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She was the one.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
From the moment he and the rest of the Saja Boys encountered them in an alleyway, he knew. She was the one.
She was beautiful and adorable at the same time. She was wearing a yellow bucket hat and a loose sweater, and she made it work. It looked so good on her, but he didn’t talk to her. He rarely talked to anyone.
But she was a hunter.
He couldn’t like a hunter. They destroyed demons, slaughtered them. And sadly, he was a demon.
He couldn’t like her, but he did. He was drawn to her and he didn’t know why, but he was. He was done for.
He didn’t believe in love at first sight. Until he saw her.
~*~
He positioned himself next to Baby on the raised platform after their performance as Jinu made an announcement. He waved to the fans, keeping up the wholesome persona. No one could tell, but he was looking at her.
She was standing next to two other girls who could no doubt be the other hunters. She looked bubbly and eager, while the other two were stone-faced and clearly angered.
He could only imagine what it would be like to be with her, but if Gwi-ma caught even a hint of love in his thoughts, he’d probably torture him. So he kept the feelings locked away.
But he couldn’t deny them.
~*~
“Mystery is history!” the announcer shouted.
Thank goodness. His mouth was burning, but his mind was a jumbled mess. He was still consumed by thoughts of her. And her name… Zoey. It was a beautiful name, which he had just discovered was hers only hours before this fated variety show.
“It’s hard to say goodbye when we’re having so much fun.”
“So hard. So hard.”
“Then why say goodbye when we have extra-special guests coming up? Please welcome- Huntr/x!”
Mystery’s head snapped up at her group name. Was she here? Where was she? The spotlight shifted and revealed the three hunters clad in leather suits and dark makeup. She still managed to look cute, though. Adorable, still.
They were obviously here to hunt his group down, which made his heart sink. But Jinu made them participate in a slide activity, which hurt all of their ears immensely.
“Well, this was fun.”
“It was truly an honor to share the stage with you.” Before he knew it, Mystery was bowing along with the rest of his groupmates.
“Oh no. The honor is ours.”
Were they… flirting? He brushed it off. He probably would’ve done the same with Zoey if he had the guts. Soon enough, they had bowed so far down that it looked impossible.
“Ow, my back.”
He heard her voice, slightly strained, and he worried for her safety, but he was being ushered along to an exit door towards the side of the stage before he could even register what was going on.
They ran to a bathhouse, the men’s. The hunters wouldn’t go into the men’s bathhouse, would they?
Oh.
They would.
Zoey and the pink-haired girl whose name was Mira were staring at Abby’s abs. Mystery’s heart sank a little, but the girls immediately resumed their intense fighting stances seconds after.
After Jinu exchanged some words to Rumi, we fled. He wished he could’ve gotten a longer look at her, but yet again, he was led away.
Again, he worried for her safety. Gwi–ma had sent quite a large amount of water demons, and Mystery hoped that she would be able to hold them off, despite being a demon himself.
As they ran, he thought about her. He thought he was being ridiculous, really, because he hardly knew her, if at all. He had only seen her a few times, been within six feet of her once, but yet he was falling head over heels for her.
She seemed to keep her hair in her two buns all the time, as he had seen in the Huntr/x magazines scattered around the city in shops.
He wondered what she would look like with her hair down, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. She was beautiful the way she was.
~*~
That night, he lay awake, thinking of her. He couldn’t shake the image of her surrounded by demons from his mind, and it was haunting him. He knew that she would’ve held them off, but he still worried.
~*~
“This week’s winner is ‘Soda Pop’ by the Saja Boys!” the host announced. The saja boys received flower bouquets, and they looked over at Huntr/x with smug faces. They glared back, and Mystery’s heart broke a little. Zoey looked quite furious.
~*~
“This week’s winner is ‘Golden’ by Huntr/x!” Huntr/x received their bouquets and looked over at them with haughty expressions, and they all clapped politely, smirking.
At least she looked happier.
~*~
This is ridiculous. Are we really going to sleep outside overnight just to crash a Huntr/x fan signing? Mystery kept his thoughts to himself and climbed into his sleeping bag without any complaints.
The Saja Boys shuffled over to the wall outside the building and sat down. Jinu called dibs on the only chair they had thought of bringing, so the rest of them sat on the ground. Abby and Romance argued with him but Jinu wouldn’t budge. Mystery pulled the sleeping bag over his head tight to block out the bickering and eventually dozed off.
~*~
“Let’s bring them in!”
Mystery was startled awake by the bright sunlight and a call from inside the building. He filed inside the building in his sleeping bag along with the rest of the Saja Boys and positioned himself in his normal spot to the left of Jinu.
“And who should I make this out to?”
“‘To our biggest fans,’” Jinu announced dramatically, and they loosened their sleeping bags and let them fall to the ground.
They all struck a pose as the girls groaned and snapped their pens in half. Were they really that unhappy to see them? …Was she unhappy to see him?
“It is an honor. Table, now!” The staff arranged a table to the left of Huntr/x’s table. That kind of ruined his plan… He had wanted to attempt to sit next to her. He was about to move over the the other table when Rumi slammed her fists on the table and announced, “The Saja Boys will sit with us!”
“Huh? Same table?” Mystery was as confused as the fans were, but he took his chance and sat next to Zoey.
“I am not sitting with no Saja Boy-” Zoey turned to him as he sat down. “…What’s up?” she giggled, and Mystery’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t want to sit next to Baby Saja but she was willing to sit next to him? His face flushed behind his hair and he was reminded of his long curtain of his bangs that he had grown out for years. He couldn’t see her face as well as he wished.
She and him signed posters and an assortment of objects together, and she didn’t seem to mind his presence at all.
“Thanks for coming-” she began saying cheerfully to a fan talking to her, and before he knew it, he was barking.
Like a dog. Like a fucking dog. What was he thinking-?
“No, bad Saja Boy!” Zoey lightly hit his head with a pen, playing along, and he shrunk back, pouting slightly, hiding his extreme embarassment.
What was he thinking, barking like a fucking dog in front of her? He must be going insane. He drummed his fingers on the table nervously, hoping that she wouldn’t notice.
“…Woo, Jinu!” he heard Rumi’s voice and was as puzzled as everyone else, but then someone threw a bouquet of flowers to him and he had no choice but to catch it.
“Unfortunately, the Saja Boys have to run. Thank you, everyone!” Jinu’s voice rang out to the crowd and Mystery looked up, disappointed. He wished he could spend more time with her, but if Jinu and the rest were leaving, it would look weird if he stayed with her.
As soon as they were out of view from the crowd, they threw away all their bouquets. It was actually quite a nice bouquet, but the rest of them threw theirs away so he did as well.
~*~
The night of the Idol Awards arrived and the Saja Boys passed Huntr/x in the backstage hallways. All three of the girls were glaring at them. Mystery only had eyes for Zoey. He tried to see as much of her face as he could before she would be… defeated… and sacrificed to Gwi-ma.
As the Saja Boys arrived in their dressing room, they all stood there for a moment before beginning to put on their traditional demon outfits with their large gats.
Jinu stood in a corner telling a couple onis what to do. “…You, there, have to tell Huntr/x that we’re fighting each other. And you three, once the two girls are offstage, have to somehow convince them to leave Rumi alone so we can hijack the backing track.” He turned to two other oni. “Do you remember the choreography I taught you? Once the lights are off, take your positions, and… expose her. You’ll have to rip off her jacket to show her patterns. Coordinate with each other so the girls see her.”
Mystery observed as the demons transformed seamlessly into humans- two security guards, two resembling Huntr/x’s manager, and two representing Mira and… Zoey.
The demon looked almost exactly like her, and his stomach twisted looking at the Zoey that wasn’t Zoey. Her eyes were narrowed and filled with evil. This wasn’t the Zoey he knew, and it hurt him to just look at her.
He turned away to fix his gat to his head, swallowing hard. He knew after the mission succeeded, he’d never see her ever again. His heart sank at the thought, but he was a demon and wasn’t meant to find love anyways.
Soon enough, he heard the muffled backing track for Golden start playing, and Rumi’s voice soaring, and then… it all stopped. Jinu was sitting in the corner of the dressing room, staring at a wall. It comforted Mystery in a bittersweet way knowing that Jinu loved Rumi and had to betray her because of Gwi-Ma as well. “Takedown” started playing, and his stomach sank as he and the rest of the Saja Boys teleported to Namsam tower.
They had prerecorded a message for the hypnotised crowd, and he hadn’t had to say anything, but it had hurt him to record it as well.
~*~
Watching from the sidelines, Mystery watched hundreds of hypnotised mindless people file into the stadium. He swallowed at the terrible sight, but his heart absolutely plummeted when he recognised one of them.
Zoey.
Zoey. Zoey. Zoey. Zoey. Zoey was there. Zoey was there. Zoey was there. He knew she would be, but her emotionless expression that he could spot from across the stadium sliced his heart in half. Her pupils were dilated, and she was obviously very distressed. He wondered what horrible things Gwi-Ma had whispered into her mind, but found it made him breathe faster.
He calmed himself down enough to follow the rest of the Saja Boys to the back of the stage. The demonic music started playing, and they all tilted their heads down to hide their faces partly. Jinu started to sing.
“I’ll be your idol.”
Mystery sung and danced in sync with his groupmates, but his mind was still fixated on Zoey’s hypnotised face. “Know I’m the only one right now, I will love you more when it all burns down. More than power, more than gold. Yeah, you gave me your heart, now I’m here for your soul.”
As Mystery sang the lyrics, he couldn’t help but think that some of the lyrics were relatable to him. Jinu had told him separately before that he wrote the song for Rumi but he had to change the lyrics so Gwi-Ma wouldn’t get suspicious, and now Mystery could relate to some of them.
When they reached the bridge of their song, they started coaxing the crowd towards Gwi-Ma, and the crowd started climbing up the stairs towards them, scarily in sync.
“…Imma be your idol!” They finished the song, and the crowd was about to be taken by Gwi-Ma when a stunning vocal rang across the stadium. It was Rumi.
“We are Hunters. Voices strong. Slaying demons with our song. Fix the world and make it right. When darkness finally meets the light.” Her demonic voice was throaty and raw, echoing over and over again.
“You come here like this?” Gwi-Ma scoffed, “You think you can fix the world? You can't even fix yourself.”
“I can't.”
“And now everyone finally sees you for what you really are.” Mystery’s heart ached for the Huntr/x girls, even though they were supposed to be enemies.
“They do.”
“And the Honmoon is gone.” Gwi–Ma taunted her.
“It is. So we can make a new one.” Mystery looked up at that, and then she started singing.
She advanced slowly, singing to her teammates, and they were slowly released from the hypnotic spell.
The Saja Boys watched in shock as the three Huntr/x girls sang to each other and walked towards each other. Mystery had eyes only for Zoey. She was still beautiful.
“Stop this song!” Gwi-Ma shouted, and the Saja Boys all were commanded in their minds to push towards them and fight them.
Mystery ran towards Zoey and she ran towards him, and he was about to strike her, but she was quicker. Her shin-kal swiped his bangs up and he glimpsed her face fully for the first time.
She gasped, starry-eyed. “You’re just my type!” His heart sped up, but he saw she was about to strike him again, and teleported backstage right as she said, “Oh, well,” to convince her that she’d defeated him.
Mystery sat on a bench backstage, listening to the rest of the song playing out. You’re just my type. She couldn’t have been joking, right? If she thought she was going to kill him, she might as well tell the truth, right?
The door burst open, startling him from his thoughts, and Baby and Romance filed in, out of breath.
“How are you guys here?” He said, earning a look from both of them. He rarely talked, even in front of his group mates.
“We ran.” Baby said flatly. “Romance over here was about to get his ass whooped by Mira.”
“Why would you tell him that.” Romance mumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Baby shrugged. “I could, so I did.”
Mystery grinned. Baby was being Baby.
“Are the others alright?” he asked, and Romance shrugged.
“I don’t know yet, but I think they’re sealing the honmoon. I think… we might get to be free.”
Mystery nodded eagerly. If they could be freed, he might be able to spend some time with Zoey, even if it was just at awkward fan signs or competitions anyways.
“We should get some sleep.” he suggested, earning frowns from the two demons. “I know we don’t normally, but if we’re freed, we’d be turned back into humans, right? And if that’s the case, we’d be exhausted tomorrow.”
They nodded slowly, the strange idea slowly taking shape in their heads.
Mystery lied down on the bench he’d been sitting on, and Baby and Romance each found their own spots to spend the night.
“Good night, I guess.” Baby’s voice rang across the room.
“Good night.”
“‘Night.”
The lights flicked off, dousing them in pitch black, and soon enough, Mystery fell asleep.
~*~
Mystery’s eyes fluttered open to pitch black darkness, and his heart sank. Did it not work? Was he back in the demon realm?
He got up and stepped forward, and his head felt light. He felt his way through the dark and accidentally kicked a cabinet. Despite the pain shooting up his foot, he was filled with joy.
It worked.
The cabinet was the one that held their microphones they’d never used, and he felt the pain. He could actually feel pain!
It would normally be a bad thing to anyone else to feel pain, but to him, it was the best thing ever. He’d been a demon for who knows how long, and he was finally a human again.
The lights flicked on, startling him, and he looked across the room to see a groggy Baby and sleepy Romance by the light switches.
“What… happened?” Romance asked.
“It worked,” Mystery said incredulously. “We’re… free.”
The three of them were suddenly spurred by adrenaline and looked down to see that they were also in casual human clothing, yet another sign that they were free of Gwi-Ma.
They rushed out the side door to see the stadium empty and deserted, with only a few signs of battle. They scanned the stadium desperately for Abby and Jinu and spotted them sprawled out on the floor or against some chairs.
Mystery rushed over to Jinu while the others went to Abby. He shook him awake and Jinu opened his eyes groggily.
“What happened?” He asked, his voice uncertain.
“We’re free, Jinu.” Mystery’s voice felt light, despite not using it much.
“You’re kidding, right?” Jinu slowly sat up, wary. “This is just an illusion.”
“It’s not an illusion!” Mystery exclaimed excitedly. “Huntr/x sealed the honmoon, and we were on this side, and we’re… free,” It was still an amazing thought, as they had been under the rule of Gwi-Ma for so long. (Some longer than others.)
“Mys!” Jinu exclaimed ecstatically, using his nickname. “We’re human again?”
He nodded excitedly, and they looked across the stadium to see the three others heading towards them. They met each other halfway and they sat down on the ground in a circle, just talking.
“We’re human again?”
“It worked?”
“How did it work?”
Everyone had questions, but Jinu brought up a major one. “What do we do now? We don’t have much human money, or a place to stay.”
“We can use it to stay one night at a motel, and I know it sounds crazy, but we can go to the Huntr/x tower to ask them for help.” Mystery suggested, to protests from Abby and Baby.
“I believe they could help.” Jinu agreed, and Mystery gave him a grateful look.
“Fine.”
“Alright.”
“Okay.”
~*~
They turned on the light to see the small but multi-roomed motel room they’d be staying at.
“This is pretty nice for only 100 won.” Romance noted, and then they proceeded to choose which room they’d be staying in. There were two beds in each room, and a couch bed in the main room.
Baby chose the couch, Romance and Abby chose the two beds in the main room, which left Mystery and Jinu to stay in the other room.
They both lied on their beds, staring at the ceiling with the door closed.
“It hurt me so badly to betray her.” Jinu started out of nowhere. “I can only hope she’ll forgive me.”
Mystery nodded, staring at a particularly interesting part of the ceiling. “Yeah. I think… I think Zoey thinks she killed me. I disappeared just in time.”
Jinu hummed in response.
“She said that I was just her type.” Mystery tilted his head to the side to see Jinu smirking at him.
“Shoot your shot. We’ve never even seen your face, so her saying that…”
Mystery’s face heated and he bit the inside of his cheek. “Speaking of which… I was thinking about cutting my hair.”
Jinu sat up in shock. “What? Why? Where’s Mystery gone?”
Mystery shrugged. “I don’t know, I just feel like since I’m not a demon anymore, I’m looking for a change.”
When Jinu was silent, Mystery looked at him to see him smirking again. “There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
Mystery shifted slightly, wetting his lips. “I mean, it’d be nice to see her face properly…”
“I knew it.” Mystery could practically hear the grin in Jinu’s voice.
“You need to go after Rumi too,” he said awkwardly, changing the subject on purpose to try to drive the conversation away from him.
~*~
The Saja Boys checked out of their motel and headed in the direction of the Huntr/x tower, all chatting with one another for the most time in forever.
Once they arrived at the tower, they all took a collective breath and rang the doorbell. An assisstant answered the door and his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.
“Can we see the girls?” Jinu said in low tones.
The worker nodded slowly, closed the door, and opened it again a few minutes later. The girls were trailing behind him, chatting and laughing until they saw them standing in the doorway.
All three of them froze and then slowly approached them, Rumi especially cautious.
“Jinu?”
“Miss me?” Jinu cracked a crooked smile, but Rumi lightly smacked his arm before hugging him tightly.
Rumi invited them inside and they sat down, discussing the actual reason they were there. The girls were hesitant, but Rumi and Zoey eventually said yes to them staying at their tower. Mira looked especially reluctant, but that was to be expected.
After everything was sorted out, Mystery approached Zoey and she immediately looked away, blushing.
Why was she embarrassed to see him? Was she regretting calling him her type? His heart plummeted and his mind raced with all the horrible possibilities, and Zoey got up and went upstairs.
He pursed his lips, but he was going to give her space.
~*~
Later, Mystery walked upstairs and knocked on what he hoped was her bedroom door. She opened it almost immediately, and saw him, eyes widening. She blushed furiously and closed the door again.
He waited a couple minutes before knocking again and she opened the door hesitantly this time.
He spoke to her for the first time, and it was just a simple, “Hello.”
Zoey looked at him with wide eyes and mouth agape, but she let him into her room.
They sit on her bed and just begin talking. Zoey is as kind as he thought she would be, and they shared a lot more in common than they thought. Mystery learned that Zoey was obsessed with turtles, and he also learned that they both liked cooking.
The hours passed quickly and Mystery left her room, saying good night, after Rumi and Zoey had convinced Mira that the Saja Boys could stay in the spare bedrooms.
Mystery climbed into his assigned bed in his assigned room, staring at the ceiling for a good ten minutes before drifting off to sleep with a goofy smile still plastered across his face.
~*~
Mystery woke the next day and went downstairs to see that the majority of the residents of the tower were already awake.
Baby looked up as he walked in and approached him with a plate of pancakes that he’d made. “She’s been waiting for you.” he smirked and shoved the plate into his hands, tilting his head towards Zoey sitting on the couch.
He walked towards Zoey and she looked up from her phone, smiling slightly.
“Good morning,” Mystery said softly, spearing a pancake on a fork and handing it to her.
“Morning,” she giggled, taking it.
They ate in silence for a couple minutes, and by the time they’d finished their breakfast, Zoey was a foot closer to him than she was at the start. It was evident she was getting more comfortable around him.
Over the next couple weeks, their relationship strengthened, all of Huntr/x and the Saja Boys. Jinu sometimes took Rumi’s hand, or snuggled close to her on the couch. He even got matching pajama pants with her.
Romance, Abby, and Mira also bonded. Slightly. Mira learned to tolerate them more and occasionally leaned into them.
Mystery and Zoey were quieter most of the time, eating together or chatting quietly at the kitchen counters. They bonded over their love for coffee and cooking, and they even occasionally prepared a meal together, with the rest of their crews watching from the sidelines, unbeknownst to them.
“Cute,” Baby would stage whisper, earning a blush from both of them.
Eventually Mystery left the tower one day, with the Saja Boys wishing him luck.
He had found a barber, and he was going to get his hair cut that day. He had to admit, he was nervous, but also excited.
The hairstylist came after half the length of his bangs were cut off, and he gave Mystery a middle part, his hair framing his face.
It was a pretty significant change, but he really liked how it looked. It had been a while since he’d even seen his own face, and when he looked at himself in the mirror, he felt a joy bubbling up inside of him for the first time in ages.
When Mystery arrived back at the tower, the Saja Boys all greeted him and then did a double take. They were all pleasantly surprised, but they all eagerly agreed that it looked great.
He pulled Jinu aside and asked the terrifying question. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
Jinu smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Definitely.”
Mystery spent the rest of the time Huntr/x was away at an event in his room, reading a book. Once he finished it, he was alerted to their arrival and immediately tidied himself up.
Mira and Rumi passed his room first, and were shocked, but they understood both reasons why he did it and smiled, leaving him be.
Zoey eventually knocked on his doorframe, alerting him to her presence. She turned her head and sees him sitting there on his bed, staring at her.
She was at a loss for words, her mouth slightly open in shock. She blushed and scooted into his room, sitting down beside him, still staring at him.
He looked at her nervously. “You like it?” he asked softly, terrified for her answer.
“I- what- yeah, I do.” she looked away, flustered.
Mystery put his arm around her shoulders. “I did it because I wanted a change, and also, I wanted to see your face.”
“Wha- but- You didn’t have to do that for me!” Zoey exclaimed.
“Shhh,” Mystery hushed her and squeezed her hand lightly. He could feel his face heating up and knew it would be visible because of his haircut, but he didn’t care.
~*~
A couple weeks had passed, and they had grown more comfortable around each other. Mystery eventually plucked up the courage to ask her out, and she accepted, perhaps a little too eager.
The night of the date arrived, and Mystery wore a nice dress shirt, Zoey a cute summer dress.
He linked his arm around hers and they set out to the restaurant.
Over dinner, they talked, laughed, and chatted, bonding with each other even more. It was a dimly candlelit little restaurant, and they both liked the vibe it gave off.
After they finished their dinner, Mystery suggested a walk in the nearby park, and Zoey agreed. They linked arms and eventually drifted down to holding hands.
They looked out at the city, and when Zoey turned to look back at him, he was only a couple inches away from her face.
His breathing quickened and Zoey’s lips parted slightly. His eyes flickered down to them, asking for permission, and before he could even register what was happening, Zoey closed the gap between them and their lips met in a soft kiss.
Her hands threaded through his hair, and he pulled her in closer by the waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the kiss deepened, drawing patterns in the back of his eyes.
They finally broke apart, gasping for air, and they both smiled slightly, flustered.
When they returned to the tower, they were still red-faced and holding hands, earning a wolf-whistle from both Romance and Abby, who were settled on either side of Mira on the couch.
Zoey laughed and buried her face into Mystery’s chest and he couldn’t suppress his smile. The three pink-haired people grinned at them and then resumed what they were doing.
Mystery had finally gotten what he had wanted, and all he had wanted was Zoey.