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Chapter Text

Just right

{. ~~~Zoey’s POV~~~ .}

After facing off against Gwi-ma in an epic battle against demons and hunters, Zoey knew two things. Gwi-ma was defeated for a long, long time, and all of the Saja Boys were dead. Well… or so she thought.

So, it was well to her surprise when two months after the battle, in the midst of a mildly heavy rainstorm, in the middle of the night at the Huntrix tower, that a knock on her balcony door would reveal a very mysterious boy.

Mystery Saja.

As any rational person such as Zoey would do, she instantly pulled out her glowing kunais and held them to his throat. Very smooth Zoey. Mystery held up his hands, still calm and collected as always. Distant thunder roared behind them, adding to the scene. She narrowed her eyes. He wasn’t in demon form like the last time she saw him. In fact, he was dressed rather nicely, a crew neck top with a long-sleeve turtleneck underneath and baggier pants. His hair was the same as always. Long, silvery, and covering his handsome.. perfectly dewy.. symmetrical face..— snap out of it!

Confusion was prominent in Zoey’s eyes, and since there were many questions lingering in the air, Zoey decided to ask them. He interrupted her weekly session of K-drama, after-all; any and all questions needed to be answered in this situation.

That brought them to the now.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Sat right across from one another on two of her favorite beanbag chairs, Zoey and Mystery stared at each other in tense silence. It was very intense. Very. Very intense. And awkward. Zoey why are you making it awkward, get to business girl!

So now… how to ask him in a way he’ll answer. He wasn’t the most talkative, unless she was talking barking— but did that really count?

“Right… so… I’m going to make an educated guess… and if I’m right, I just want you to nod. Okay?”
He nodded.
“Okay.” She whispered. They stared at each other for another long moment of silence. At least.. she thought they were. He seemed really still, and she couldn’t exactly see his face like at the battle, so she had to assume he wasn’t zoned out or looking elsewhere. He was drenched though, that she knew for sure. How long had he been out there in the storm?

“I’m going to guess that—“ a huge gulp of air. “During the battle while Gwi-ma was having a huge hissy fit and you guys were coming at us and all, you already had a plan of action to get out of there, and after I punched you— which I’m sort of sorry for, by the way— although I did like your face!—“
focus Zoey!!
“— that when I slashed at you with my kunai, you teleported away before my blade came in contact with you, you went back into human form, and hid away so that Gwi-ma or the Honmoon couldn’t get you?”

It was a really hot take, and not even she couldn’t even catch up with her logic— to the point it made her negligent to her surroundings. She didn’t even notice that he was nodding mindlessly to everything she said until she finished her ramble.
Okay wow, that was the first..
They stared at each other once again, for the 30,000th time that night.

“Zoey..” he mumbled. That made her eyes snap up from absentmindedly staring at his lips. “…I want to change.”
Huh?
“Change? You mean like.. redemption?”
He nodded again.
Her eyes narrowed at the admission. It was so sudden;so blunt. Zoey had never heard of a demon redemption before, other than in K-dramas and books, so she was suspicious.

“And how do I know you’re not just trying to steal my soul and help Gwi-ma rise to power again?”
For the first time that night his shoulders seemed to tense. “I’m not,” his voice was genuine. “I want to change. Be better. Human.”

Zoey bit her cheek, nibbling on her bottom lip. He came to her to become a better person-.. well.. demon. It was almost heartwarming if it wasn’t so odd.
“Promise?” She held out her right pinky finger. He smiled lightly, you could miss it if you didn’t look closely enough. But he didn’t grab her pinky, he kind of just.. stared in amused confusion. “You— you grab it to secure a promise—“ Zoey explained with a small suppressed giggle. He just hummed and grabbed it with his whole hand. Good enough. “Right, let’s get you set up!”

~~~ end of chapter one~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter two!
{. ~~~ Zoey’s POV!~~~ .}

It’s been ages since Zoey had a sleepover with someone outside of Huntrix. Of course, Rumi, Mira, and her have sleepovers every Saturday, but it.. kind of hardly counts since they live together. Well— not exactly, Zoey loves Saturday nights no matter what level it can be counted to; it’s always so fun with the girls! They sing and dance and cuddle— but of course her and Mystery wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t know him well enough for that! And she wouldn’t do it! He’s a demon!

D.e.m.o.n.

Get it together girl!

You literally almost killed him!

Zoey snapped out of her thoughts as she grabbed a few extra pillows and blankets for him. He may be a demon, but he’s a guest! Guests should always be comfortable, it’s something her father and mother always used to say…
When they agreed, that is.

Dang it, stop it Zoey, now is not the time.

She walked back into the room, arms stuffed with all of the items. She had to kick the door closed with her foot. Shucks, that’ll suck to open again-..

“Okay, I got you some blankets and pillows! I’ll help get you set up on the couch, if you want the couch that is, I can totally set you up a guest bedroom! Gosh, I didn’t even think to ask!—“ She began yet another ramble.

Mystery simply stared at her with a blank (lower) face. Zoey internally smacked herself, thinking she made him uncomfortable. She turned around quickly and began speed walking to the door. But when a hand suddenly shot out and gripped her bicep, she swiftly turned back to look at Mystery. He was holding her gently but firmly. Not so much to restrict her, but rather hold her in place. How considerate.

“Couch is fine..” he whispered, glancing down to the blankets and pillowed she seemed to be struggling to carry. Without another word he took half of the load into his arms. Zoey stared at him once again. She kept doing that.. and she ended up staring at his lips or biceps every time.

She blinked. “Couch. Right. Follow me!” And she zoomed off. The door was easier to open with less of a load, but she still dropped stuff, so he ended up holding and opening it up for her. “Thanks.” She murmured, resuming her zooming.
Mystery followed right behind her down the long blue and silver hallway. Minimalistic. That’s a good word to describe it. Two plants and a few portraits from fans or the media. It gave something special to the boring, long hallway. It was still a bit of a walk since she was further from the living room, Rumi having the closest for some odd reason. Her and Mira used it more, but she wasn’t really complaining. What was there really to complain about it? That fact that she couldn’t jump on the couch after waking up? She did that anyway! Still… now she felt like she wanted to be closer with a special guest being there. What if the others saw him and pounced? Oh god that would be messy.

Zoey froze in the middle of the hallway. Mystery stopped right behind her.

“Never mind! You’re sleeping in my room tonight!” She smiled awkwardly, her thoughts still racing. What a disaster. He just hummed and turned around to walk back to her room. With her lead they both went back to her room and set up a nice little beanbag bed in the corner with all of the blankets and pillows. Zoey brushed her hands together, clapping in satisfaction. It was comfy and away from any prying eyes. That meant there was one last thing…

His soaked clothes..

“I don’t know if I have anything in your size..” she whispered, her cheeks reddening at the thought of him in her clothes. Just the image made her mind run wild. “Uhm!-Oh!-I might have an oversized hoodie, if you want it. It’s blue-ish purple, so just your color!” He nodded quietly, simply glancing to the turtle plushies on her bed. They were all sorted by size— Mira and Rumi got them for her.

Zoey rushed over to her oversized section of the closet, scouring through the organized color-coded clothes until she came upon the purple section. There she grabbed the large blue-ish hoodie, turning around and handing it to him. “You can get changed into that—“ she spoke while closing the closet door, only to pause when he started taking off his soaked shirt.

Abs… hehe
wait!
Stop!

“Ah, no,no,no! I mean in the bathroom, silly!”
She exclaimed. Mystery stopped, a small frown on his face. Was he disappointed? No, he couldn’t be, that would be odd. Regardless, he marched over to the small bathroom on the other side of the room, closing the door with a soft click.
Zoey let out an exasperated sigh, sitting on the bed and covering her heated face.

This was going to be a crazy night.

~~~~end of chapter two~~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter three
{. ~~~Mystery’s POV~~~ .}

Mystery didn’t want to hurt anyone. Not anymore, anyway. Sure, it was the original goal.. but that’s when he was under Gwi-ma’s control. And Gwi-ma made sure you stayed under that control. No. Matter. What. But he wasn’t able to be controlled anymore…He was free.

And that was the biggest relief of his entire past and present life.

A small absentminded smile came to Mystery’s face looking down at the “oversized” hoodie. It felt nice. And it smelled like Zoey. Which made it even better, in his opinion.

“You’re just my type!”

It was nice knowing he had that reassurance that she would help him. They both liked each other.. to some extent. But that’s not the only reason he was here. He did want to change.

For her

It wasn’t hard to admit that.

Just.. maybe not to her face.

He tugged off all of his soaked clothes, placing them on the little shower mat so he didn’t get her floor wet and she accidentally slipped in the morning. Just the thought of her being hurt made him frown.

When he made sure no water would be a health risk/slipping hazard, he then turned and came face-to-face with the mirror. His gaze went downcast as he slipped the hoodie over his head. It ended up only coming to his upper thighs, so that really had him wondering how it would look on her. Gosh that’s too cute to think of-…no. Calm. Calm Ha-… mystery.

Mystery shifted his focus to the small turtles on the sleeves of the hoodie. Did she like turtles that much? There were some on her bed.. She seemed more like a cat and dog person…,and the scents for her shampoo? Pineapple and pomegranate? Interesting. That must be why she smelled so good— it was unique.

He stepped out of the bathroom, glancing to the bed. Zoey was already fast asleep and snoring gently. He walked over to her, grabbing a blanket and laying it over her, tucking her in so she didn’t get cold or be uncomfortable. His hand brushed some loose hair out of her face, eyes locked onto the many freckles that adorned it.

I wonder how many there are…

Mystery stepped back and walked to the beanbag bed, slowly getting on and covering himself with one of the blankets. It was surprisingly comfortable. He was out immediately.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Mystery woke up the next morning with the best sleep in hundreds of years behind his eyes. His entire body felt.. light, yet heavy. Like he didn’t want to get up ever again. However, the sun had rose over the horizon of the city buildings. So he forced himself to sit up and rub his eyes.

Slowly he stood and checked over on Zoey. She was still out like a light, so he figured the others would be as well. What were their names again?

He made sure to tidy up the bed and a little bit of the room. Though, he didn’t touch her dirty clothes, it felt like an invasion of privacy, and he didn’t want to do that—he respected her. Once done, he stalked out to find the kitchen, roaming down a random hall. With no idea where on earth he was going, he just.. teleported, blinking at how oddly packed it was. There was a lot of decor and food to the side on the endless counters. It was the complete opposite of the hallway. Bowls that seemed hand painted, little flowers on top of the cabinets, and personal touches over what seemed to be each girl’s assorted cabinet. He hummed, looking around for anything he can make as a ‘thank you’ for Zoey. What did humans eat for breakfast these days?

He looked in what he assumed to be the “Zoey” cabinet. It had a blue ‘Z’ on the bottom so…There was a huge supply of snacks like pepero, chips, a small corner of candy bars, premade kimpab, and a few others. He then turned his head and spotted a large supply of ramyeon. Perfect.

As he began reading the instructions to the Zoey “Hamburger” (whatever that was.. probably an American thing- he knew she was from there, so that was probably it) and pouring scalding hot water into the small cup, he was in a deep focus. He wanted this to be perfect.

But then, a voice came from behind.

“Put that down and turn around, demon.”

~~~end of chapter three~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter four
{. ~~~Zoey’s POV~~~ .}

Zoey woke up to the chirping of the Seoul city birds and the honking of cars in traffic. Sunlight shone through the windows that surrounded the outward facing walls. Peaceful… quiet.. calm—

Was that yelling?

Zoey rolled over to face Mystery’s bed, eyes widening when she saw that he wasn’t there. “Oh no…” she whispered, shooting up from the bed. The blanket fell to the floor in a jumbled mess with other messy clothes on hidden under her bed. When did she… Nevermind, bigger problems!

She rushed out of the room, trying to find the source of the yelling. Her footsteps echoed across the empty hallways, the scarce decor making it seem like she was going so.. fast, yet slow at the same time. It was confusing and stressful. Then, finally, she came across the kitchen and froze. There was Mira, her weapon pointed right at his heart… well— where his heart should be. If he had one..

“Mira!” Zoey exclaimed. She rushed forward and firmly grabbed her shoulder. “Calm down , he’s not here to hurt anyone!” Mystery took a small step back, his lower back pressing into the countertop. He gripped the small styrofoam bowl he was holding— was that Hamburger ramyeon?— Nevermind, focus!—

“We’ll talk about this later, but just calm down. Please, Mi..” she whispered. Mira gave her a small glance, gritting her teeth together before stepping back. “Fine, but if he does anything it’s back to the demon realm.” She growled. Zoey stepped up to go grab him, but Mira pulled her right back.
“If he tries anything, I’m stepping in. We just defeated them, Zo, I don’t want another risk of the honmoon being infiltrated…”

Zoey nodded slowly and turned back to Mystery. She tugged his arm carefully and pulled him into the hallway away from Mira.

“I’m sorry about her— she can get really intense at times—but you shouldn’t have wandered off—“ she paused when she spotted the ramyeon cup being held out to her. “…for me?” Her voice wavered. Mystery nodded. “As a thank you..” he murmured. Dang it, don’t tear up Zoey!
“Aw, that’s really sweet, thank you.” She whispered. “But no roaming around as of now.” Her arms crossed firmly. Mystery’s bottom lip pouted out like a hurt puppy. It hurt to scold him— wait, no, not scolding. Uhhhhh…— yeah… scolding. Gosh, now she felt mean. Mira poked her head out of the corner, making sure nothing happened to them, even though she was hurting him more than him hurting her. Zoey felt kind of bad, so she just took the ramyeon out of his hands.

“Thank you, Mystery..” she murmured. “That was really sweet.” The smallest smile came onto his face at the appreciation.
Zoey smiled back, patting his shoulder. “Now let’s get you some breakfast, yeah? I could make you uhhh… eggs and rice?”
“Okay.” He whispered. Together they walked back into the kitchen, spotting Mira out of the corner of their eyes. She was eating an apple aggressively, sending glares to an unbothered and surprisingly proud Mystery. Under surveillance they began to make eggs and a some rice. Weirdly enough, Rumi was nowhere to be seen. While it was cooking, she ate her ramyeon, and gave small bits to Mystery. After ten minutes, Zoey loaded the meal into the small bowl. It wasn’t cooked all that great.. but she did put some effort in! That’s what mattered, right?

He lifted it up to his mouth and just began digging into it with his face. Zoey stared at him in shock. “You.. can eat it with a fork or spoon you know!— she carefully pulled the bowl down from his face, amused and confused. She grabbed him one and picked out a small corner, showing him how to eat it while chewing it slowly. He took the spoon and began eating it like she showed him, not a care in the world that it was the same spoon.

Oh-… she could’ve gotten him another one.

He didn’t seem to mind though, he was just enjoying his food.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Zoey was sitting on the far end of the couch, watching Mystery watch the Tv. She had a random Tv show on, though she wasn’t necessarily paying attention. She was more so paying attention to Mystery. How was she going to handle this? Mira already knew, it was only time before Rumi saw. Rumi was part-demon, so maybe she would understand a redemption, but what if she didn’t? They were still their enemies, same kind or not! oh gosh, this was a disaster.

Mystery kept his gaze on the Tv the entire time. The main male lead brought out an electric guitar, playing it out on stage to impress his love interest. It seemed to pique his interest. “What’s that?” He turned to her. Zoey snapped out of her thoughts when he asked, looking to the TV, and then down to him. “That’s an electric guitar. It’s uhh…I don’t really know how to explain that, it’s a guitar that can get really loud.. uhhh…” she blinked in thought. He hummed, looking back to the Tv. “It’s interesting..”
Then it came to her: he hasn’t seen much of the modern world, had he?
“Y’know… maybe I could show you around the city?” Gosh, don’t make it awkward again Zoey. It’s a genuine offer—

“Sure.” He whispered. Zoey smiled softly.

“Sweet! I’m going to show you everything!” She squealed in excitement, jumping from the couch and rushing to her room. “Tomorrow?”
He nodded and she ran off to plan in her notebook.

She was determined to make this the best day of his new life.

~~~end of chapter four~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter five
{. ~~~~Zoey’s POV~~~~ .}

The entire rest of the day— and night— into the early morning Zoey had been planning and planning for their day around the city. 30 minutes alone was dedicated to whether or not it could be considered a date… and she eventually decided it wasn’t.

(Or was it? Mwuahhahahah)

She kept writing and writing until the clock struck 6 am. She decided to try and get at least two hours of sleep until the sun was higher in the sky. Crawling back into her bed, she tucked herself under a few covers, snuggled her biggest turtle stuffy in her arms and closed her eyes tightly.

Now for a little bit of sleep-…. Who is hovering over her right now.

Zoey’s eyes shot open only to be met with the sight of Mystery standing over her. He was like a child that just threw up—

“Hello. Are you ready?” He murmured. He wasn’t dressed in anything new, in fact— he was still wearing Zoey’s hoodie, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
“Ready.. what? No its 6 in the morning—“
She murmured, blinking away her slight exhaustion. Was she going crazy? Was it a dream— or was she sleep deprived? Mystery stared at her, tilting his head. “The sun’s up. Or do you want to wait until it’s over the buildings?”

Gosh… how old is he?

“No… uhm.. it’s alright, just.. give me a few minutes-.. and— do you want something to wear?” Zoey didn’t have anything causal in his size… so what could she do..? “Maybe you could wear your outfit you came here in? It might be dry, uhhh.” She sat up, grabbing her notebook, flipping through the schedule. Clothing shopping could probably fit, but should she get rid of the manicure?, or the smoothies? No smoothies were great! Shoot.. what was she doing?!

Mystery placed his hand on her head. He tilted his own to the side, noticing her somewhat distressed expression. Zoey slowly looked up to him, her breath stopping for a second. Had she showed it on her face?
“Uhm.. okay. So.. maybe we could go clothing shopping at the mall? We’ll have an hour before our appointments.. and then we can go grab food and smoothies..?” She whispered, her shoulders perked up more than usual. He nodded. “Sleep. We’ll go later.” He mumbled soothingly.

Zoey nodded, lying back down. That was probably the most she’s ever heard him talk..

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

At around 9:30, Zoey woke up slowly. Mystery wasn’t in the room anymore, probably leaving her to sleep in peace. She sat up and stretched her arms, bouncing out of bed to her closet.
The cold was immediate, but she hardly cared, she was more focused on making this the best day of Mystery’s modern life. Sure, he’s probably seen some things in the modern world— from being a saja boy and all— but he still hasn’t seen a lot. Changing into a pair of waist-high light blue jeans and a dark blue crop top (with a bucket hat for disguise, obvi), she put on her everyday shoes and skipped out of her room. “Ready?” She asked excitedly, a huge grin plastered on her face. Mystery stood and briefly nodded before heading to the elevator.

Zoey followed right behind him, pressing the button and letting them both get settled while they traveled down hundreds of floors. Why was their tower so big again? She didn’t even really notice he was tender than usual. After a small ding, she glanced over to Mystery in curiosity.
Mystery shifted uncomfortably, his hands fidgeting with his gloves. Zoey picked up on it immediately. “Hey.. you okay?” She murmured softly.
Her first thought was: ‘what was wrong’, and then ‘how can she fix it?’

Damn “eagerness to please..”

Mystery glanced over to her, trying to seem calm. “…I don’t like elevators.” He murmured. That made Zoey pause. He didn’t like elevators.. but he could fly? Maybe it was the lack of control, she didn’t like elevators a whole lot either when she was younger. Then again, she grew over it with the performance transitions.

“Well.. we have a few floors to go, do you wanna take the stairs when we go to the mall?” She whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked between her hand, and then her face— at least.. that’s what it looked like— before nodding. They stared at each other for a long moment before Zoey’s face heated up and she took her hand back. “Okay!” She giggled to herself. Gosh, what was happening to her? After a minute or two the elevator dinged at the final stop, the doors opening to reveal the grand entrance of the building.

The entire lobby itself was lined with extravagant interior, statues and plants everywhere. They didn’t own the entire building, but they lived at the three top floors of the entire thing. Rumi paid millions to get the HUNTR/X sign put up. Huge deal for them all.

“Ready to go?” Zoey guided him off the elevator, a huge smile on her face. Mystery himself smiled. “Ready.”

She squealed and locked arms with him, pulling him out of the lobby and into the outdoors of the city. “Let’s do this!”

~~~end of chapter five~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter six
{. ~~~~Mystery’s POV~~~~ .}

Mystery was a little excitement. A little, but still excited. Seeing the modern world in its fullest without knowing you’ll have to destroy it and everyone in it?

It was awesome.

Zoey was hopping along, eyes scanning the city for their first destination, he could see her nervous excitement out of the corner of his eyes. (And yes, he can use peripheral vision even with his hair, it’s thinner on the side). Mystery glanced around the city, listening to the hundreds of people and the occasional honking of a car. However, none of it seems to stun Zoey, no matter how loud.

He liked that. She didn’t waver easily.

“So… where are we going?” He whispered. She looked to him immediately. Then, with the largest grin on her face she said: “The mall :D!!!”
“Oh.. ok.” He murmured. Zoey squealed, hoping along through the streets, though trying to keep her identity hidden. How on earth was the bucket hat working so well?

But Mystery had to admire her excitement from behind. Her, carelessly skipping on the street, around the people, focused on giving him a good day. He felt his pulse increase in speed, those weird…

…Feelings…

…coming back. Now the only question he had was..:

What is a mall?

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Walking through the revolving doors of a two story mall, Zoey lead Mystery in, helping him when he got stuck in the doors. Those things were confusing to get through. But that wasn’t the most confusing part of the entire building.

Colors. Everywhere.
People. Everywhere.

So many people wearing so many colors
e v e r y w h e r e.

Mystery stepped toward one store, then immediately to the other. Zoey turned to him, a very wide smile on her face. “Let’s go get you some new clothes, on me.” He nodded. His nod seemed to flick a lever and next thing he knew, Zoey was holding his hand… dragging him over to a bright clothing store. Immediately when they stepped in, his eyes were bombarded with lights that made his head spin. She didn’t seem to notice though as she was too busy grabbing random clothes and showing them to him for his approval.

A pink shirt.. another pink shirt, a yellow shirt, some skinny jeans, some ripped skinny jeans, shorts, another blue shirt….. He only said yes to two of those clothes: a blue shirt and ripped skinny jeans. Zoey hummed, handing him the clothes. “Go try them on, I’ll wait over here.” She smiled.

Walking over to the room she pointed to, he quickly found a stall and changed into the outfit, staring at himself in the mirror. She seemed to like it so… he liked it too. Yeah. Sure it was tighter.. uncomfortable.. but it’s the style he’s use to.

For her. Change for the better.

And he already held her hand! It felt.. amazing. so amazing that his stomach did a flip just thinking about it, and his cheeks seemed warmer under his hair than usual.

He unlocked the stall door and stepped out, posing for her. (And if you want… there was a small EAURRRAHH in the background).

Zoey squealed in excitement. “Oh my gosh you look so good!” Mystery smiled, stepping closer to her.
“I’m glad you like it.” He murmured. Her eyes seemed to glow brighter at that.
“Well~ do you want to try more?” She tilted her head. Mystery hummed, looking thoroughly around the store. The brightness wasn’t really appealing to him, which is why he usually wore the darker colors in the first place, but—-
What is t h a t?

Mystery began walking over to a section, with dark washed and black jeans, red sleeveless turtlenecks, black shirts, graphic shirts, belts… holy moly, he loved this section. Zoey popped up behind him, glancing from his face then to the clothes. “You… like these?” She whispered. He nodded. “I do.”
“Do you want some?”
“I do”.
Zoey hummed softly behind him. “Okay then.. pick out what you want.” She smiled. Mystery smiled as-well, grabbing whatever he saw that please his eyes, and that matched them. By the end, all of his arms were covered in bags of his brand new closet. Zoey was walking next to him, staring at his many bags. “Happy now?” She whispered. Mystery nodded. “Good.” She turned back, pointing at the smoothie and boba store.

They walked to the door, quietly looking around. “So… what’s this stuff?” He murmured as they walked in. “Smoothies and boba. It’s fruit mixed together with some milk, and it’s really good! And boba is uhm.. I believe tea with little boba balls in it. They’re both good options! I’ll let you choose.” Zoey explained.
Mystery nodded, looking over the menu a few times.
“Berry. I want the berry smoothie, please.” He said.
“Tell them that, not me silly!” Zoey giggled. Mystery nodded, telling the employees the exact thing he wanted, in a medium, and then Zoey ordered her matcha boba.

“Ready to go?” He asked, turning to the door once again, his arms aching from the bags. Zoey nodded, holding the door open for him. “Right so— I’m thinking we walk around for a bit until we finish our drinks, then maybe get pedicures and manicures and get our nails painte—-“ She was cut off by a teenager shoving past her, sending her things flying into the air. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, him throwing his bags, the drinks flying up in the air, and Mystery wrapping his arms around her waist, trying to catch her while grabbing her boba.

Time came back into normal tempo, people turning to look at them. But mystery was only focused on her. “Are you okay..?” He brushed her hair out of her suddenly flustered face, handing her back her boba while his smoothie ran along the floor in its thick purplish consistency. Zoey stared at him blankly before she nodded. “M-..mhm. Uhm-..” she stood up suddenly, snatching all of his bags for him. “Let’s go get our nails painted! Appointment at 10:30!” She said a little too loudly, bolting away. Mystery blinked, staring at her running away.

He then looked down to his smoothie with a frown on his face. He did kind of want that…

But figuring he couldn’t lose Zoey, he held her boba, quickly grabbing the one bag she left behind and following right behind her.

Let’s go get their nails painted.

~~~end of chapter six~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter seven
{. ~~~Zoey’s POV~~~ .}

Gosh, what was that?!

Zoey, the energetic Maknae, loved by almost everyone in their fandom- (except for that ONE fan who said she was a pick me)—, flustered and panicked after a too intimate moment with a literal demon!— ex demon? Oh my gosh she was gonna have a panic attack.

She stopped herself in the middle of the mall, waiting for Mystery to catch up. Did she really leave him behind. Stupid, stupid, stupid!! Zoey took a few deep breaths, brushing back the same hair strand that Mystery had. Gosh she wanted to squeal—

Mystery let out a small huff, small pants coming from his mouth, holding out her boba. “You… left this..” he muttered gently. Zoey snatched it, almost loosing her balance from the bags on her arms. “Thank you, I’m so sorry about running—“ she tried to explain. “I’m not really use to… all of this, Y’know?” He hummed softly.
“Neither am I… It’s fun.”
“I’m glad.” Zoey smiled weakly, glancing to her boba, then to his hands. “Wait, your smoothie.” Her smile faded at the sight of it gone from his hands. After thinking for a few moments, she handed him her boba. “Here, we can share..”

Mystery looked between her and the boba (right? Probably), then gently grabbed it from her hands. Slowly, he took a sip, his entire demeanor lighting up. “Wow..” he whispered, a small grin on his face. “That’s.. good.”
And just like that, the grin was back as if it never left, simply just from knowing he felt better. “I’m glad!”
They stared at each other for another minute or so, just staring at each other while they shared the boba. A warm, fuzzy feeling rose in her chest. One she hadn’t felt since high school. How long had she really felt this way? How long had she been stuffing it down? She leaned a little closer to him, her eyes stuck on the ones hidden by his hair.

He was just her type…. Dreamy.. sweet.. mysterious.. an enigma—

The moment was interrupted by an alarm blazing in her pocket, both of them flinching at the loud noise. “Shoot! The appointment!!”Zoey exclaimed. “We’re late, we gotta go!” She almost tripped over herself turning with all of the bags. Mystery grabbed her shoulder, sliding his arm down before stealing the bags from her arms and placing them on his own. Her face heated up again at the intimate gesture. He smiled at her, allowing her to grab her phone and take back her boba. “Let’s go now.” He murmured.

Zoey took a deep breath, the trembles in her legs finally calming. “let’s go.” She repeated.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Together, they walked up the escalator to the second floor, over to the corner nail salon. Its bright pink lettering shone above the front door, unfazed by the blinding light. Mystery couldn’t see it much through his umbrella of bangs. The lady at the front counter smiled, offering them a welcome with a small nod. “Welcome in!” She smiled, looking between the two of them. Zoey stepped forward. “We have an appointment for ten thirty? Zoey.”

The worker nodded. “Right. Mya is right back there.” She explained. Zoey gave her a small nod of appreciation, leading Mystery over to the table. “Do you want me to go first, or do you want to?” She whispered to him. Mystery thought on it for a moment, before humming. “You can go first.”
Zoey smiled, saying hello to their nail tech, Mya, and sitting down in the chair. “So, what’re we looking for today?” Mya asked. After saying what she wanted— blue nails with little turtle faces on her middle finger, oval shape— they quickly got to work. With how fast Mya was, the whole process took little over an hour, which was pretty impressive. She couldn’t even paint her nails on her own in an hour!

Zoey grinned, extremely happy with the product. “Aw I love them!” She smiled. “thank you!” She turned to Mystery, showing him how cute they looked. He hummed, leaning closer and moving his hair out of the way a little to get a better look. “Cute.”
Zoey got out of the chair and let him take his seat. Mystery stood up, giving a small nod before sitting down. The nail tech quirked an eyebrow, glancing to Zoey and then Mystery with a smile and a furrowed brow that said: ‘I recognize you… but I can place it…’.
“So, what’re we looking for today for you?”
He thought for a minute. “What she got.” He muttered. “But.. not.. long.”

She hummed, once again getting to work. After 45 minutes both of their nails were complete. They thanked Mya, then paid at the counter.

Zoey turned to Mystery once they were both out, smiling at their matching nails. “They look so cute on you!” She exclaimed.
“They adorable on you too.” He muttered back.
That made her face warm up. “Tha—“ she was cut off by a loud rumble. The source? Mystery’s stomach. His face flushed in embarrassment.

Zoey chuckled in understanding. “Let’s go get you some food and then we can head back, yeah?” She offered.
Mystery nodded. “Yeah.”

Together, they both walked deeper into the mall, not leaving until they came out with more bags and full stomachs.

~~~end of chapter seven~~~

Chapter Text

Chapter eight

{. ~~~Mystery’s POV~~~ .}

Mystery walked into the Huntr/x girl’s home once more, which still felt like an intrusion. He was still a Demon who had done them wrong, but Zoey had welcomed him in with open arms. She had even gotten him a new wardrobe..!

A feeling of gratefulness bloomed in his chest, one he didn’t think was possible to resurface. Although... that small tingly, fuzzy, warm one was the first to arrive when he saw Zoey for the first time. It’s been too long to decipher what it was. Perhaps.. no… not that. It couldn’t be that.. it would’ve had to be—

“Mystery?” The gentle voice broke him out of his daze, looking around the room from the doorway until he saw Zoey. She had her head tilted, the nails they had just gotten together waving around in front of his face to get his attention. He cleared his throat, placing the bags by the large table in the center of the room.

Zoey smiled. “There you are. I thought I lost you in that big fluff of hair.” She giggled. The warm feeling returned.

Mystery turned back to face her and gave her a thumbs up. Like ‘I’m good, I’m doing well, I’m
Not in the middle of an emotional Crisis’! He stared at her in silence again before approaching, placing a hand on her shoulder and sliding it up her neck. Oh how he enjoyed seeing her cheeks flush.

“Thank you.. for today, Zoey.” He whispered. She just giggled awkwardly. “Of course! You needed— uhm— a touch up of the new world!” She exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly. He pulled back in a sense of her discomfort. Was it discomfort? Or embarrassment? No, her pulse was just fast, she was fine.

Zoey stepped back, glancing around the large open space. “Well.. I’ll let you change, if you want— in the bathroom—,”

That seemed like she added that last part on purpose..

“And then you can come back to my room, or maybe watch something out here? Whatever you want to do is fine, I’ll just be in my room”. She turned and bolted out of the room. Mystery just stood there, glancing to the bags, then back to where she left.

Well.. might as well change.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

Mystery walked into Zoey’s empty room after an hour of staring at himself in the mirror. He was trying to decide what looked best on him.

Jinu always made sure they were best dressed…

Blinking away the thought, he sat on his beanbags, listening to the outside world as a storm cloud seemed to drag in. The thunders booked in the distance.

Gwi-ma’s voice rang in his head…

“You will never be loved by anyone.. but I can help with that…”

Get. Out. He thought. And just like that, rain began pouring down onto the city. He stared out of the window, trying to distract himself from the terrible memories of his past. It was bad enough from what he is to begin with— with what he experienced— but he didn’t want to bring any more of that onto Zoey and her kind hospitality. Speaking of which—

“I have some sweets if you want them! Just don’t eat too much, you’ll go into a candy coma and get cavities!” Zoey bounced in, tossing him multiple different kinds of Korean and American candy. Mystery hesitantly opened a package, looking back to Zoey, who nodded eagerly in encouragement. After a second, the candy as exploding into his mouth. And just like that— an instant sugar rush. He continued eating more and more with Zoey, her little munches and grinding of sugar making his heart explode. Or was that just the candy?

They sat together on the bed, talking about the day and giggling the rest of it away. Mystery continued eating the candy when Zoey was far done, not heading her warning of too much sugar and sweets. What was a candy coma anyway?

He can’t really remember what happened after that, except for waking up face first on the floor of Zoey’s room.

Should’ve headed the warning…

‘What.. happened?’ He thought.

The rain continued to fall, but it was reduced to a heavier drizzle. Not enough to be violent, but just enough to make a sound against the metal of the outside. Mystery sat up, looking around the room. The clock read 12:30, when he swore it was just 7:00.. how long had he been out?

He spotted someone on the balcony outside, alluding to either Zoey, or an intruder. He got up, grabbing a blanket and walking outside. It was Zoey, that goodness, but why was she out there in a freezing cold rain?

A splash in a puddle gave him away, to which Zoey turned around instantly. She looked.. gorgeous….

“why are you out here in the rain..?” He whispered gently, placing the blanket on her shoulders. Zoey simply smiled. “I love feeling the rain against my face. It reminds me of little kisses from nature, Y’know?”

Mystery did not.. jealously, maybe.. but kisses..

He leaned down next to her, his hand returning to the side of her face, cupping her cheek. Zoey’s eyes widened at the touch, her wet skin cold against his warm hand. Then, without a second thought, he slowly leaned down and captured her lips with his own. They held together in the soft moment as the rain picked up, before he finally pulled away. Resting his head on her own, he murmured.

“Was that better than the rain..?” He murmured. Zoey looked speechless, before smiling and pulling him back down for another one. Against his lips she whispered: “Even better… it was just right.”

~~~end of chapter eight~~~