Work Text:
Over two weeks have passed since the Idol Awards and a week since he returned from his Mira-mandated vacation. Even with Mira’s reassurance that HUNTR/X was not breaking up, Bobby couldn’t help but worry about his girls. Despite only being their manager, the girls managed to worm their way deep into his heart. So, he cared for them much deeper than most other managers in their industry. He kept his phone with him during the entire vacation, just in case they called him while he was away.
When he returned, Bobby worked on the girls’ Comeback tour. It was the only thing that kept him distracted enough to ignore how little the girls were talking. Before the Idol Awards, their group chat was always active. Topics ranged from work-related discussions to restock requests to random animal facts and everything in between. It was often idle chatter to pass the time, but Bobby appreciated talking to them regardless. Feeling his phone vibrate, he saw many notifications in the #HUNTR/X tag. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach, his mind immediately going to some post about how the girls broke up and the group was no more.
Hands shaking, Bobby opened his social media app and looked in the tag. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw photos of the girls together and smiling. There were clips of the girls talking to fans and apologizing for the confusion at the idol awards. Photos taken with the fans and with each other. Finding a clear photo of the three of them, Bobby zoomed in on their faces. After being their manager for so many years, he could tell if the girls were faking their smiles for the photo or if they were genuinely happy. Bobby let out a happy sigh, seeing that the trio was genuinely enjoying the photos and each other. “Oh, thank god.” It felt like a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders.
Sitting alone on his couch, Bobby closed his eyes and hummed softly. With the girls okay and everything ahead of schedule, maybe he could enjoy another day off. He knew exactly what he was going to do tomorrow…
Comfortable clothes? Check!
All of his favorite drinks and snacks? Check!
His entire schedule blocked out for the day? Except for the girls. Check!
Several movies he wants to watch? Check!
Taking a page from the girls’ book, Bobby scheduled a date with his couch. After a long tour, it was always the first thing they wanted, so he was determined to find out why they obsessed over it. Sitting down on the soft cushions, Bobby got comfortable and reached for his remote, about to turn on the first movie. That is until he heard his phone buzz. “Did I forget to mute all my work notifications?” he wondered aloud as he reached for the device. On the screen, he saw three notifications from a group chat that had been silent for so long.
Group Chat [Snacks n Songs]
[NapalmEra]: @HowItsDone Hey bobby can you come up
[MirrorMirror]: we r rdy to talk
[HeelsNailsBlades]: Unless you are busy. Then we can talk another day. You deserve this break just as much as we have.
Bobby immediately hopped to his feet, his relaxation day completely forgotten. His fingers were already typing a reply as he snatched up the cold snacks off the table and made his way to the kitchen.
[HowItsDone]: I’ll be up in 5.
He shoved the food into the refrigerator and headed straight for the elevator, but not before grabbing his ID card and hanging it around his neck. When the elevator reached his floor, Bobby tapped his ID card and pressed the penthouse button. He paced back and forth inside the elevator, wondering what the girls wanted to tell him. Whatever happened during the Idol Awards had to be resolved; otherwise, why would they go out in public like that? Still, something about the Idol Awards kept bothering him. He remembered hearing "Takedown" playing, and after the lights went out, everything seemed fractured. He vaguely recalled going to Namasn Tower, then the Saja Boys taking the stage, and then something involving a massive wall of fire. The next clear memory was hearing the girls’ voices singing a new song as they flew through the air. After they finished singing, he distinctly remembered finding security and scrambling to locate the girls to get them home safely.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait much longer. The elevator dinged softly as he arrived at the girls’ floor. When the doors opened, he took a deep breath and stepped out. The first thing he saw was Rumi, Mira, and Zoey huddled together on the couch, whispering to each other. He wasn’t sure if they heard him. Clearing his throat to get their attention, Bobby said, “You girls wanted to see me?”
He watches as the trio turns around and wave to him a harmonious, “hi Bobby!” Coming from them with Zoey waving to him.
“Come on over Bobby.” Rumi gestures to him to come over and join them.
Taking the invitation, Bobby casually walks over to the trio. As he gets closer, he notices the unusually thick layer of makeup on their faces. He’s used to seeing the girls with different makeup styles, but he can tell they're hiding something from him. Besides the strange makeup and everyone wearing long sleeves, they look healthy – which, in the end, is all he could ask for. So maybe it was best to ignore the makeup this time. When he reaches their cozy couch, Bobby spots the coffee table. It’s stocked with his favorite snacks and drinks, along with a few packages of makeup wipes. “So girls, what do you want to talk to me about?”
Bobby watches as Rumi, Zoey, and Mira share a look. He knows that they’ve developed a silent language, small gestures only they understand. He’s tried to interpret these signals to better comprehend and even assist them, but the glances and gestures remain elusive. He hears Rumi let out a quiet sigh and observes as she gestures for him to take a seat. “You wanted to know what happened during the Idol Awards, right?” Bobby nodded his head in response to Rumi’s question. “Well… we are ready to tell you, but it’s a long story.”
“I have nothing planned for the rest of the day, my full attention is devoted to the three of you.” Bobby assured them taking the seat offered.
“Best to start at the beginning. Bobby. We’ve been keeping a part of our lives a secret from you since the day Celine hired you to manage HUNTR/X.” Mira jumped right to the point.
“Mira.” Zoey looked at Mira with a frown on her face. “That might be a bit too blunt.”
Hearing his girls lie to him from the start was devastating. Putting his hands on his head, Bobby wondered why he had been hired to be their manager if he couldn’t be trusted with these kinds of secrets. He felt Rumi sit on his right side and Zoey take his left, with gentle hands placed on his legs. “We lied to you to keep you safe. Because if you were unaware of what we were doing, they would have no reason to go after you.” Rumi explained, looking directly at Bobby.
“We didn’t like lying to you Bobby!” Zoey chipped in with a slight frown on her face. “But we agreed the less you knew about this part of our life, the safer you would be!”
Hearing these words brought little comfort to Bobby. If they were concerned about his safety… why are they telling him this now? “You are still speaking in riddles, girls, please just tell me what you are trying to say.” Something must have changed to force them to tell him the truth.
He watched as Mira walked over and sat on the floor in front of him. “We hunt and kill demons, Bobby, to protect humanity. I know this sounds absurd, but it’s the truth.”
Of all the things Mira could have said, the idea that his girls were trained killers was the last thing on his list of possibilities. Bobby let out a nervous laugh as he glanced between the three girls, looking to see if this was some kind of practical joke. However, he saw the seriousness on everyone’s faces and could tell they weren’t joking around this time. “Oh… wow. Um… you are serious about this, aren’t you?”
“We are Bobby.” Zoey spoke up, “we are called Hunters, and we protect humanity from demons with our voices and the ability to connect with our fans' souls. We use our music to empower the Honmoon, the barrier between our world and the demon world.”
Bobby just nodded along in understanding. “Something happened. That’s why you are telling me this now?”
Mira glanced at Zoey then at Rumi. The two nodded at Mira. “Yes. Something happened during the Idol Awards that changed everything.”
“During the Idol Awards, demons separated us and changed our track. Takedown was never supposed to play.” Rumi started to explain, her voice wavering at the mention of Takedown. Bobby noticed her gripping the fabric of her pants tightly. “Demons replaced Zoey and Mira, then exploited a vulnerability of mine on stage, which is why it looked like we broke up mid-song.”
Bobby watched as Mira reached out and placed a reassuring hand on top of Rumi’s clenched fist. It was clear to him that this fight must have been a major one; he could count the number of times he’s seen Rumi’s voice waver like this with one hand. “Do you need a moment?” he offered Rumi, in case she needed a break from her explanation. Bobby felt Zoey leave his side to sit on Rumi’s free side, the youngest of the group gently rubbing circles on Rumi’s back.
Rumi remained quiet for a few moments, “no. I’m fi- able to continue.” Rumi took a deep breath in and looked Bobby directly in the eyes. “Some things happened after I ran off stage…” Rumi trailed off and Bobby caught Mira and Zoey looking away in shame for a moment. He wanted to know what Rumi meant, but it seems like this might be a topic he shouldn’t pry into. “Which lead to the Saja Boys winning the Idol Awards and then they had their impromptu concert at Namsan Tower. Since we failed to strengthen the Honmoon with our performance. The Saja Boys had the power to hypnotize basically everyone in the city and summon them to the tower.”
“Including me and Zoey.” Mira added on, still not making eye contact with anyone else. “They wanted everyone in one spot so they could sacrifice everyone’s soul to feed their king once the Honmoon was destroyed.” Mira finally looked up at Bobby. “Gwi-Ma crossed over into our world and almost devoured everyone’s souls… They almost won.”
Hearing the explanation, Bobby was starting to piece together the blanks in his memories. “Was Gwi-Ma the flames behind the Saja Boys?” As soon as he said that Bobby felt all eyes on him. Surprised by the sudden attention, he threw his arms up in defense. “Did I say something wrong??”
“No! No, no no,” Zoey frantically waved her hands around to try and calm him down. “We figured that no one really remembered what happened that night thanks to the remade Honmoon. We saw talk of the concert, people mentioning how our newest song was really good, and the only footage we found was of us sitting on stage together. But that’s towards the end of the fight after Gwi-Ma was banished back to the demon realm. The biggest attention grabber I saw was people talking about the Saja Boys winning the Idol Awards and immediately going on an indefinite hiatus.” Zoey explained with a shrug of her shoulders. “The Honmoon does a pretty good job at keeping the demons out of the public’s attention, according to the Hunter texts.”
“So no one mentioned you girls flying?” Bobby raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
“Nope. At least not from what we could find after hours of doomscrolling on the internet, including Reddit," Mira said as she reached for the makeup wipes and handed them to Rumi and Zoey.
“So let me make sure I’m following. You three have spent years hunting demons to protect humans, you were sabotaged during the Idol Awards to the point that the demons could break this Hoomon? That let the Gwi-Ma enter our world? But you sent him back and fixed the Hoomon?” Bobby relayed everything they’ve told him this morning. Everything seemed wrapped up from where he was sitting, but it didn’t explain why the girls were coming clean now. “So you never answered why you are telling me this now.”
“That’s right.” Rumi confirmed as she started to wipe the makeup off her face. “We are telling you now because something happened during the battle with Gwi-Ma. Something that impacts HUNTR/X’s future and we don’t know how to handle it.”
Bobby turned fully to face the trio as he watched them take off their makeup and remove their long-sleeved shirts. His eyes lingered on the countless silver scars covering every inch of Rumi’s body and the dark red tattoos on Mira and Zoey. “Rumi, are you okay? Did someone hurt you? How long have you been hiding this? You have so many scars…” Concern tinged Bobby’s voice as he looked at Rumi. Everything seemed to have healed, but seeing so many scars was heartbreaking.
His attention then shifted to Mira and Zoey. He was confused about why Mira and Zoey would get such large tattoos while they were still active in the idol industry. Not to mention how few licensed tattoo artists there are in South Korea. “Mira, Zoey, how long have you had these hidden from me? The red is faded, looks like you’ve had them for years.” Bobby wasn’t very familiar with how tattoos worked besides a needle and ink, but to him it looks like they’ve had these markings for years.
“Well… that answers that question.” Mira shrugged her shoulders, looking at Zoey and Rumi. “I was hoping he wouldn’t be able to see them; it would make everything so much easier.”
Rumi frowned at Bobby and gently shook her head. “They aren’t scars and tattoos they are…” Rumi trailed off the words, catching in her throat. Bobby could see the frustration building in Rumi’s expression. “I’m sorry I can’t say more Bobby. It’s still too fresh.”
Bobby sat there silently, the weight of the conversation building. He knew the girls took their jobs as idols very seriously, but he never understood just how much pressure they were under. Hunting demons in between their already packed schedule with no one knowing? This just reaffirmed what he already knew that his girls were amazing. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” He opened his arms wide and gestured for the girls to come in for a massive group hug. One that they graciously took.
The four of them sat on the couch in a hug for several minutes before the girls broke off. “We haven’t said anything in two weeks in our group chat because we’ve been talking a lot to one another—about our faults, our fears, our secrets,” Mira explained, her gaze softening a bit as she looked to her two partners. “We talked about our patterns and what we want to do.”
“I don’t want to hide them anymore,” Rumi spoke up with newfound resolve. “Hiding them caused so many problems…”
Bobby nodded his head in understanding. “Alright, if this is what you girls want, then I’ll support you 110%. Just give me a few days to work with the PR team, and we’ll come up with something for the Comeback tour.”
Zoey’s eyes lit up in excitement. “I’ll e-mail you some ideas I’ve been playing with!”
“Yeah, at least there’s no way to get body paint on Bobby.” Mira rolled her eyes affectionately.
Zoey puffed out her cheeks and glared at Mira. “Miiiiiiraaaaaaa, I said I was sorry!”
Bobby felt like he was missing something here. But he was glad to see the three of them interacting like they used to. “I know you just said you don’t want to hide them. But I am going to ask you to do just that… at least until we find a good way to announce this publicly.”
“We can do that.”
“Don’t worry about that, Bobby. I’ve been hiding mine for years; I know all the tricks in the book. No one will be any wiser.” Despite Rumi’s attempts to reassure Bobby, her words left him conflicted. It was clear to him there was more to Rumi’s scars than she was revealing. He silently hoped that someday she would feel comfortable enough to share the full story.
“Alright, I guess I’m going to-“ Bobby started to stand up to leave as the conversation seemed to be coming to a close. However, Mira and Rumi firmly grabbed his wrists and pulled him back onto the couch.
“Nuhuh. There’s a lot more you need to know to keep you safe. You are stuck with us for the rest of the day.” Mira explained, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Zoey reached for the remote and turned the TV on. “But first, a mandated movie break!”
Bobby looked at the girls and let out a quiet sigh. If this is what they wanted… who was he to deny them that? A smile was on his face as he got comfortable on the couch. He knew there was a ton of work ahead of him to make the girl’s comeback tour the best one ever… but that could wait until tomorrow. For now, he would enjoy his time with the girls.