Work Text:
it starts like this-
#miromabby, #zoeystery and #rujinu are taking social media by storm as the influx of fans- both huntrix and saja boys- collectively lose their minds over the surprise dual fansign. While bobby isn’t entirely sure why his girls are scowling and trying to grind their teeth into dust over it, he’s happy to let them work it out so long as it doesn’t involve him trying to field every fansite and reporter in seoul.
(and there are a lot of those, these days.)
most of the posts are harmless- cute fanart and equally entertaining memes that quickly win zoey over, the youngest of his girls hooking her chin over his shoulder as he scrolls with expert precision, eyes ever watchful for anything less than savory. after this long, he’s got a pretty good handle on most media frenzies, able to flag and report anything that needs to be to the company before it has the chance to make more than a ripple.
rumi and mira, on the other hand, seem less thrilled. he can guess why- suddenly having so much stress on their plates with the completion of their world tour, and the girls (rumi) pushing up the release of golden. never mind rumi’s voice and the saja boys and their sudden cameo on that variety show and the upcoming iia’s (which bobby has been logging late nights over to ensure the costumes are ready and the stage prep and the back and forth with their company-)
anyways.
the two older girls seem far less thrilled with this new addition to their plates, and bobby totally empathizes with them. he loves them all, he does, but he’d really been looking forward to a few days away from the idol sphere before having to put his energy into the mama’s and the end of year events. ideally somewhere he could be waited on hand and foot without having to worry (as much) about what his girls were up to.
alas, it wasn’t meant to be. that two-week staycation forever just out of reach…
And then another hashtag pops up.
#boba
what in the world-?
confused, he taps on it, not entirely sure what to expect. it’s been hidden amongst the sea of huntrix content, which is the first thing he notices. which is odd, because he would have definitely noticed a new trend or brand of drink the girls would have had at the fansign, right? secondarily to that, and probably the more important of the two, is the slightly blurry but very obvious photo of… himself?
“bobby?” of course zoey is the first to notice the furrow between his brow, hand going to his shoulder automatically.
“one second, zo.” he says, holding up a finger as he copies the next series of tags and sticks it into his usual search engine on socials. “just checking something ou- oh.”
“oh?” mira, ever the watchful protector of the three, snaps to attention immediately like she can fight whatever he sees on his screen. It’s one of the things he loves about her, ever endeared to be reminded that he falls under her overprotective eye as someone to care about.
(he’d never admit it aloud- he did value his life- but she reminds him of his aunt’s herding dog he’d grown up with out in the country. it had been much the same, though it would curl up on top of his blankets at night and snuffle his fingers with a cold nose until he scratched between its ears.)
“uh. well.” he clears his throat, feeling his ears warm at the series of posts that have come up. he holds up his phone for zoey, still at his shoulder, so she can read, strangely flustered.
“is it just me or would bobby and baby saja make a cute couple?” she says slowly, earning a barked out, “wait, what?” from rumi and mira.
he doesn’t put up a fight as his phone is removed from his possession, all three of the girls huddling around it to scroll through the apparently existing collection (however small) of… shippers who have somehow decided that he and the blue haired maknae(?) of the saja boys would make a cute couple.
“hashtag boba, hashtag cuties…?” rumi parrots slowly as mira and zoey alternate between tapping and scrolling through posts and stories. bobby clears his throat, feeling his face heat further with each one. most surprisingly, he thinks, is that they’re all overwhelmingly positive (for now). He can’t imagine that it’ll stay that way for long- the huntrix fans are some of the most supportive he’s seen of a group, but the second shipping gets involved it all tends to go out the window.
“welcome to your first ship war, bobby.” mira pats him on the shoulder, sympathetic- bobby almost jumps out of his skin; she has a habit of spawning in new places like an unexpected npc. “buckle up; you’re going to be here for a while.”
-
“there’s no way we encourage this.” rumi hisses as she vaults over a trash can, demon squealing in surprise as she cleanly removes its head from its shoulders. “right?”
“i mean, I think it’s kinda cute?” zoey offers, bouncing back onto her heels after dispatching a handful of demons long distance, chewing her thumbnail in thought. “besides. y’know. the fact it’s a saja boy.”
“like you haven’t been making eyes at that other one.” mira rolled her eyes, no heat to the words as she rolled her shoulders, shaking out some of the energy from the fight. this rift didn’t seem to be as severe as some of the others they’d had to deal with lately, thankfully, but with everything else going on they really couldn’t afford to let their guard down any more than necessary when it came to the honmoon.
“i don’t know what you’re talking about.” she stuck her tongue out, already getting the slightly dopey smile they’d come to call the ‘mystery saja syndrome’ on her face. “he’s just a dumb, pretty, stupidly symmetrical faced… demon.”
“uh huh.” rumi deadpanned, crossing her arms. “a demon.”
which was the crux of the problem, really.
what had started as a handful of posts shipping #boba quickly swelled into something of a movement, long term fans who were familiar with bobby’s hands-on approach as their manager fueling the fires of social media by posting photos of him for the saja boys fans to consume. it probably didn’t help that a couple of their more prominent fansites had taken charge and put their stamp of approval on it... which from experience was going to make everything a lot more complicated over the coming days.
“well, it’s not like bobby knows about the demon part… right?” zoey asked, hands fidgeting. “would it really hurt to just… let this one slide?”
“it’s not just the fact that it’s about the saja boys, zoey.” rumi corrected, tone gentling. “it’s about making sure that bobby is comfortable with it. we know better than anyone what it can be like once something like this blows up.”
it was because of their experience with their fans that she mentioned it. there were always going to be people who didn’t quite understand that they were real people and deserved their own privacy. bobby was their manager- beloved, but nonetheless not someone who was typically in front of the camera during their activities despite his own history as an idol.
“yeah, you’re right.” zoey agreed with a huff. “we’ll just have to make sure we look after bobby too!”
(something that might prove easier said than done, but none of them were going to say it. not with everything else they had to worry about right now.)
-
part one: it actually starts like this-
golden and soda pop at the first music show is… tense, to say the least. bobby chooses to ignore it in favor of doing what he usually does best- making sure his girls are well looked after, and then networking with other management while they were busy getting hair and makeup done. says his hellos to the other groups currently on the charts, the corresponding staff who have come to know and recognize his presence over the years.
of course he hears the gossip, the odd days there’s more people he recognizes than not, older staff and groups who remember the days he was on the stage rather than behind it; it doesn’t haunt him the way people probably expect it to- he’s always been the type to get up and walk it off. his career had definitely been one of them.
“a shame his group didn’t make it, but good to see him stay in the industry.” people comment from time to time as he passes by, wielding other staff like a well-oiled machine. “he’s done right by those girls.”
(it always does something to him, hearing those words. pride, mostly; especially these days with the future feeling a little more uncertain than usual.)
the numbers on social platforms aren’t lying- it’s a battle of the charts between huntrix and the saja boys for the top spot. as much as bobby wants his girls to win across the board, he already knows that it’s likely going to come down to the fans. where golden is the huntrix anthem (declared as such by fans, reactors, and the general populace), soda pop is… well, the summer pop hit that gets stuck in the head and stays there on loop. catchy.
worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, bobby keeps one eye on the monitor screen on the wall as the girls dance across the stage. they’d had to use the pre-recorded audio for golden, lip-syncing in order to keep rumi’s voice from being strained any further, and he knows the fans will notice. it isn’t all that often they don’t perform live, but he’d already covered as many bases as he could and posted an update with just enough detail to keep the fans from worrying too deeply. hopefully. it’s not like other idols don’t lip-sync, and sometimes it’s easier on the studios so they don’t have to mess with the audio to keep things moving along.
he doesn’t realize he isn’t alone until someone clears their throat.
“everything okay?”
the noise that comes out of his mouth is more in relation to a squawk than words, scrambling to keep a hold of his phone before composing himself, clearing his throat with a nervous laugh and pushing his bangs off his face again.
it’s one of the saja boys- baby, his memory provides. the bright blue hair is hard to miss, let alone the bright colors the entire group seems to have committed to with the concept. the yellow of his beret suits him.
“ah, yeah- sorry! wasn’t really expecting anyone to… appear.” he gestures with a sheepish grin. baby turns like he expects someone else to be standing around; the next closest person is abby, who seemed to be contending with a particularly drowsy romance and mystery draping themselves onto his shoulders.
“we’re on next?” he says, and it’s more of a question than a statement. baby’s voice is surprisingly soft considering how deep his vocal tone from the performance he’d seen online. soothing even.
“yeah, i saw on the schedule. it’s your first performance on stage, right?”
the other man nods, crossing his arms over his chest. bobby catches a glimpse of blue painted nails- cute.
“what?”
oh. oops. that last bit had been aloud.
“your nails.” he elaborates. “i like the color.”
“ah.” baby pulls out one hand, half covered by his oversized sleeve, to examine his fingers. “mystery did them for me.”
“he did a good job.”
“I’ll tell him.” there’s a hint of a smile, something small and fond. it does something to bobby’s heart to see it, but he’s on the clock and can’t afford to let himself be unfaithful to his girls right now. (that’s for later, when he clocks out for the night. maybe. as a treat.)
“yes! please do. and good luck out there. you’ll do great.” he lifts his fist with a little cheer. they might be competition, but it didn’t mean they don’t deserve to hear some encouragement before going out on stage. especially since it seems there’s no one else backstage to accompany them. no staff or managers at all, actually, which was odd.
“thank you.” the other man bows. jinu calls him over with an impatient wave of the arm, abby and romance imitating him in tiny.
(golden losing definitely stung, he couldn’t lie- it was never easy to see how upset the girls were when bobby knew how much love and effort had gone into the single; but he couldn’t help but also silently root for the saja boys just a bit for their first music show win.)
-
part two: followed by this-
the girls need snacks, and bobby will provide! at least, that’s the longstanding arrangement he has with himself so that they can brainstorm for their newest tracks uninterrupted once they’ve holed up in their studio. after this long, he doesn’t even need to look at the notes app on his phone to know what each of the girls’ comfort foods are, the best treats to get their creative juices flowing. granted, he’s not entirely sure what is with this whole new arc they have going on with demons and the correlation to the saja boys, but they’ll probably let him know before the song drops. hopefully.
it's… admittedly one of the first times in a long time he can feel the rift forming between them, the girls on one side and him on the other. obviously, he only knows so much of it, given the circumstance, but there had been a time not too long ago where they’d confide in him too, trust him to carry some of the weigh that they felt as idols.
no. no thinking like that.
“you know they still love you, bobby.” he mutters as he grabs a basket on his way into the 24-hour convenience store. “it’s just stressful for everyone right now. you’ll get through this, just like you get through everything else. together. and then you’ll take a nice long break that’ll actually be a break and not look at your phone unless it’s an actually emergency, because it’s starting to rot your brain keeping up with all of these numbers lately. yeah. that’ll work. just have to make it through the idol awards.”
he takes a breath, recenters. realizes they’re playing soda pop on the grainy speakers overhead and automatically starts humming and nodding his head along to the beat.
“do you always talk to yourself like this?”
he’s not proud of the sound that leaves him at the innocent question, but it’s too late to try and save face by the time he gathers his wits about him again, flustered to find none other than one baby saja peering at him in thinly veiled… concern? curiosity? hard to tell. he has a can of some kind of soda in his hand as he closes the cooler door, one eyebrow raised impressively high.
“uh, not always, no?” he shrugs, coughing so he can duck his head and hopefully hide how red his ears are. this is the second time the guy managed to sneak up on him. although he’s not above admitting that it might have been on bobby for not paying more attention to his surroundings. “just… organizing my thoughts.”
“ah.” there’s something of a smirk tugging at the corner of baby’s lips. “do all humans ‘organize their thoughts’ the same way you do?”
the phrasing is odd enough that it startles a less than elegant snort out of him, and he shakes his head firmly. “no, we humans don’t always talk to ourselves aloud. it’s something i do sometimes, though. helps me sort out whatever is going on up in my head.”
“you were humming along to our song.” the blue haired man comments, changing topic.
“i can’t help that it’s catchy.” he shrugs in defense. “besides, it’s a good song. very… summery.”
(and apparently good enough to bring out some jealousy in his girls, but maybe that would be a good thing. remind them how much work it takes to have the level of stardom they’ve achieved with a healthy rivalry.)
“even though we’re huntrix’s enemies?” there’s a thoughtful pout on his features as he says it, not quite meeting his eyes.
“well, why shouldn’t i be excited for another group’s success?” bobby counters. “even if you are enemies. just because i love huntrix doesn’t mean i can’t support other groups too- i used to be an idol, i know how much pressure you guys have to be under.”
“besides,” he shrugs, snagging another bag of honey butter chips off the shelf- mira loves them, and with the ramyeon and the drinks he thinks they might be set for another long night of producing, “the industry isn’t always kind to new groups, let alone one where there’s already such high standards.”
“i suppose not.” baby says after several long moments of silence, finally closing the fridge and glancing down at the soda in his hand. “you don’t seem the type to have been on stage before.”
“yeah, it probably seems that way now.” he chuckles, half-heartedly striking a pose. his sneakers squeak against the floor, and he know it probably looks ridiculous, but he can’t help himself, and the smile he manages to coax out of baby is worth it. “it was a long time ago. before i met the girls.”
he misses the stage, sometimes. wishes that things had turned out different. they hadn’t, though, and it never did him any good to spend too much time lingering on the what if’s when he’d set himself down a different path.
“you care about them.”
“of course i do. they’re my girls.” he says immediately, fond. “they’re probably the closest thing i have to family, even if they do make my job harder sometimes.”
“it must be nice. having that kind of bond.” baby commented. if bobby didn’t know any better, he’d say that the other man sounded… wistful.
“you have your bandmates.” he says easily. “even though you’re a new group, it’s easy to see the chemistry you already have. if you work at it i don’t doubt that you can find a family there.”
“i don’t think-“ baby shakes his head, just as bobby’s phone pings. it’s a bright, cheerful thing, something zoey had set it to after getting her hands on it a while back. it splinters whatever moment they’d ventured into, brings bobby back to the present.
“hey. you never know until you try.” bobby says, gently snagging the soda out of his hand. “i’ll pay for this- my treat.”
“oh, that’s-“
“don’t worry about it.” he calls over his shoulder, headed to the front. “just think about it, yeah?”
he checks out, double checking his messages weren’t anything terribly urgent before turning to hand the drink to baby. it was almost comedic that he looked so touched by the action, but bobby didn’t have the time to wait around when another notification popped up on his phone. not the girls, this time- the production crew. something to do with the next filming for golden, or if there would be one.
“thanks.” he catches as he’s halfway through the doors.
if he’d had the chance to glance back, he’d see the odd look the other man gave the beverage, brows furrowed at the odd display of easy kindness. as it was, he didn’t, too wrapped up in the realities of managing the top girl group in south korea.
-
the day after the fansign-
there’s more photos circulating after the fansign. naturally.
true to form, mira’s predictions have proven correct; fans are unable to agree on anything without a common enemy, and #boba is now a trending tag right along #rujinu. #miromabby and #zoeystery have dropped down a couple of spots, but all four of them are still in the top ten recently (and most) searched.
bobby couldn’t afford to keep an eye on the whims of the fandom when huntrix had an interview and a cup sleeve scheduled for the day. it was good for them to get out and actually interact with fans in person, happy to give back to their community for the support and effort to continually organize independent events like this.
instead, once they reach the café, he mutes his phone, sticks it in his pocket, and makes a pointed effort to disconnect. His girls are right in front of him and the most important notifications are always on for any of the calls that actually require his attention.
maybe this is the kind of reset the girls need to find their groove again- something that bobby can’t always convey when they’ve gotten into a rut, creative or otherwise. that their fans love them regardless of how they’re doing in the charts, or what they perform and when.
it does seem to be working, at least; some of the tension drains away from rumi’s shoulders the longer they’re engaging with the fans, signing some of the items and ordering the drinks that had been created for them. the way mira and zoey play up their antics as they take selcas with the art on the walls and make a game of making funny faces behind rumi’s back when their leader isn’t looking. he notices a few people recording and makes a mental note to keep an eye out for that later, notify the social media team to be on standby to ensure nothing gets put out that they aren’t comfortable with.
(not that he thinks it would happen; mira tends to be the one most commonly on the receiving end of a trending hashtag campaign, and it’s almost always the fans themselves who put it to rest. something about rbf this or too stoic that. rumi is too serious despite being the head of the group, and zoey divides the more traditional folk with her mixed heritage. as if she’s the only one in the industry… sure.)
god, he needs a nap.
sometimes, it feels like the universe has a sense of humor. not one that wants to take any mercy on bobby, but it’s fine. he’s doing great. because it doesn’t take long for several of the saja boys to turn up; though this time it seems to be by complete accident if the way romance, abby and baby try to backpedal when they walk in is any indication. clearly, no one had checked the online channels for what was going on in the area.
then again, the abrupt abort mission faces could also have been more to do with the way the girls were glowering at them when they thought no one was looking. which, not a good look. he subtly moves behind zoey, clearing his throat. usually, he can count on their resident ray of sunshine and source of sea turtle facts to reroute the trio back to their more professional state before he has to step in.
(he’d rather not, honestly, but he will if they don’t correct it asap. he does not have the time to be chasing down unhappy fans online today.)
thankfully, the message appears to be received. zoey elbows rumi and mira subtly as she goes to wrap her arms around their shoulders, whispering through her teeth something that bobby can’t quite make out. rumi shoots him an apologetic look while mira looks sheepish.
“saja boys? where’s jinu?”
“mystery?”
“ohmygod, it’s baby!” someone squeals to their friend from a nearby table, visibly vibrating with excitement. “do you think he heard that huntrix would be here so he could see their manager?”
“i don’t know! oh my gosh, he’s so cute!”
the guys take it all in stride, offering smiles and bows as they greet anyone trying to get their attention.
bobby feels the smile freeze on his face as the words register. judging the way baby’s head turns, the other man heard it too. still, it doesn’t stop him from offering a- polite!- nod of acknowledgement as he claps his hands to refocus attention on the girls.
“and a special thank you to the saja boys for coming to support huntrix today!” he grits, hating the sudden feeling of eyes on him as the fans in the café slowly change the subject of their attention from huntrix. “unfortunately, the girls do have other places to be today-“ a chorus of disappointed awws- “but hopefully they can come out again soon!”
“yeah!” rumi chimes in, offering a warm smile to the captive audience, “thank you to all of our hunters for giving us your energy- i hope we can make you proud!”
“thank you for coming out today, everyone!” zoey adds, sending little air kisses and finger hearts to anyone in sight. “hwaiting!”
“we appreciate your support.” mira charms, waving in tiny before gearing up to say goodbye. she plays a couple matches of gawi bawi bo, turns up the aegyo when she plays rock each match and the fans ask for it.
no one fights him on cutting the time short- not that they would know- as he gently herds the trio out the door. where, coincidentally, the saja boys have remained awkwardly throughout the entire exchange. it reminds bobby of cornered animals pretending they’re smaller than they are to avoid detection.
for his own sanity, bobby doesn’t make eye contact with baby. better not to give the fans any more fuel to add to the fire than necessary… even if he knows that it’s highly unlikely.
-
it feels like watching the online community build rome in a day with how quickly the newest photos and theories are spreading across the tags. the fact that huntrix’s manager had acknowledged the saja boys- that baby saja had been in the same room as him, no less!- seems to have triggered a new level of feral tenacity bobby hasn’t seen in years when he scrolls through his phone.
(there’s no enthusiasm in it, he’s fully been treating it like a live grenade and the social media team have been made aware that he is now included in the searches to keep an eye out for. But he does it for the girls, and he will probably be asking for a raise if the current trends keep up whatever they’re doing.)
ship wars, indeed. it seems like people can’t figure out whether to double down and commit to the original zoeystery (the triad in which baby saja is both mystery and zoey’s child but also… their romantic partner? bobby hasn’t figured out the appeal nor the logic to that one yet, and zoey doesn’t seem to have an answer beyond giggling and twirling her hair the second mystery saja gets mentioned in conversation) or boba, the ever present and charming huntrix manager and baby saja.
“i told you.” mira tells him point blank when he finally had enough and throws his phone onto the couch with a noise that may or may not have come from somewhere deep in his soul, “we’re going to be here for a while.”
“it never ends!” he exclaims in frustrated disbelief, tugging on his hair. “how does it never end? and every time it seems like it might, someone else will start it all over again!”
“that’s how it works now, i guess.” zoey shrugs, though she looks like she’s about ready to go hunt down whoever’s been causing him distress personally. “it didn’t used to be, i don’t think?”
“nah. definitely gotten worse.” mira nods sagely.
bobby has neither the time nor the energy to unpack that, so instead he grabs a handful of snacks on his way out, intent on locking himself in his office and (possibly) beating his head against a wall until this nightmare ends.
he does not take his phone with him.
-
part four: the inevitable crash out
bobby’s newfound internet fames means that he does, quite by accident, wind up avoiding the saja boys by extension. he has absolutely nothing against them- really, he doesn’t!- but it’s been days and his nerves are quickly becoming shot. every time he’s out in public, whether with huntrix or without, he can’t shake the feeling that someone’s watching him.
the fans have officially reached rabid status, the first article about #boba: the ship name taking the internet by storm! dropped just that morning, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing, and he’s genuinely considering throwing the damn thing off the roof of the huntrix building just so he doesn’t have to deal with it anymore. even the company reached out, asking if he needed to be relieved for a break, which; no. he will not be leaving rumi, mira and zoey to fend for themselves when the idol awards are literally only a few days out.
that being said, the next thing he knows, he’s hiding in a café bathroom breathing into a paper bag like his life depends on it. someone had come up to him when he’d gone to order and it was like a switch had flipped in his brain. it’s been years since he’s been in the public eye like this, and fandom and the internet have changed drastically since he was an idol, and there’s a reason that being an idol never worked out for him-
a small, hurt sound crawls up out of his throat at the reminder of it, closing his eyes and trying not to cry. maybe if he’d tried harder then, fought harder against the allegations then-
“no.” he chokes out in a whisper. “no, you did everything you could, it wasn’t your fault.”
the words don’t mean much, don’t relieve the way his chest feels like it’s caving in on itself, but they’re a distraction so he can focus on sucking air back into his lungs where it should be and not exhaling out in shaky wheezes, which is a weird sound to make, right? he probably shouldn’t be making that sound, and yet here he is, trapped in his own thoughts and spiralling. he doesn’t even have his damn phone with him, letting everyone know that he was taking a personal day and directing everyone to forward their calls to upper management.
as if things couldn’t possibly get any worse, he hears the door open.
cool! that’s fine, so fine, he’s doing great sitting here trying not to pass out, and now there’s another person walking in.
“still organizing your thoughts?”
-
baby thinks he will actually commit murder if he has to spend another minute with romance and abby. the pair are attached at the hip to begin with, and they’ve only become more particularly insufferable as of late (to no one’s surprise). jinu, in his ‘infinite wisdom’- his words, certainly not baby’s- had essentially dropped them into his lap so that he and mystery could… what, get some rest???
the audacity of this bitch.
being shackled to the pink duo means that they’re topside in the human world so they could see how much the world had changed since they’d lived in it. personally, baby didn’t see much appeal, but he also knew he’d been alive much longer than some of his bandmates.
a much simpler time, as it were.
(he’d take the hit on the ahjussi comments for that one, knowing that in some ways he was very much old fashioned.)
he’d finally managed to give them the slip when they’d gotten distracted by a clothing display in one of the shops down the street, ducking into the first building he could see and wondering if it would be worth it to simply go back to the under out in the open or not.
mmm… probably not. even if humans couldn’t quite perceive demonic energy like that so strongly, it wouldn’t be worth it for the verbal chew out he’d get for it later.
(honestly, what was the point of being a demon if he couldn’t even use the scarce benefits that came with it?)
“wait, where the hell did he go?”
shit. shit shit shit shit.
he doesn’t wait to see if they’ve gotten a glimpse of him, slipping through the tables and making a beeline for the restroom in the back. summoning just enough demonic energy means he can escape without anyone paying much mind to him- blue hair tends to be horrifically easy to spot in a crowd, he’s learned recently- closing and locking the door and holding his breath to see if he’d been found out.
given the lack of the door being kicked in or additional voices, baby thinks he’s in the clear.
phew.
except-
the manager- bobby, his memory supplies, is tucked halfway under the sink, paper bag discarded next to him. baby isn’t that out of practice of being human; he knows the signs of a panic attack when he sees them. knowing how to deal with it, on the other hand? very different.
“still organizing your thoughts?” he asks, pretending like he isn’t startled to see him there.
nailed it.
the other man flinches, wide eyes snapping up to meet his own. baby wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t entirely recognize him. after a long moment, he exhales a laugh that’s entirely too airy to be casual, swiping at his eyes and refusing to glance back up again. likely embarrassed.
“yeah, i guess you could say that.” he agrees quietly.
it’s a little awkward; there’s no avoiding it. they’re literally locked in a restroom in some random café under wildly different circumstances, but baby doesn’t find the need to immediately bolt. he’s had several run ins with the man over the last couple of weeks and he can say with certainty he doesn’t… hate it? it could even go so far as to be called pleasant- especially compared to the nonsense he deals with on a daily basis.
hm.
the human doesn’t judge him for being a demon, firstly. (probably because he clearly has no idea) and he’s more open minded than some of the other humans he’s already been forced to field conversation with. could be for any reason, really, except he knows that he used to be an idol.
(whether he did or didn’t steal romance and baby’s phone to look the man up after their run in at the convenience store is no one’s business but his own, and search histories were easy enough to delete, after all.)
“i guess i’m just not used to so much attention anymore.” bobby finally says. curls a little further into himself, knees drawing up to his chest. “it’s been a while since i’ve really seen myself as a public figure, and i don’t think i’m dealing with it that well, honestly.”
“we share that, at least.” baby agrees, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.
“really?”
baby makes a sound in the back of his throat. “of course. i hate all of the-“ he gestures, thinks he might make a face to reflect it. “it’s annoying.”
bobby snorts. “yeah, you’re not entirely wrong. i thought it was bad dealing with it for the girls, but now it seems like no matter i go someone is watching me.”
that’s a sensation baby has become intimately familiar with over the years. he can’t really remember the last time he truly didn’t have gwi-ma’s voice in the back of his head, spinning his own memories and thoughts against him to keep him pressed under his thumb. performing is perhaps the closest he’s gotten- the moments where he can detach his conscious thought and simply exist.
“i’m sorry. that sounds… complicated.”
“that’s one way of putting it, i guess.” bobby agrees, uncurling slightly. “being online all the time probably isn’t helping, but it’s part of the job for me.”
“it’s… a lot. so much information all at once.” baby nods. “if abby and romance weren’t always hovering over my shoulder i’d be happier never looking at a phone.”
“have you seen what people are saying?”
“about?”
“us.” if possible, it seems bobby shrinks further into himself.
“oh- the ‘shipping’? some. enough to know i don’t know anything about it at all.” baby admits, pulling a face, lip curling. “it’s hardly of anyone’s concern what anyone does in their own time aside from mine.”
though he can already see where everything connects. for someone who was already submersed in that culture for so long, it had to feel overwhelming to suddenly be in the center of that sphere. a flicker of sympathy ripples through him for the other man, the sensation blindsiding him for a moment.
“it’s no one’s business but yours how you feel about it.” he hums, gathering his thoughts. “regardless if it’s false, or fantasy. words only hold so much meaning as you allow them to. and you aren’t alone- it seems like huntrix truly care for you. if you asked, i don’t doubt they would support you.”
it feels like an echo of a conversation they’d already had, but baby sees the way that it helps. the furrow between the other’s man’s eyes smooths out slightly, the tension perhaps not quite so severe.
(it’s… nice. seeing something good happen due to his actions.)
“baby, we know you’re in there!”
“did the hunters get you?”
thunderous knocking on the door scares him enough he flinches. never mind that simple doors are not nearly enough to stop a determined abby if he so chooses. romance, possibly- it depended on what happened to lie on the other side of it.
… yeah he realized how dumb that sounds the second the thought crossed his mind.
“give me a damn minute!” he hisses through the door, momentarily appeasing the toddlers standing on the other side. he pinches his nose like it’ll relieve any of the pressure he can already feel building back up, any amount of time spent apart from them nullified by their mere presence.
(he’s too old for this.)
“thanks.” baby hears before arms are wrapping around his shoulders.
he doesn’t even have enough time to process the touch before it’s gone again, and he stutters something that could have been another language for the way his mind has screeched to a grinding halt. bobby won’t look at him again, but there’s a ghost of a smile on his face, and it softens his features back into something baby is more familiar with.
“you should smile more.” he blurts out. mortified, cheeks flushed up to his ears, he bolts, half dragging a loudly protesting romance and abby along with him as he pushes through the door. he’ll be damned again if he turns around to see whatever reaction he’d gotten with the statement, already wrestling the confliction of the strange, half fond thoughts that come to mind every time he meets the other man.
humanity is confusing.
-
part five: in which bobby’s not mad about it, just confused-
their first “date”, if it can be called that, happens intentionally. (on baby’s part, anyway.)
now, whether he sees the hunters running around the city… no he did not, and no, he did not want to know. there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that it was one or more of the younger demons stirring up trouble to sate their cabin fever, and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it tonight.
after their last encounter, baby had (not) been keeping tabs on the hunters’ manager.
(he had.)
he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason why- romance and abby had taken great pleasure in airing out that secret the second they’d gotten within earshot of the others- but he felt a little less like a demon when it came to the other man. by all reasoning they should never have even met, let alone form whatever odd, not-acquaintanceship he felt they had.
mystery had gotten slightly clingier over the last few days of that realization; he might have picked up on his more introspective moods during their idol schedule too, if the more possessive behavior against romance and abby were any indication.
(jinu was going through his own thing, baby didn’t really care what he was doing.)
this, though? at best probably considered a sign of insanity. at the very least toeing a line of betrayal with gwi-ma. hands shoved in his pockets, oversized powder blue hoodie swallowing his petite frame, black jeans- essentially everything opposite the idol image he usually had given that he was aiming for a more low-key appearance.
by now baby isn’t afraid to admit that he doesn’t think he could eat this human’s soul. too invested? probably. he’s been keeping an eye out for the human, scaring off the lesser demons that come through the rifts with a snap of his teeth and a flash of his eyes.
from what he’s seen, the worst of whatever petty online arguments seems to have blown over, and with it a drastic uptick in the human’s attitude at the last couple of music shows. even if he hadn’t had abby gleefully keeping him updated on the topic baby could have guessed it.
“you know, if i didn’t know any better i’d say you’re following me.”
the curses that come out of his mouth are hardly his fault, but he’d also not expected bobby to clock him so quickly. or for him to actually have snuck up on him without any kind of indication.
impressive.
“sorry.” it’s a human reflex, one he’s picked up from being around so many humans, maybe. or maybe just one that’s come back to him from spending so much time around a single human.
“you looked like you were thinking pretty hard there. wanna talk about it? we could go grab something to eat, maybe get boba?” the look in bobby’s eye suggests the irony isn’t lost on him, but it does remind baby of the most pressing question he’s had since all of this started.
“why do they call our ship name boba?”
-
and finally, the prelude(?):
“hey baby, did you see what these humans have been doing?” abby calls from where he’s curled over the cellphone he and romance had somehow gotten their hands on at some point- honestly, best not to ask too many questions with those two, it tended to lead to more headaches than not.
“should i?” he drawls, sprawled over a beanbag chair- truly, a delightful invention, though he can feel his hips begin to ache from the way he’s slowly sunk down into it over the last couple of hours. he’s tired in a way he isn’t familiar with, too many years of being in the underworld where his only purpose was surviving gwi-ma’s puppetry in the depths of his mind.
“they do this thing called ‘shipping’-“
“what does a ship have to do with anything?” he asks, confused as romance makes a grab for the electronic device and launches himself at the smallest of the group. baby is not above the shriek of terror he lets out, trapped as the full weight of the other man lands on his more petite frame with the force of a landslide.
“it’s a turn of phrase of some kind, haven’t figured it out yet.” he’s waved off as he wheezes, all wind knocked out of his lungs as romance makes himself comfortable on his lap. “we’ll ask jinu later.”
“anyways-“ abby continues smoothly, adding his weight to the unfortunately trapped small man- “shipping is this fascinating thing where the humans act like matchmakers.”
“fascinating.” baby manages, arm waving like a flag toward mystery, who simply cocks his head and does nothing. the quirk of his lips says enough about how entertained he is by the sight in front of them though, the bitch.
baby makes a mental note to strangle him first when he escapes.
now that he’s exhausted all of his (limited) methods of escape, he goes limp with a drawn-out whine, letting romance shove the screen in his face and shake it. like that’s going to help him see whatever the idiot is trying to show him in the first place.
“the humans think you and the hunters’ handler make a cute couple.” abby chimes in helpfully.
“handler?” baby squints, hand snapping down on romance’s wrist like a vice. and- he does recognize the man, now that he sees the photos. shorter, handsome in a soft, plain sort of way. not unappealing, he’d admit, save for one fact.
“you do realize that we’re probably going to eat his soul, right.”
“doesn’t mean you couldn’t have some fun first.” romance shrugs.
“not going to happen. get off me.”
“make me.”
“how old are you again?”
“younger than you, ahjussi.”
a wordless snarl of seething rage leaves him as the smallest of the trio grabs the nearest limb and sinks his teeth into it like a feral animal, shaking his head once his jaw locked. romance screeches in pain, smacking at the top of baby’s head around abby’s broad frame and knocking him off the beanbag.
jinu turns up right about when baby finally manages to free himself, his demon form taking off after a shrilly retreating romance’s back while mystery watches from his perch nearby. abby wastes no time in taking over baby’s original spot, the victor of the phone as he settles in to watch clips of their impromptu performance.
“do i even want to know.” he sighs.
mystery shrugs, as if to say i don’t know what you want me to tell you.
“no, you’re right.” jinu agrees, pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off the oncoming headache, “probably better i don’t ask.”