Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had started well. Really well, actually. So good that it was too good to be true. After Gwi-ma was gone, Rumi had been on a confidence kick. Even more so now that Mira and Zoey knew, and they were okay with her patterns, with her.

They adored them, and more than a few times had Rumi caught them watching her when they were just hanging out, or in the studio when they were practicing Mira's choreography for their new song. Well, it still was like that. Until she started changing again, just as she was so close to loving how she looked.

“Uh, Rumi, your patterns are blue.” Mira had told her, her patterns glowing through her shirt sleeves. Rumi looked up from the ice pop she was unwrapping from its wrapper. She looked down at her arms, her patterns shimmering a baby blue in the soft light. She looked at Mira quickly. “Uhm, it's a new thing. Sorry,” she smiled awkwardly, going back to her popsicle. “Do you like your popsicle?” Rumi placed the popsicle in her mouth, leaving the wrapper on the white marble counter. “Yeah, I like it.” She had answered then, turning to look back at Mira curiously. “Why? Do you want one?” “No, no, I'm good. Just thinking.” Mira had leaned against the counter, watching Rumi with those eyes that made Rumi shrink and her face flush a bit. “About?” Rumi then said, her eyes on Mira cautiously. She was always good at reading people, and for some unknown reason, Mira was able to read Rumi like she was one of her murder mystery novellas. “Nothing, nothing.” Mira dropped it, shrugging and turning her gaze away.



That day had left Rumi slightly more self-conscious than before, but that same day Zoey had squealed so loudly in her ear about the color-changing patterns that they had turned purple with fear. She hadn't been scared, but more so startled. And the billionth apology had come days ago. But now, Rumi had gotten used to them on her own body, the different colors that changed depending on how she was feeling in that moment. Mira had called her a mood ring, but Zoey always scolded her for being disrespectful. And it always made Rumi's heart swell to see them make light of such a dangerous, dark thing that was burned in her body, a disgusting tattoo.

-0-

The portals started to open again last week, tearing into the golden honmoon like her claws on her skin, or when she used to dig her nails into her eyes when she was so disgusted with looking at herself. Demons were never an issue for them now. They always took them down without hassle, and maybe some fight from the bigger, stronger ones.

Rumi started to be targeted by them as well, probably because she was half-demon and a mistake on the human side and the demon side. A demon with half a human side? Disgusting. A human with a half-demon side? People recoiled.

She was so disgusting, and she knew it.

-0-

Rumi landed softly on the rooftop, her yellow-tinted eyes scanning the ground below in the dark. Mira landed behind her on her feet a moment later, and Zoey on her other side. “So this is the biggest weak spot in the city…” Zoey murmured, her shins out and all six between her fingers. Mira had her gokdo out as well, eyes scanning around cautiously. Rumi had her saingeom out. The purple-haired woman crouched down on the edge of the building, overlooking the city. She could see the honmoon shivering a vibrant yellow, signaling its golden power. But that wasn’t enough, because underneath the surface was a faint pink of weakness.

“C’mon. Let's deal with these demons.” Mira walked to the edge of the building, jumping down. Zoey yelled out to her and followed close behind. Rumi smiled at them both before jumping down as well. She gripped her sword tightly, claws digging into the handle as she went back to back with the two others. As if on cue, tears in the honmoon started to open from everywhere they looked. “Holy shit.” Mira gasped, reading her weapon. “Why the hell are there like 50 of them?!” Zoey whimpered, looking around with her shins ready.

Rumi backed into them protectively, sword raised. “It’s the weakest spot. They’ll exploit it as much as they can if it means a chance at gathering souls.” Rumi rushed forward, throwing herself at one of the largest open portals. Mira and Zoey busied themselves with the smaller ones, fending off the demons themselves while also talking.

“I still don’t see why they–grunt–still need souls if they don’t have gwi-ma to feed.” Mira huffed, swiping her blade at another demon's midsection. Zoey nodded in agreement, keeping herself focused on protecting Mira from behind. Rumi hummed at Mira’s words, seeing it as a good question. That was true, she thought to herself as she jumped onto the shoulders of a large demon and slit them open from the throat down to their chest. She landed on the floor as they disappeared, and she started dealing with the other ones.

“Good observation, Mira.” She stated. “I have no clue. Maybe to feed themselves and keep them stronger? Without Gwi-ma, they are just demons. Not demons under the control of fear.” Mira nodded, slashing open a demon before it pounced on her girlfriend.

“Sorry, Zoey,” she whipped around, stabbing another in its abdomen. “But I don’t see why they think stealing souls is working. All demons are weak in their way.”

Zoey spoke up for them, coming in for Rumi’s defense. “Except for Rumi!”

“Except for rumi, zoey.” Mira sighed.

Rumi barked out a laugh, grabbing another demon's arm and twisting it back, before forward and then whipping around fully and kicking them through the window of a store. It was a strong demon, she could tell by its all purple patterns and six eyes. “Thank you for defending me from Mira’s rude remarks, Zoey,” Rumi called out, stepping into the building through the broken glass.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!”

Rumi smiled a bit, letting the demon stand up as she stared at it. It was a pretty tall and strong demon, she could tell. From its large claws to its six eyes that could track her every move, it was obvious he wouldn’t go down without a fight. “You kind of remind me of derpy.” She said suddenly, tilting her head back to face the demon, who seemed to know she was talking about the stupid blue tiger that had nothing going on upstairs.

SMASH!

CRACK!


Mira and Zoey both turned through heads when Rumi’s body went flying through multiple stores, landing in a broken mess on a wall. They both turned their heads to the culprit together, gulping. “Ooohhhh shit,” Mira mumbled, gripping her weapon and pointing it at the demon.

“Don’t worry, guys, I got this!” Rumi walked out of the smoke, wiping her shoulder from some debris. Mira and Zoey looked at Rumi, both jaws dropped to the ground.

Zoey shook her head, first to collect herself. “We got your back, Rumi!”

Mira took a breath before nodding. “Yeah, we’ve got you.”

Rumi nodded to them both before looking to the demon and the incoming smaller ones. “Alright, guys, time to show these demons who the real monsters are!” Mira and Zoey prepared themselves as Rumi started to sing takedown. Not her favorite song, but she had to admit it was pretty kickass if you ignored the fact it was also implying things rude about her. Rumi sang immediately, flicking her hands and setting off Mira and Zoey to either side of her like a pair of guard dogs. Rumi held back a giggle at their fighting. They preferred to just beat up the demons rather than instantly killing them with their swords.

“I don’t think you're ready for the takedown!” Rumi rushed forward, sword swinging. The demon grabbed it, breaking it with its grip.

“It’s a takedown, ima take you out, you’ll break down-“Mira looked on to see Rumi’s sword shattered like it was nothing. “-like what?!” Mira’s eyes widened.

Zoey noticed, but kept singing confidently as she swung and threw her tiny blades at demons. Rumi tossed her sword up, going hand to hand with the demon. Her patterns flashed red, claws extending from her nails as she went knuckle for knuckle with it. Mira sang loudly in Korean, swinging her gokdo at demons coming at her.

“A demon with no feelings dont deserve to live,” Rumi swung her fist back, glowing a vibrant blue. “It's so obvious!” The demon was hit with her fist dead in the stomach, purple goo spewing from its mouth and going all over her face as it flew back, rolling along the road before landing on its back on the ground. She slowly raised her hand to her face, wiping the "blood" from her eyes. "Yuck..." she murmured, looking back at the demon.

"ima gear up and take you down!" Zoey leaped up the side of the building, coming to help Rumi.

“Zoey, watch out!” Mira called out, immediately disrupting the flow of the singing. Rumi looked up as well, only able to catch a glimpse of a fast demon before it gripped the side of Zoey’s head, bashing into the side of the building and dragging her along the floor it landed on before flinging her out of the other end. “ZOEY!” Mira leaped up immediately, crashing into the building as well.

Rumi didn’t follow, looking back at the demon that was now gone from the ground. “fuck.” Rumi turned and leaped up, running up the side of the building. Behind her, the demon made another appearance. It bashed through the wall of the building up to her, creating destruction on the side as it followed her. “Mira, get Zoey and hold onto her!” Rumi called out in hopes Mira had heard at least a word of what she said. The half-demon jumped up, twisting her body to face the demon in the air to try and attack it. She summoned her sword, no longer a broken blade, pointing it at the…where did it go? It suddenly appeared again, grabbing her by her neck and dragging her along the side of a building, breaking through glass windows and cutting up her body like paper. It then threw her, but she caught herself with her hand and looked at the demon.

“Shit, where did they go…” rumi leapt out of the way as the demon pounced at her. She rotated and broke through a window, landing on her feet on a random floor of the skyscraper. Blood dripped from her head and down her face, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on where Mira and Zoey were. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing them or even just them being injured. She whipped her head around to see the demon coming at her. She lifted her hand, grabbing his fist and throwing him to the side. But he quickly recovered. She was starting to sweat, and she knew Mira and Zoey would definitely not last long if that demon was still with them. She dodged the attack from the large monster and leaned back, throwing her fist forward and hitting it in the side. It gushed blood, but she then kicked it in the chest and sent it flying through the wall and outside.

She was about to run out and attack again when she saw a blue light quickly pass by. “Zoey!” She smiled, jumping out of the window. She was caught by Mira, who was slightly injured, but had a big smirk on her face.

“I gotcha, rumi,” she adjusted her grip on the half-demon, running over the crashing walls of the building. Rumi looked up, spotting Zoey closer to the top of the building. She had the demon by its chest, and her fist sucked int its chest and blood dripping from the wound freely. she pushed it through every rough piece of debris falling at them from the building to do as much damage as she could. Blood dripped from her head completely, drenching her face.

Rumi was suddenly thrown up by Mira into the air. The half-demon summoned her sword, and the moment Zoey jumped out of the way, she zoomed forward. She came out the other end, the demon’s head staring back at her as it rolled into the air along with her. Rumi looked down as she fell. She landed on the roof of the slanted building with a thump. Mira and Zoey came up behind her, panting but happy. “What’d you do with the other demon?” Rumi turned to Zoey and Mira, who smiled back at her.

The demon's head rolled onto the roof, slowly dissolving in pink powder that was left with the wind. “We kicked its ass!” Zoey answered first.

Rumi then looked to Mira, who had a better explanation. “We cut it in half with my gakdo.” Rumi hummed, looking back at the city. The damage would be fixed overnight by the honmoon, just like it always did. As if they were never there, never putting themselves in danger for the sake of the innocent people. Rumi's smile faded a bit. Innocent people who didn’t like her.

“How about we head home? I'm sure the honmoon will seal everything off until tomorrow.” Rumi turned her head to the two girls. Mira nodded, but Zoey just looked at Rumi.


“I’m down.” Mira shrugged, looking to Zoey, who only agreed after Mira did.

“Alright then. Let's head back. Maybe we can get some sleep before we have to wake up early.”


-0-


It happened again when she was at her weakest.

-0-

“fuck, mira...” Rumi’s claws were out, dug into the sheets, and tearing them up. Zoey's hand wasn't doing much to stop it, and that unfortunately meant sheet shopping. Mira let out a grunt, moving her hand away from the wound to grab the medkit.

“This is what you get, unnie.” Zoey scolded, yet her tone was soft and gentle. Rumi growled, biting into the pillow and squeezing Zoey’s hand bone-crushingly tight as Mira pressed back onto the wound with alcohol. They had gotten stuck in another demon encounter on the way back from the taco place down the street from their penthouse. A big demon, one who was smart enough to carry a weapon and target Rumi. Many demons lingered on the surface, trapped away from their designated realm after the new honmoon was sealed.

“fuck, mira!” rumi’s free hand shot up, gripping mira’s leg that was beside her near the edge of the bed. Her claws dug into the soft flesh of Mira’s thigh, making her hand pause and come to rumi’s.

“Let go, Rumi,” she stated, Zoey and she looking at each other. Rumi generously let go, her hand instead coming to the side of the mattress and shredding the sheets there instead. Zoey watched her cautiously, before looking back down at the wound on her shoulder. It was a scratch from claws, since Mira and Zoey had quickly disarmed the demon when they caught him in the alleyway. Rumi's eyes fell on Zoey, watching her in pained silence. Zoey idly traced Rumi’s red shimmering patterns with her free hand while Mira started slowly stitching up the wound with a needle and medical thread. Zoey found Rumi’s eyes, who hadn't left Zoey’s even when she wasn’t looking at her girlfriend.

The maknae smiled, leaning down a bit so they were more face to face. “She likes the eye contact, mir,” Zoey cooed. Mira looked to Rumi and Zoey before going back to the wound.

“Good to know, isn’t it?” Mira hummed softly. “I always assumed she did. I'm pretty sure it soothes her. She's a pro at it in public,” Mira said, trying to distract Rumi as well from the gaping wound actively being sewn up on her back.

“That's just because I'm not an awkward loser like both of you are with simple public speaking,” Rumi mumbled into the pillow.

Zoey let out a mock gasp, and Mira rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I prefer not talking to people.” Zoey defended herself. Mira nodded in agreement, her focus on Rumi’s back.

“Yeah, sure. You say that, but then sometimes get nervous when a fan comes over to us in public.” Zoey looked away from Rumi to roll her eyes, causing the purple-haired girl to follow them.

TEAR!


All three of them turn their heads, rumi as best as she could in her position. The honmoon was tearing, as for some reason it seemed to do whether the honmoon was golden or not.

“shit, demons!” mira set down the items in her hand and summoned upon her weapon, zoey doing the same and sliding off the bed as the demons stumbled out of their portal, heading right for rumi.

Rumi was left thrashing and moaning in pain on the bed, the wound bleeding out again without the constant pressure of a towel to soak up all the blood. She couldn’t move from where she was without her arm feeling like it was falling off, so she merely squirmed and whined on the bed as Mira and Zoey took on the demons themselves. Rumi hadn't felt like she was in this much pain since one of their first missions, the last one she could remember.

She had jumped in front of Zoey, blocking a large swipe from a demon. It had left her bleeding out against the wall, the wind knocked out of her. She remembers the moment her head hit the wall and bounced onto the floor. The blood was coming from her head. But most of it had come from her mouth. She had been unable to breathe, and she knew what it felt like to be dying that day. She had needed an inhaler for days until her lungs were able to properly heal with her organs. She could never forget the way her lungs felt like they weren’t there and the way she was groaning. The fear that had been on her face when the only sound that she had been able to make after she was hit was a pitiful whimper and maybe even a whine if she used up her strength enough.

“Rumi!”

Rumi. That was the last thing she had heard before her head hit the wall and then the floor in the same moment. She had been smacked directly in the chest, her vision blurring, but more importantly, her lungs closing up and her throat swelling with bile and blood. Mira jumped out of the way, opposite of Zoey, and started attacking the demon again. They both could barely keep up, making it impossible to help Rumi without risking the life of a second team member. Rumi gasped for breath, but she was unable to find it in her bubble.

Oh my god, I can't breathe, she ranted on in her head, one hand wrapped around her neck and the other twitching on the floor near her face.

She dry heaved until a mix of blood and fluid came from her mouth. More blood than bodily fluid, from what she saw dripping down her chin and onto her neck. She tried to move to get up and help Mira and Zoey. She really did. But she couldn’t breathe, and the blood rising in her throat was blocking up her airway too quickly. She vomited again, this time just a sea of red.

Mira let out a loud yell, slashing off the arm of the demon. Zoey tumbled into a table after being thrown away before she could land a fatal hit. Mira took charge and spun around her staff, finally finishing off the demon by cutting it in half at its midsection. Rumi vomited once more, clawing at her throat. She could hear footsteps approaching her, and her mind instantly went to her patterns.

Shit, they would see them.

Rumi let out a pathetic whimper, her eyes watering as she panicked further. Mira rushed over first, Zoey right behind her.

That day, she had kept her walls up. She had shut herself out and refused their touches to anywhere but her throat. The only way she had taken off the jacket was if Celine had been the one to do it.

When she did get to celine, still crying to herself in pain and letting out groans, the older woman had freaked out. she had wrapped up all of them lake packaging and made sure they wouldnt get hurt. she had been the one to give rumi the inhaler in the first place so she could breath properly until her half-demon side sped up the healing like it usually did.



After that, Rumi never tried doing anything that included getting hit in the stomach, unless Mira and Zoey were there or were the ones doing it.

Speaking of the two friends, the demons just kept coming. They didn’t bother breaking a sweat in worry of ruining their fresh makeup from this morning, but it was a tough task no less. Rumi moved again, teeth baring as she growled quietly to herself in hopes of somehow soothing the pain.

Zoey and Mira continued their onslaught of attacks until the demons scrambled their way back into the tear in the honmoon. It started to seal quickly, shimmering gold again. The demons must be getting more powerful if they could tear the golden honmoon so much easier.

“Mira, it hurts!” Rumi cried out, squirming.

Mira let out a groan, turning to Zoey. “Deal with her, Zoey. Please,” Mira mumbled, stabbing her blade through the closing tear. Zoey nodded, putting away her weapons and approaching Rumi.

“Hey, Rumi.” Zoey knelt beside the bed, her hand moving up to Rumi’s cheek but not quite touching it. “You're going to be okay. Mira will help you in a minute or so, alright?” Rumi eyed Zoey’s hand before her claws loosened on the bed sheets. She reached up and gripped the hand held out to her. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe since Zoey is comforting her and Mira is protecting them, she could finally rest for a moment. But she couldn't. With the pain searing through her shoulder and affecting her patterns, which were already crimson red with intensity, she couldn't rest. Not until she was wrapped up in gauze.

-0-

She was glad she had been able to protect those two from being killed, and vice versa. She hated that sometimes she couldn't hold herself as easily as she wanted to believe, but maybe her barriers weren't as strong as she thought they were. Another flaw in her already broken body. Disgusting.


It happened again as well. During the dance practice with her two prized possessions. 

-0-


Rumi sighed, shaking her head. “Alright, alright.” She put her hands up. A moment later, Zoey returned.

“Sorry guys, I was getting too sweaty to function.”. Mira shrugged, kissing Zoey on the head as she walked by. Rumi watched, grumbling under her breath about PDA in front of her. Zoey grabbed her phone, putting the song back on. Rumi started to sing right away to the song, dancing her part on her own while Mira got a drink of water. Zoey watched, sitting down and getting some water herself.

“Lower pitch, unnie.” She would correct every once and a while if Rumi tried singing a little higher. Sweat started to drip down Rumi’s face, her fangs biting her lip in concentration.

Her part was the hardest, of course. Not only did she sing the most in the song, but she also had the hardest dance. With the help of Mira, she had learned it all within two months and was able to easily execute it. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t dripping sweat and almost falling on the slightly wet floors every time she did it.

“One more part, Rumi,” Zoey called out, sitting beside Mira. The girl was on her phone, one hand on Zoe's bicep and the other scrolling on Twitter. Rumi gritted her teeth, ignoring the painful burning in her shoulder and legs. She needed to do this. For her fans. She blinked her eyes shut when sweat fell into them, and went off memory. She opened them again immediately, but they burned a little. Mira wiped some sweat from her brow and turned off her phone to watch Rumi finish up her dance. She finished off strong, thankfully, and the moment the song turned off, she collapsed.

“Ughhh! Mira, why did I have to get the hardest dance routine?!” Mira smiled, glancing at a giggling Zoey before looking back down at Mira.

“I don’t know,” Mira leaned down, looking at Rumi. “Maybe because you asked for it?"

Rumi groaned, but her head turned when the honmoon shivered and a large slit opened along the mirror. “Oh, come on!”

Zoey quickly stood, her small blades ready. Those tiny little goblin demons started to come tumbling out of the portal in a weird, crowded ball. “Ew, these guys again?” Zoey huffed. Mira mirrored her disgusted expression.

Rumi quickly got up, her head spinning a bit from the heat and her already tired muscles. Her claws came out on instinct, but she didn’t bother summoning her sword. “Woah, those are a new weapon, unnie!” Zoey launched herself at the creepy crawlers first, swiping at them easily with her blades. Mira went in next, following Zoey. Rumi focused her attention on the tear in the honmoon.

She jumped over both girls, landing on the wall and sticking to it with her claws digging into it. She grabbed onto the sides of the open tear, trying to pull it shut.

“It's not gonna work, Rumi!” Mira called out, fending off more tiny demons.

“I think it closes on its own!” Zoey called out as well, but the rest of what she said was to Mira. Rumi ignored them, her claws digging into the sides of the wall as she tried to force the portal closed. “Rumi, watch out!” Rumi looked down, seeing more creepy little demons coming from the portal. The half-demon fell back, claws ripping at her body and scratching her as they crawled around her. Mira swiped at a few more demons before rushing over to Rumi first while Zoey dealt with the few coming directly from the portal. Rumi grabbed one by the neck, her claws digging into its body as she threw it.

“Ow, rumi!” Mira stumbled, knocking the demon off her face as she stumbled back.

“Sorry, Mira!” Rumi called out, gritting her teeth tightly in her mouth as they crawled all over her.

“Mira, I can't take them on by myself!” Mira turned her head to see Zoey starting to struggle. She looked between the two before slowly backing up to Zoey with her weapon drawn. Rumi noticed her hesitation and gave her the go-ahead to help the maknae. She would rather let herself die than have any of them go instead.

Rumi growled as her neck was swiped at. She grabbed another demon and threw it to the wall, kicking some from her legs. “Why are they crawling on me?!” Rumi practically screamed, picking at her body to try and rip them off of her.

Mira glanced back at Rumi as she helped Zoey fend off demons. “You're hurting yourself, Rumi!”

Zoey turned her gaze as well, starting to throw her shins at the demons covering Rumi’s skin. Mira protected Zoey as she did so, throwing her blade at any demon that got too close.

“We can't hold them, they keep coming out!” Mira yelled, barely dodging a leap from a tiny critter and smacking it away before it landed on Zoey instead.

Rumi peeled the demons off of her, throwing them around and wrestling them from her body. “Why won't the portal close?” Zoey called out to her oldest. Rumi didn’t answer, too busy slamming a demon into the ground and toward any other demon trying to jump on her. She had scratches littering her body from herself and the touchy demons. Mira threw her gokdo at the portal. It went right through it, into the abyss of the demon realm.

“Dang it!” Mira groaned loudly, starting to just punch the demons with her bare fists. Rumi tore another purple creature off of her and threw it. “Ow, rumi!” Mira tore the demon off of her again. “Stop throwing them at me!”

Rumi had enough time to chuckle before she started swiping at the demons to keep them away from her. She slowly made her way back to the portal, jumping onto the wall again. She dug her hand inside, moving it around until she grabbed onto the handle of Mira’s gokdo. She pulled it out and threw it behind her.

“Thanks, Rumi!” Mira and Zoey said in unison, both suddenly thankful that the weapon instantly killed the demons. Rumi pulled her hand out, now covered in an ugly black and purple goo. What was with these demons and their blood?

She bled crimson red.

Her patterns fluttered green as she made a face. Her hands found the sides of the portal, starting to push them together again. After a moment, she finally summoned her saigeom and stabbed it into the portal. Mira and Zoey finished dealing with the demons, thankfully, but now Rumi’s sword was being pulled into the portal. Her feet adjusted on the wall, pulling back with all her strength.

“Rumi, let go.” Mira walked over. “The portal will-“ The portal closed, Rumi’s sword flying out. Rumi yelped as she fell back with the sword, her feet kicking in the air as she fell on her back.

Zoey giggled beside her, kneeling. “You alright, unnie?” Mira looked to Zoey before Rumi and smiled.

“Yeah, I'm good.” Rumi sat up, looking at the two of them. “I can't stand those little guys. They feel like spiders crawling all over me.” Mira shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands.

“Ew, I hate spiders.”

“Agreed,” Zoey and Rumi said together. Zoey helped Rumi stand up from the floor and dust herself off. “You look rough, Rumi. Wanna get home and wrap your body up?” Rumi shrugged.

“Sure.” She rolled her shoulder. “I can also go for a nap. We’ve already been here long enough without the annoyance of demons.”

Mira and Zoey both nodded in agreement. “I agree. How about a movie?”

“OH. EM. GEE. Can we watch that sea turtle documentary on Netflix?!” Rumi and Mira looked at each other, shrugging. “I don’t see why not?”

-0-

That one hadn't ended as badly as she had assumed it would at the time. But once again, she was disgusting. Imperfect. A flaw in the trio they made together. She looked like an idiot compared to them. Her patterns made her hideous.

Chapter Text

(PRESENT DAY) 

“Rumi, drink some water.”    

Rumi glanced at Zoey, eyes soft as she slowly took the water the maknae was handing to her. “Thank you, Zoey.” She unscrewed the lid and took a sip, but went back for more right away when her throat protested the swallow.  

“No problem, unnie. You've been here with us all day singing constantly, and I think your voice needs a break.” Zoey and Mira shared a look, both silently conversing while Rumi stood between them.    

“I agree with Zoey,” Mira spoke up, wiping sweat from her brow. “You sing practically the entire song, and your throat is probably starting to become sore.” She gave a side glance to the eldest hunter, who in turn glared at her for her double-sided comment.    

“Hush, both of you. I am fine. Let's just take it from the top and finish up.” Rumi set the water down behind her before getting into position with the two girls.  

The song they were trying to dance to was more of a heated tune with a lot of inappropriate words coming from Rumi. The dancing was no better either. At some point, Zoey would go on and on by herself, walking around the imaginary stage with a mic in her hands, pointing to the crowd who would, as Zoey said, cheer for her and try and grab onto her outstretched hand. Yeah, as if Bobby would let anyone touch them while they were on stage like that.    

But when Zoey does that, the next part is Mira and Rumi's alone. They would be set in the middle of the large stage with Rumi in front of Mira. Rumi would be held up against Mira with the help of two hands on her waist, and she would be gyrating her hips in front of Mira's, while Mira “guided” her body along with hers.    

It was on the more 13+ side of their fanbase, which they didn't mind. Sometimes, even their kind and respectful fans needed some controlled fanservice.    

“Alright, ready?” Zoey picked up her phone. When the two other girls nodded, Zoey played the music they made and tossed it to the side. Muscle memory kicked in right away, each one of them bursting into dance and Zoey lip-syncing what she was supposed to be saying as if she were on stage, actually saying it.    

That's why Rumi thought she was perfect. So much raw emotion in her craft, so much raw skill that sometimes even Rumi didn't have when it came to singing. The last time she had truly rapped in a song was in “How It's Done”, but she had stated after that she would never do it again. She had felt like she was going to explode if she didn't sing fast enough, so she would rather leave that field to Zoey and her already energetic voice.  

Rumi went on with the dance as planned, and it got closer to the part they struggled with the most. Rumi and Mira kept messing up with the ‘dancing together’ part. Only because Rumi was ticklish on her sides, and Mira kept goofing around and exploiting that.  

“Alright, guys, please focus!” Zoey called over her voice singing on the recording. She got into position herself, stepping away as far as she could in the studio dance room, so Rumi and Mira had space. “I don't want to have to do this again.”    

Rumi giggled quietly, her eyes glancing at Zoey in the mirror, who smiled back. Rumi then looked at Mira in the mirror, who was too focused to look back at her. The song hit its high, and Rumi stopped singing (thankfully) as Zoey took on her solo rapping in the verse. Rumi swallowed around a cough as Mira danced her way over her.    

Zoey pointed to Rumi and Mira, signaling their part. Mira then pulled Rumi closer to her until her pelvis met Rumi from behind. The redhead made sure to avoid tickling her this time, moving one hand to her hip and the other wrapping around her mid-section comfortably.    

“You, okay?” Mira murmured, her voice almost going unheard over Zoey's loud screaming of Korean words.    

Rumi nodded, her patterns thrumming underneath her skin in different varieties of blue. “Yeah, I'm good. Thanks.” Mira nodded, moving Rumi's hips along with hers in a heated rhythm. Mira moved her hand a bit, wrapping both of them around Rumi's waist as they “stepped out of the scene”. At this point, Zoey would be the only one with light over her head, and Mira and Zoey were hidden in the dark for the next part of the song.    

“More water for your throat?” Mira picked up her water flask and handed it to Rumi without a fight from her. The part-demon took a generous sip, humming at the feeling of the ice water going down her sore throat. “I put ice in it this morning just in case I would need it.” Mira shrugged, releasing Rumi to go and hug Zoey for her amazing, kickass rap skills.    

“You, alright, Rumi?” Zoey pulled Mira close, snuggling into the tallest woman’s shoulder. Mira smiled, glancing back at Rumi.    

“She’s fine, I think. Her throat was probably killing her.”  

“Yeah, I'll admit it is starting to burn.” Rumi set down her friend's water bottle on the floor, cracking her knuckles. “But I'm fine. I'm sure Bobby can somehow overdose me with water, and I'll be fine by tomorrow.”    

At the mention of Bobby, Zoey smiled into Mira's shoulder. “I'm so excited to see him in a few days for the performance. He’s going to be so impressed by our dance moves!”  

“Or horrified,” Rumi said, earning a chuckle from Mira against Zoey's side. “I don't think Bobby has ever seen us dancing like this. I mean, I'm grinding on Mira at some point.”    

Mira’s face turned into the biggest grin she’d seen on her since she started XOXO Kitty on Netflix. “Listen, it was Zoey's idea, y’know? Give the fans some tension through the rest of the song.”  

“That's a lot of tension then,” Rumi patted Zoey's shoulder soothingly, making the maknae sigh. “It’s in the first, like, 10 seconds of the song, Mira. I'm sure you could have at least made another move just as impressive as me gyrating in front of you.”  

Mira shrugged. “Nothing came to mind, so I went with Zoey's idea. I don't mind it though, since it does make it more badass.”  

Zoey grinned at Mira's words. “Speaking of badass, did you see Rumi's patterns when she was singing?” Mira quirked her brow but shook her head. “No. Wasn't my main focus.”  

Rumi looked at Zoey, smiling fondly. Her patterns had shimmered from blue to red when she was singing, trying to bring out as much emotion as Zoey had when she was singing. But she was sure that if Zoey had patterns, they would never stay one color for too long. She was such a bundle of nerves; she was sure Zoey would be one big rainbow if she were like Rumi.    

“...it was so pretty! Right, Rumi?” Rumi snapped out of her thoughts when Zoey and Mira both looked at her, one pair of eyes shimmering and the other staring at her blankly.    

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” With her context clues, she could decipher that it was about the blood red her patterns had changed to when she was singing. Her verse was loud and angry, and so not her. But that was fine. She never struggled with turning her songs into reality, matching the vibe with her tricks. For example, her patterns.    

Mira watched her for a moment as Zoey went back to rambling. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and Rumi smiled curiously at her. Mira relaxed at the smile, before smiling back and returning her attention to Zoey.  

Rumi watched her friends interact with an affectionate look on her face. She had no idea what she would do without them in her life.  

Rumi took a sip of her water, setting it back down as she got into position again. “Alright you two, from the top! We need this to be perfect for the fans!”  

Zoey and Mira got back into position, sweat dripping down their faces. The practice was even more grueling now then it was before; their performance was days away, and Rumi was not about to underwhelm their fans by having shitty choreography. Rumi started to sing, her patterns a vibrant red as she danced to her lyrics. Mira and Zoey did the same, Zoey singing behind her. Until it got to the rap part. Mira came over as Zoey walked around, pointing her fingers everywhere and rapping loudly to the song playing on her phone.    

This had been the fourth practice just this week, and it was Friday (Bobby made them take a day off on Tuesday because Rumi and Zoey weren't feeling well). Rumi slowed her singing until she stopped, and Mira wrapped her arms around Rumi and adjusted her so she was able to move properly to the choreography. Rumi ground back again, mira, making sure to keep her mock expression up as practice for the show. It wasn't just about singing- it was about visuals too. Hence the need for Mira’s dancing skills.    

Zoey continued to rap to the song, and Rumi moved a hand back against Mira’s side as sweat dripped down her legs. She was in shorts today, thank god. The studio was hot as hell, hotter than it already was outside.    

But Mira’s moves were different. They were a little more aggressive. Insistent, even. Rumi's eyes fluttered as she looked at Mira through the mirror. The redhead's eyes were already looking at her, an unreadable expression on her face. Rumi felt the motion again, her eyes shutting and head lolling back to the mine’s shoulder. She let out a breath, swallowing thickly through the lump in her throat as she danced through the rest of the song.    

Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before the song ended. Rumi was moved by Mira, who hugged her from behind right away and laughed at Zoey’s tired expression. “Zoey, you can't be tired already. We still have a lot longer...” Rumi zoned them out, her thoughts too busy focusing on the nails, fiddling with the tie of her shorts.    

The purple-haired woman looked at Zoey before going back to Mira. She moved her hands away and instead in front of her, picking at the skin beside her nails.    

“restroom break,” she spoke up suddenly. Mira finally released her, still focused on Zoey and her conversation. Rumi made a quick escape, shutting the door to the dance studio. Immediately she walked down the hall and into the bathrooms. Her face was flushed, patterns a vibrant pink.    

She splashed some water on her face from the sink, washing it to try and pull herself together. “c’mon, Rumi, pull yourself together!” She looked up into the mirror, but was taken aback by her fangs glinting in the light. Why had her fangs come out?  

Rumi sighed, trying to make them go away. But even as she focused the best she could, they wouldn't go away. Damn it. Rumi groaned and leaned back down, cupping some more water and splashing it onto her face. She looked back up in the mirror, seeing her fangs still present. But behind her, a tear was opening in the honmoon. She immediately summoned her sword and whipped around, only to see the tear gone and no demon coming through. She slowly and cautiously turned around, her eyes going instantly to the mirror to watch the back wall. She shut off the sink and ripped off the towel from the rack. She tossed it into the “used towel” bin after wiping her hands with it before exiting the bathroom again.    

She sighed, mumbling words of confusion to herself as she got closer to the dance room. She slid open the door, spotting the two girls practicing on their own. Rumi walked over to Zoey’s phone and paused the music, making the maknae and redhead stop dancing and lip-syncing.    

“Hey, what gives?”  

“heyyyy!”  

Rumi chuckled at their in-sync yelling. “Sorry guys, but we've got to pack up early today,” she explained to them. “We have to get back to the penthouse and finish the lyrics, remember?” Rumi laughed at Zoey’sbulged-outt eyes and Mira’s nod of realization.    

“Good thinking, Rumi.” Zoey fixed her face. “To perform, we need a song, right?”    

“That would be correct,” Rumi said, and Mira laughed, both looking at each other with matching smiles.  

“Ooh, can we get food!?” Zoey squealed, looking at their leader with a cartoon-wide smile. Rumi shrugged, seemingly unbothered. “I don't see why not.” She looked to Mira, who nodded and smiled.  

As they exited the studio, eyes looking for a food place and feet carrying them along. Danger lurked behind the surface. The building manager walked into the private unisex bathroom, looking into the mirror as he hummed to himself. He looked into the mirror, clicking his tongue at his stylish appearance before bending down to the sink. Peering over his head when it lowered was a tall, lanky demon with its jaw dislocated and eyes gauged out.    

And as quickly as he came, he left. With one soul in tow and a soon-to-be missing persons poster hanging on the walls of quick marts and grocery stores.  

-0-    

It happened again. Kind of. While she was recovering in the studio, trying to dance with Zoey and Mira for the performance. Fresh gauze was wrapped around her wounded shoulder. Rumi looked at Mira, their eyes following each other’s movements. Mira was getting more and more touchy with her recently, and despite knowing that this wouldn’t slide on stage, Rumi didn’t stop her. As expected, the purple-haired woman’s shoulder was almost healed within two days. Thankfully, since the performance was in four days, they had no chance of remaking their costumes to hide the shoulder.  

Rumi shut her eyes, slightly losing herself in the feeling of Mira subtly thrusting up into her.  Mira’s eyes were trained on Rumi in the mirror. She looked like a goddess, fangs bared in concentration and eyes shut as Mira slowly moved into her from behind. She gave a subtle glance to Zoey, who was also looking at Rumi. They shared a conversation with their eyes before Zoey stopped singing and walked to her phone. Rumi’s eyes opened as the music shut off, and she tried to pull from Mira but was kept close to her by strong arms. 

“I'm gonna take a restroom break,” Zoey informed, grabbing her phone. She winked at Mira, leaving Rumi confused.    

As the door closed behind the maknae, Rumi looked up at Mira. “You keep doing that.”    

“Doing what, exactly?”    

“Thrusting into me. That’s not part of the dance and you know it.”  

“I do because I'm the one who made the dance,” Mira stated, looking to Rumi in confusion. “I swear it's in the dance. Like I said the other day, you got to trust me.”    

Rumi merely rolled her eyes. “trust you? In your dreams, mir.” she walked past the taller girl, pushing her in the chest as she walked by. Mira laughed, crossing her arms and tilting her head back as she watched Rumi go over and take her water bottle to her mouth.  

“Make sure you drink a lot of that. I'm sure we’ll be here a while.” Mira chided. Rumi paused, glancing back at Mira before down to her bottle. She opened the lid again and took another gulp of it before shutting it and setting it down beside the two other girls' waters. “Good thinking. It is hot in here.  

-0-

They treated her like a petulant child. Something to be watched over like fragile flowers waiting to wither away in a vase.  

It disgusted her but made things in her body open that she’s never felt before. It was another weakness to her. Opening up too much led to them exploiting her, just like jinu did when he found out she never told the two traitors- girls.  

She hated feeling weak. Celine told her never to let her faults show. But now...now that the honmoon was new and she had this new body that still didn't feel like it fit on her body, it felt like all she did was let her faults show. Her feelings come out through the mask she had broken in two weeks ago.  

So. Fucking. Disgusting.  

-0-

 She was lying flat on her stomach, eyes half lidded as she listened to music in her headphones. Zoey and Mira told her to put them on for “bedtime” (she had no clue why they said bedtime to her and nobody else), and she had obeyed. The music playing in them they were controlled since they were Mira’s headphones.    

It was something soothing, a Korean mix-up because only those two knew that Rumi only listened to songs fully in Korean, or she wouldn't enjoy them as much.    

But that's when she heard it. The banging. It was subtle at first, almost unnoticeable over the sound of the music lulling her to sleep. But her eyes opened fully when the song ended, but another one didn’t come on. And then the banging got more insistent. She heard grunting from the room next to hers, and Mira and Zoey talking.    

But then the music came back on, unpaused from Mira’s phone, and she relaxed again.    

“I’ll never understand how she can be content with songs like that,” Zoey grumbled, punching her punching bag aimlessly while talking to Mira, who was controlling what Rumi was listening to in the room next to them.    

“I don't know either. But if it gets her to shut up and stop spiraling, then that's what we put on.”Miraa responded, adjusting the volume so Rumi would hear it better. “And to be honest, I don't see an issue with what she listens to. I mean, yeah, it's kind of weird she only listens to full Korean songs since she sings in both Korean and English for her music, but who am I to judge? I'm dating you, after all.”  

“Hey!”  

“I'm kidding, babe.” Mira looked up from her phone, watching Zoey hit the punching bag. Then, a thought crossed her mind. “Do you think Rumi will be okay?”  

Zoey slowed down in her punching, thinking about her answer before saying it. “She will be fine, Mir. I'm sure of it. She is half demon, after all. I'm sure she’ll be fully healed within the week.”  

Mira shook her head. “I don’t mean that. I know she’ll be fine. She was just whining earlier, so we could give her attention.” She huffed, setting down her phone on their shared nightstand. I mean with the honmoon. She controls it, remember?”  

Zoey looked at her, finally stopping her workout. “What do you mean? I thought with the new honmoon everything was fine?”  

Mira smiled, but it faded as quickly as it came. “Yeah, I thought that too. But recently, with all the tears in the honmoon, I'm starting to think otherwise,” she grumbled.  

Zoey listened on, sliding off her gloves and tossing them to the side as she walked toward the bed to lie with Mira.    

“I just, I feel like we could be doing more. The demons are getting stronger and stronger, and I just...” Mira sighed, deflating a bit.  

“Baby, I'm sure everything is fine. Maybe it just takes a while for the honmoon to reach full power. And you're right: Rumi does control most of it. So maybe it will all be better again when she fully recovers?” Zoey reached out and grabbed Mira’s hand, holding it. Mira looked down at the hand in hers before squeezing gently.    

“I understand that. I just hate seeing her jump at the opportunity to get in front of us whenever we're about to get hit. And it's inevitable in every attack. She comes home worse and worse, and I worry that one day she won't come back home with us.”  

Zoey listened to her girlfriend talk. She held her hand tightly, trying to calm her emotional (somehow) girlfriend. “Baby, I know it's painful to watch. And quite frankly, I hate it too.” Zoey turned more to Mira and pulled her to her chest. Mira got comfortable, accepting the reassuring words like a soothing balm to her heart.  

“Let's just hope Rumi knows her limits. And even if she doesn't, she has us to protect her and...whatever she has going on in that head of hers.”  

Mira didn't answer, staring at the door. She longed to go to Rumi’s room and check up on her again, but she opted to just let her be and get the sleep she needed to recover quickly. Zoey pulled her closer, allowing the silence to sit with them on the bed,  

-0-   

Rumi rolled her shoulder idly as she licked her fingers.    

“That’s not sanitary, unnie.” Zoey scolded, reaching for one of the napkins from the bag. Mira was out on a designer shopping spree, leaving Zoey and Rumi alone in the penthouse.    

Rumi moved onto the couch, adjusting her position. “But it's all over my fingers.” She stated as if Zoey wasn’t grabbing napkins for that exact reason.    

“Yeah, I know, unnie.” Rumi watched as Zoey wiped the vanilla ice cream off her fingers with the brown napkin. “Which is why I was feeding you. But you just seem to enjoy picking at food with your fingers rather than a utensil.”  

“That’s not why. It's because you're scared I’m going to ruin my other shoulder lifting a spoon into my mouth .” Rumi muffled through ice cream as Zoey fed her another spoonful of it. Even if she was slightly embarrassed at being spoon-fed by Zoey, she didn’t mind it since the ice-cream flavor sweetened out her sour feelings about it. Her patterns shimmered baby blue, along with a tinge of orange, but it was barely there.    

“Yes, well, I have every right to be worried, Rumi.” Zoey justified, scooping up more ice cream. This time, she dipped the spoon into her ice cream as well, a flavor she knew Rumi had never even thought about trying.    

“Ew, do not give that to me.” Rumi turned her head away from the spoon, her good arm reaching out and pulling the spoon away.    

“Don’t be such a buzzkill, unnie. C’mon, try it!” The shorter girl leaned the spoon towards the eldest once more. After a moment, the half-demon’s nose twitched, catching the aroma of something that wasn’t ice cream. Mira.    

Rumi turned her head the moment the door opened, giving Zoey a chance to shove the spoon in her mouth.    

“Hey, Mira!” They both said in unison, Rumi's voice muffled by the spoon, and Zoey's cheerful.    

“Hi, you two,” Mira set down her bags, approaching the two. She planted a kiss on Zoey's head and, being mindful that she wasn’t also dating Rumi, rubbed behind the other girl's ear with a knuckle before walking away towards her bags again.    

“How was your shopping?” Zoey asked, looking to Rumi. Seeing an opening, she pulled Rumi close to her, opening her legs so Rumi fit snugly between them, and her back was up to her chest.    

As Mira started to talk about her shopping, Rumi’s senses went haywire. She let out a huff as she was pulled in, her patterns fully glittering orange.    

Zoey took notice, smiling down at her.    

“I'm going to go shower, okay?” Mira called out as she shut off most of the lights in the penthouse. Zoey called back an agreement before turning back to Rumi. They were both surrounded by darkness, and now alone.    

Rumi, out of pure fear of embarrassment, swiftly got up and stumbled off the couch. “I'm going to head to bed, uhm-“    

“Oh? Alright, g-“    

“-Goodnight!” Rumi cut off Zoey, who watched her run up the stairs to her bedroom. Zoey stared down the hallway until the door shut, and she slowly turned back to her phone. Huh.