Chapter Text
~A certain four hundred year old demon~
Feel.
That's all demons do.
Feel their shame. Their guilt.
But all I could was pain. Like my body was being ripped open and burnt all at the same time.
Where am I?
Felt like hell. Guess my sins made sure I ended up here.
Though I would take this over Gwi ma's realm anytime.
It hurt though. I couldn't open my eyes. Too blinding.
Couldn't move. I felt pain like humans.
Couldn't speak. Like my tongue lost mobility.
Couldn't hear. Like I was underwater. I wasn't.
Water didn't burn. It consumed.
Water and fire weren't all that different in that sense.
My thoughts were jumbled. They didn't make sense. Did I die?
My thoughts kept circling back to the uneventful night.
To Gwi ma's defeat. To the looks on my members faces.
To the Hunter's song.
To–
Rumi.
~Huntress with the Saingeom~
"God, I can't believe we went to the bath house with RUMI! I'm not dreaming right? What if I wake up and–"
Zoey let out a mock wounded 'ouch' as Mira pinched her arm.
"Mira!"
"What? I was helping. You're not dreaming."
Zoey feigned a glare while rubbing her arm, but our barely suppressed giggles betrayed all of us.
Well, at least she wasn't dreaming.
None of us were.
These are idiots. But these are my idiots.
~•~•~•°•~•~•~
We were back at our couch, piles of snacks in front of us. Three of us, ready in our pajamas to make the most out of this hiatus.
It was movie night.
We were having fun. Just the three of us.
The lights went off. Suddenly. The generator broke?
It was raining outside. Not pouring, but an insistent drizzle.
Then we felt it.
There was someone.
Years of demon hunting sharpened our instincts.
We could feel energies moving at this point.
But the Honmoon is sealed. The demons are gone.
All of them.
We slowly rose and took stance to draw out our weapons anyway.
Zoey was the first to summon her weapon, but the moment her Shinkal appeared, we were met by a blinding flash.
"Guys!"
We instinctively reached out for each other.
I can't lose them, too.
For a second everything felt static, and a frenzy altogether.
We were huddled together on the ground.
We opened our eyes to see the apartment, as it was.
Except, there was someone lying limp on the ground.
A demon.
Clad in a sleek black Hanbok and Gat.
With a stark contrast of a head of turquoise hair.
"BABY?!"
I exchanged glances with Zoey and Mira.
The same expression written all over our faces.
Baby Saja was lying on our rug.
Doesn't sound bad, right?
Except, he was supposed to be dead. Zoey killed him.
Wait. If he's here, does that mean the others... Jinu–
Baby let out a pained grunt before any of us could act.
He shakily looked up, seemingly more confused than us.
He froze when he saw us.
"Hunters...", he croaked out, barely audible. I almost winced at the roughness of his voice. From disuse or overuse, I couldn't tell.
"What are you doing?" He shakily tried to sit up, looking at us like we're supposed to know the answer. We were frozen in place
"What–where are the others? What did you do to them?!"
The three of us flinched at the sheer agony in his voice.
Finally Mira snapped out. Her voice–sharp like a knife cutting through the tension in the air.
"What do you–what are we doing? What are you doing here?"
"Don't play coy. You summoned me here!"
"What? We–
"No. Don't feign ignorance", he swayed. "It was dark... And–and suddenly those Shinkal came in front of me... Then you."
He stood up on his wobbly legs, holding the coffee table like a cane to the blind.
We all looked at Zoey's weapon.
"How do we know this is not another one of your schemes?"
Mira asked, defensively–practically.
"Schemes–is that head empty? Why would I scheme, to steal your fish chips?"
We were not convinced. Our faces definitely showed that.
"Holy Hell! Are you idiots? Demons come to the underworld to steal souls because Gwi ma feasts on them. Do you think we have some kinda team lunch in the underworld? We're like tortured laborers for Gwi ma. Except... Worse."
Both Zoey and Mira hesitated. Maybe seeing a demon, this raw and humane had them second guessing.
He looked at us and composed himself.
"Where are others?"
"We don't know, we don't even know how you are here", Zoey muttered from my side.
"The others... What if Gwi ma has them–no. God. What if–"
"There's a high chance they're alive if you are." I realized myself.
That Jinu is.
He shook his head defeatedly.
"I–I don't want them alive..."
That hit like a truck.
"The underworld is worse than death."
Zoey failed to suppress a sniffle, and I could hear Mira's breath hitch, barely noticeable.
Baby ran his hand through his hair exasperatedly, as the Gat fell off.
Wait.
"Why are your patterns green?", I asked.
He paused. He looked at himself. His patterns were still there.
But a bright green is not the colour they're supposed to possess. They're usually dark, like everything they're associated with.
"I... I can't hear him."
"Gwi ma?"
He looked at his hand, trying to extend his claws from what I assumed.
He couldn't. He kept flexing his hands in disbelief.
He suddenly looked around, searching for something?
Stopped at the shiny black screen of the TV looking at his reflection.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
His eyes were green, human.
He couldn't turn them golden.
He looked up.
"I can't..."
Mira summoned her Woldo and moved before anyone could process.
"Mira!"
But she stopped a few inches away from Baby. He was there, panicked, eyes closed, hands defensive.
"He's not lying", Mira finally said in resignation.
Zoey and I looked at her in surprise. Even Baby did.
"Don't look at me like that", she bristled. "He could've teleported or dodged with demon reflex, he didn't. He used stupid human instinct and froze in a defensive position."
That was smart.
"So he's human now?", Zoey asked, making sure it was true.
No one answered. We all knew.
It was an uncomfortable silence before Zoey broke it again with a laugh that was nervous and cautious equal parts.
"Huh... Welcome back baby? But... What next?"