memory she holds dearly. “For what it's worth, I don’t think you’re a mistake” Warmth envelopes her whole being hearing those words for the first time, but all it does now is a dull ache that thump in her chest.

+1 

“We are Hunters. Voices strong. Your faults and fears must never be seen.” A mantra Rumi heard all her life, a motto doctrine to her as child, it has molded her as the person she is today, the line that was always at the back of head influencing her mind process directing her next move, basically telling her to cover herself and her emotions especially the negative ones. She never realized how deep it was truly rooted in her mind until she struggles to even acknowledge her own emotions.

Walking in the city at night is one of the few indulgences Rumi partakes every time she's feeling lost to her own thoughts. Being alone in her own room sounds suffocating and she can only ask the girls to hang out at night for too long before they start getting suspicious, So night walking in a bustling part of the city, where people are too busy to notice her, not too crowded but also populated enough that she doesn’t feel lonely.

Loneliness is such a bizarre concept, a feeling of isolation no matter how many people are around her, she can be surrounded by her closest friends, trusted allies and millions of fans who scream her name from adoration but she’ll still feel like a husk. Maybe it's greed, always asking for more connection, to reach out for more people, or perhaps what Rumi is looking for is a specific person, a name that's always at the tip of her tongue, afraid that if she called out the air would reply with nothing more but silence.

The night is almost at its peak, patrons around the block decreasing as more stores closes for the night, Rumi’s feet already leading to her way home when she spot a familiar black haired guy at the corner of her eye, she stopped at her tracks, frozen for a second before finally snapping out of it

“Jinu…” She whispered, disbelief written in her voice, it couldn’t be… Could it? “Jinu!” Rumi called out walking towards the spot she last saw him, bumping a few of the few passersby who glared at her in return but she didn’t care, walking faster now, frantically looking around trying to locate him, The blue bracelet getting caught by the crowd, slipping through her wrist, she turned around to grab it but Rumi saw him again just up ahead, abandoning the bracelet Rumi bolted without a second thought. 

Heart pounding, Rumi felt the rush of adrenaline, the same type she felt when she was running towards Gwi-Ma that night at the idol awards, hope pumping in her veins, fuelling her to run faster, ‘Jinu’ turned right to a familiar alleyway causing Rumi to stagger at the puddle as she made a sharp turn, though it didn’t really hinder her from getting closer to him. She passed the same abandoned boutique she saw weeks ago, momentary spotting the mannequin, still standing amongst the others. She can’t stop now, not when she's so close to reaching him. With all the energy she could muster she called out to him. 

“JINU!” time stopped when he did, Rumi gradually slowed down, half jogging when she stepped closer to him. Jinu removed his earphones when he turned, and Rumi felt like cold water was thrown to her when he’s finally facing him, he’s not Jinu.  

“Uhhhh can I help you?” the stranger asked, body swaying impatiently. Rumi felt like the world collapsed on her, of course he's not Jinu, Jinu’s gone. 

“Oh- no umm sorry wrong person, I’ll uhhh yeah I’ll go now” She said turning around, shoulder slumped as she trudged away. Every step gets heavier and heavier, 

It was past midnight when she finally arrived at their building, exhaustion catching up to her. Unbeknownst to Rumi a bird landed on the nearest lamppost, eyes glowing a bright shade of yellow, it watched as she entered the building. 

The door made a soft click upon Rumi closing her bedroom door, the whole building was dark and quiet, too quiet for Rumi’s liking, Zoey and Mira are probably asleep in their own quarters, there's no more crowd to distract her from her own thoughts, she’s exhausted but not tired enough to fall into asleep quickly, no task at hand to occupy her mind. It dawned on Rumi that she’s fully alone now. She doesn’t want to be alone, being alone means she’s left with her own thoughts and being left with her own thoughts make her think about him. She furiously looked around her room, a last resort to divert her attention to anything but her memories of him, her eyes landed on a box filled with tonic, the same tonic she acquired when she first met Jinu. 

Hard floor hitting Rumi’s knees wasn’t as painful as the waves of emotions striked Rumi all at once.

Her eyes lose focus as tears run down her face, she covers her mouth muffling the sound that's escaping from her lips. She tried to conceal her emotions from her fans, friends and herself for so long that it ended up choking her, tried to run away from it but never fully escaped just biding her time, no matter how fast she sprint it’ll eventually catch up to her. And it did, stronger than it was before. 

 She misses him… 

Oh god she misses him so badly she’s drowning from it. She lifted her face, facing the void filled with twinkling stars.

“You gave me my soul back, and now I give it to you” 

Jinu’s voice rang into her mind. She wanted to save him, and he ended up saving her. That wasn’t how it's supposed to go, she’s the leader, the hunter, the one who's supposed to die trying.

She’s just a mistake.

“For what it's worth, I don’t think you’re a mistake”

Rumi blinks, An image of a pool of whiskey hooded eyes assaulted Rumi’s memory, shame trickled at the back of her neck. No, She can no longer think of herself that way. Time and time again she was given proof on how much she deserves to live, how she needed to live. She lowered her head, hands smoothing loose strands of her hair. 

She walks to the balcony wiping her tears as she leans to the railing. Shuddering one final time, Jinu’s gone , The thought still leaves a heavy weight in her chest, and maybe it will stay that way for the rest of her life but she finally acknowledges it . She took a deep breath, blue particles weaving as the sword summoned slowly in her hands. 

“I was starting to think I’ll never get to be alone with you”

Without missing a beat Rumi swung her sword in the direction of the voice. 

“I still wasn’t expecting a hug, but I was hoping we got over this part of our relationship”