Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“This is not what was promised."

A loud voice rumbled through the thick rocky walls of hell. It was the voice that made the scariest of demons tremble in terror, Gwi-ma.

It had only been a few weeks since the Saja Boys' debut, yet Gwi-ma was not satisfied with quantity of the souls he was feeding on.

"Gwi-ma, we are making progress. Half of Huntrix's fans are in the palms of our hands. We only need to wait until the idol awards-"

“YOU WANT ME TO WAIT LONGER?!”

Jinu flinched as sharp pain shot through his ears, forcing him to take a step back. He'd never seen Gwi-ma this aggressive, not ever in the 400 years he had been encaged here.

The silence after the sudden outburst felt like torture itself, not a soul dared to utter a word. It lasted maybe a minute, yet it felt like a decade.

"… Gwi-ma, you must stay patient. Any rash decisions and there will be no more chances of ridding the world of the Honmun forever."

The group only glanced at Mystery. They hadn't heard him speak in days, and this is what he says, of all things?

"Are you doubting me?"

Gwi-ma's voice lowered.

Immediately, Mystery felt his head feel like he had been shot, falling back as he muffling a yell in pain. The other Sajas were frozen in place, eyes darting away from him as they held their breath like prey hiding from an apex predator, hoping to god that they wouldn’t be next.

“EODUNN! Release the Triffids. I want every and any soul. You five, I wont be needing you any longer.”

The flames hissed as the demons hurried along, not daring to question Gwi-ma. Not when he was in such a foul mood.

Mystery gasped as the intense pain from Gwi-ma’s hold finally released, leaving him with only the reminder of the control Gwi-ma had over all of them.

He felt his knees give out when Abby quickly caught him, helping him stand. Even with his eyes closing on their own, he could get a glimpse of the others, giving him looks of concern and slight confusion.

“damn… maybe I shouldn’t of spoken up…”

The lack of energy soon caught up to him, knocking him out before he could finish his thought.

Chapter Text

The air felt still. Too still. How long had he been out cold?

He sat up on the mattress he had been laying on, massaging his temples to calm the bangin' migrant that crawled under his skin.

It wasnt long before a strong smell of rosy perfume overwhelmed his senses, making his shoulders tense and nose wrinkle. It reminded him of that certain someone who should stop overusing their damn perfume.

Once he entered the living room, he heard a familiar voice speak up.

“you’re awake.”

It was Baby, sprawled across the couch with his eyes fixed on that ipad he bought that one time he saw some kid playing blockblast in the bus.

“Jinu and Abby are gone to look for the hunters or whatever. Me and Romance were staying here ‘till you got up.”

He spoke with a bored grumble before shifting his gaze to Mystery, staring at him as if he was expecting something.

“… come on, we’ve got to catch up with them.”

Romance, the culprit of that lethal waft of perfume, pushed himself off the wall, his steps hurried and almost irritated compared to the usual charm they held while on stage.

“…. Why’s the door broken down?”

Mystery raised an eyebrow, pointing at the wooden door that was laying flat on the ground while split in half like a sad sandwich.

“ah, Abby 'opened' it yesterday when he got too frustrated with the desklady."

Baby rolled his eyes, lazily slithering off the couch before making his way to the wooden frame, kicking around a bigger chunk of wood that ripped off the main body like it owed him rent.

"She was yapping about being blind or whatever."

He grumbled, earning a confused glance from Mystery.

"A-anyway, we should get going."

Romance stood close beside Mystery before motioning for Baby to come closer.

"Fine. But I better get a lollipop for this later."

After a little pink mist and way too much Glitter, they teleported to the rooftop of a nearby building. The moment their feet touched the concrete, they were hit with a strong gust of wind, pushing them back like a bully in an American TV show.

"Gosh, I haven't felt wind this strong in centuries.."

"Of course you haven't, unc."

"You know what? I take it back. You're not getting that lollipop."

"Psh, loser."

As the two glittery bombshells bickered about, Mystery stepped up onto the ledge of the rooftop, staring down at the suspiciously empty streets below.

A wave of an uncomfortable sense of darkness swept over him, a hollow whisper that crawled under his skin like worms seeking vengance. It was like power had cut off to his brain. His vision blurred, fingers going numb to the knuckles, his knees felt like they were carrying the hundreds of years of guilt he had burried to the dark depths of his lifeless soul. He felt the rubble shift underneath the soles of his shoes. His body was on autopilot, his foot lifted and moved just far enou-

"You okay man..?"

He snapped out of the trance as Romance placed a hand on his shoulder.
Wha.. what was that? It didn't sound- or feel like Gwi-ma..-

"I uh... sorry, I kind of zoned out."

He murmured as he shifted his foot back onto the concrete, turning his head just slightly to get a glimpse of Romance. His wide eyes stared right at Mystery, as if he could see straight through his bangs. Romance didn't blink. Not once throughout the awkward silence that lasted much longer than required.

It wasn't until Baby spoke up that Romance would stop staring at Mystery like he was going to confess his deepest darkest sins at any moment.

"Heyyy! Jinu Hyung ah, over here!"

Baby yelled as he frantically waved his hand in the air, facing the direction of a hospital rooftop where two familiar figures stood.

In the blink of an eye, the two stood infront of them. Jinu let out a drawn-out sigh, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glanced at the other 3 boys uneasily. Abby on the other hand looked... pale. His shoulders tense and he avoided their gaze, keeping his eyes glued to the ground like it was the most interesting thing in existence.

Jinu finally cleared his throat, his tone flat and serious, unlike the usual confidence and calm nature.

"... Gwi-ma did more than just release the triffids."