Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If the bright glow and steady thrum of the honmoon didnt tell them that the concert was a huge success, it wouldve been the way Bobby had immediately showered the girls in compliments.

"Girls! That was incredible! The fireworks, the glitter, your talent! And your suggestion for the lighting projections onto the crowd looking like threads connecting each stage of the audience together, fantastic!" Bobby quite literally did a 'chefs kiss' before showering them with even more compliments.

"Hi Bobby!" All 3 members of the infamous Huntri/x kpop group said to their manager, the adrenaline and enthusiasm from the crowd still roaring in their ears. Staff members flanked each of them on both sides, offerings of gimbap and other various snack choices, hot towels and water was quietly carried beside the Huntr/x girls as they conversed/sped walk with Bobby to where their driver was already waiting to pick them up.

"Remember, since this is Zoeys home state we will have an extra week here before taking the tour bus and continuing the rest of the North American leg of the tour, then the South American, then the European, then- oh you know what i mean! You girls did great out there, dont cause too much trouble!" Bobby ended breathlessly as they finally made it to their limo where there were already dozens of security guards in place incase any fans decided to get too close for comfort.

As all the girls shuffled into the limk, Bobby ended the currently one sided conversation due to the 3 girls gouging themselves on the snacks. "Im always 1 call away if you need me okay girls? I'll see you sll next friday okay love you!"

"We love you too Bobby!" was the last thing he heard before shutting the car door and watching it speed down the road. Now finally out of the public eye, Rumi instructed the driver to take them to an In&Out that was far enough away from the concert venue that they wouldnt be bothered by any fans looking for a bite to eat. Its apparently a classic american diner that Zoey had wanted them to go to "because their shakes are to die for and the fries taste immaculate".

"Rumi!" Zoey almost yelled, chowing down on a packet of shrimp chips and still in concert mode because the adrenaline hadn't worn off yet. "I'm 99% sure you killed half the audience with that smirk and body roll during the bridge for 'Marks'."

"Yeah that girl in the frontrow with the 'Rumi I Love You' sign in big bold letters definitely fainted after seeing that." Mira snorted, taking a break from eating and reclining back on the soft cushions of the sest behind her. Not as comfortable as their couch back in the penthouse, but close.

"Well when you both did that choreo during my solo the audience nesrly died from their nosebleeds." Rumi retorted before continuing, "Im actually pretty sure i saw someone getting carried off during that actually. Hope that girls okay now" She shrugged before proceeding to stuff a whole role of gimbap down her throat like a lunatic.

"Hey! Save some space for In&Out burgers we're gonns demolish later!" Zoey immediately shot out upon seeing Rumi grab the whole gimbap role, playfully swatting her thigh from her position on the floor and in-between Rumi and Mira.

"Well i personally think that we're just really hot." Mira said before continuing to sip her water cup. Upon seeing both of the girls puzzled expressions, Mira cleared her throat and clarifed "no, thats it. We're just too hot for out fans to handle."

Zoey looked at Mira with the most deadpan expression she could muster, which wouldn't be able to qualify as a deadpan at all. Her attempt at repressing her smile turned her lips into a half grimace half straight line and upon hearing Rumis slight snickering behind her, Zoey was quick to add a "The hottest girls on planet earth!" before devolving into full on laughter. Shoulders shaking, Mira eventually joined them, giggles from the trio only dying out when their driver had knocked on the window seperating them from him to signal that they had arrived.

"Gaja gaja gaja" Zoey says, tumbling out of the limousine and pulling Rumi and Mira in each hand with a new found sense of urgency coming from her rumbling tummy.

The girls fell into step beside each other with the maknae linking elbows with her taller group mates, bouncing and basically vibrating with excitement as the thought of eating In&Out for the first time since they kicked off their America tour kicked her taste bus into overdrive.

Practically already drooling as the 3 of them crammed into a small circle table after they had finished ordering, Zoey felt the last edges of her post-concert excitement fade as she settled in-between Rumi and Mira, hunching on the table and idley playing with their knuckles as they continued conversing about the concert just a few hours earlier.

"-and i get that our fans are 'downbad', i really do. I just cant fathom how they managed to sneak in a bunch of dog collars and throw them onto the stage mid chorus during Golden" Rumi says exasperatedly with her left hand and facing both Zoey and Mira.

"Well I personally think its impressive he managed to throw them all the way onstage, considering all the security we had and the fact that he was seated at the very back." Zoey chimed in to their conversation, mind suddenly bringing back to the incident where she has to dodge the assortment of dog collars whilst coming back onstage to finish the 'Golden' choreography.

"It was very funny watching him bark at security mid performance though, definitely a highlight." Mira said with the faintest edges of amusement curling around her words, giving Zoey her right hand so she could put her left arm behind her 2 shorter bandmates. Brushing the back of Rumi's head and playing with her baby hairs.

"Especially the part where you almost got hit in the face with that pink glittery dog collar-"

"Zoey I was this close to summoning my gokdo and throwing it at him"

Rumi let out a breathless laugh filled with mirth, shoulder shaking slightly as she stared at the 2 bicker slightly, Mira eventually pulling her hand from the back of Rumi's head to swat lightly at Zoeys before settling back down.

The shuffle of movement caught Rumi's attention, looking up and expecting the overworked In&Out teenager to have their food, instead she saw an unfamiliar middle aged brunet man walk up to them. And out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zoey immediately pausing mid sentence, eyes widening before she felt Zoeys hold on her hand retreat to her lap.

Zoey seemed to physically shrink in on herself and that boiled Rumi's blood, because who was he to make her ray of sunshine suddenly a gloomy cloud?

["Zoey! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Burbank?"] The man started, arms raising up as if coming into hug Zoey despite the table blocking his way, and Zoey slightly flinching before forcing her shoulders to untense and relax. He had always hated it whenever Zoey made him feel like a bad guy, a villain.

["Im sorry, but who are you?"] Miras voice cut in coldly, eyes narrowing and face forming into her signature 'fuck off' face whenever she dealt with unwanted paparazzi. The 2 members quietly shifted closer to Zoey, offering silent support to whatever mental battle she was fighting.

"Mira, Rumi, this is my.. dad" Zoey exhaled, still staring at the slight stubble on his face. The familiar crease of his brow and the way he smiled as if she were his whole world. She stared at his brown eyes, the only thing she had inherited from him, before breaking eye contact and seeing what else had changed about him. He was skinnier than when she last saw him 7 years ago, screaming at Zoey to just go back to Korea if she wanted to pursue her kpop music dream so badly.

["Hey, c'mon now cub, i dont bite. Oh geez, I saw you how long- 6? 7? years now is it? My little tiger cubs all grown up now."] Zoey's dad said, voice taking on a teasing tone as he looked on fond memories Zoey couldnt bring herself to recall. The familiar nickname squeezed her heart, whether it was from fear or happiness she didn't know.

["Yeah dad, sorry i didn't really think to call you. Ive been.. busy with a lot of the concert prep and stuff, you know how it is."] Zoey had to remind herself to breathe, shoulders slowly losing tension as she willed herself to believe that she could fight back against him if she wanted to. And she could most definitely handle a few beatings from him now if the time came to it, what with all the demon hunter training she had received at Celines compound.

"Girls, this is my dad. I lived with him before moving to Korea to start, well training." Zoey spoke with a new found confidence now, effortlessly switching between Korean and English, finding slight happiness at hed father not being able to understand Korean.

["Oh! It's nice to meet you, Zoey's dad. We've heard,"] Rumi paused, recalling the times Zoey had told them about her father, all of the times he took her out for ice cream and when he let her skip school.

["Good things about you, from Zoey."] Mira finished off for her, English a little unfamiliar for her despite belting out lyrics in that language just a few hours earlier. So sue her if she defaulted back to korean when shes in her after concert empty stomach phase.

["Yes, Huntr/x now, are you? Zoeys always had a talent for music, wouldn't shut up whenever sun-something brothers came on the radio.]

'Weird, but not unusual for a middle aged american man to be clueless about The Sunlight Sisters.' Rumi thought to herself, hands finding Zoeys before bringing it over to her lap to ground her if she needed it. Mirs seemed to do the same thing as well.

["Papa.."] the familiar nickname slipped out before Zoey could stop herself, face flushing slightly as she saw a lazy grin break out on her fathers face.

["Zoey you hould come stay a night at home, ive left your room, mostly the same as it is, if not a little dusty. Oh, and have you paid for your food yet? I want to pay, a way to treat you girls for always taking care of my little tiger cub."] Zoeys dad ended, opening his wallet and accidentally flashing his 6 year sobriety AA card.

Seeing Zoeys eyes track the card in his wallet he pulled it out, flashing a toothy grin and proudly launching into a speech about how after Zoey had left, he had fallen into a depression before finding help and bettering himself. If Zoey hadn't clearly remembered the way he'd be angry if Zoey hadn't passed a chilled beer whenever he woke up from his afternoon nap, she would've believed his caring parent act. Despite their clear apprehension to continue the conversation, the girls listened attentive to his struggle with his addiction before finslly over coming it because of the picture of Zoey he kept as his lockscreen.

Bringing out his phone, he showed a picture of a toddler Zoey on the shoulders of a younger version of himself. Zoey let out an audible, but playful, groan as she sunk back into the seats in embarrassment as the girls coo'ed over her younger self. Her turtle onesie and turtle facepaint going down the side of younger Zoey's face was definitely going to become a topic for them to tease her about later, Zoey silently thought to herself as she looked at her girls with fondness.

If Zoey had glanced up even just a little she wouldve been able to see her fathers look of pure disgust at her bandmates childlike wonder and the blush spreading across her cheeks, but she didn't.

Just as Zoeys father pulled his phone away, a server quietly excused himself to place copious amounts of food onto their table before retreating quickly and comin back with even more.

["Jeez Zoey! Are you feeding a homeless shelter with all that food?"] Zoeys father barked out a laugh before continuing. ["I know i offered to pay, but my construction workers salary ain't enough to cover all this food.]

Zoey let out a polite laugh, stomach already grumbling despite herself as her hands reached out to grab the nearest drink she could see. Rumi was already quietly stuffing fries into her face and Mira a burger bigger than her head as Zoey's father leaned in a little too close for her to like.

["Hey, why not you stay home tomorrow night? Papa bear wants his little tiger cub to come back to the nest"] his eyes sparkled with so much enthusiasm Zoey couldnt figure out whether it was real or fake, instead opting to just nod her head excitedly. ["I bet you remember the way back, now i wont interrupt you and your friends buffet. See you tomorrow night."] He finished off, swiping a nugget before disappearing quickly.

Dread. That was the only name Zoey could think of to call the uncomfortable feeling that washed over her and settled into her stomach. Suddenly losin her appetite, the shorter girl grabbed the drink she was already reaching for with a little too much force and brought it to her lips, taking a long sip.

The taste of sickly sweet vanilla running down her throat made her almost gag and want to throw up. But she didn't want her girls to worry.

"So.. tiger cub, bet you were the coolest kid on the block with that turtle onesie, huh?" Mira started, before bringing the already half finished burger to her lips to take another massive bite.

"Yeah Zo, you didnt tell us you were absolutely the cutest kid ever!" Rumi mumbled, fries slurring hamf her words, but she knew they would understand her anyway. Just like how they understood the next large sip Zoey took from the drink was a sip of embarassment, horror, and a last small feeling that they couldnt quite place yet.

"Zo, you okay?" Mira seemed to catch on to Zoeys garbled sip quick as she immediately began coughing, choking on the thick milkshake as both girls started patting her back and Mira bringing a tissue to her mouth.

"*Wheeze* Yah, im fine im fine. Just, didnt expect to see him so fast. I mean, its not like i didnt want to see him! I was just maybe thinking of not corssing paths with him in Burbank." Zoey let out a few final coughs after finished her ramble, finally feeling hungry enough to munch on the fries Rumi was eating.

"You sure? I know you and your father havent spoken for the past 7 years because of the time difference and all." Mira asked, hands still on Zoeys back as she exchanged concerned glances with Rumi. They still remembered her flinching the second she caught sight of him, the feeling of her slightly shaky hands and tense shoulders unforgettable.

"Yeah. We haven't seen each other in a while is all." Zoey said, trying to convince her girls before she had even convinced herself. And as she suddenly remembered the sleepover she had agreed to, a sudden wave of cold washed over her again. Despite every instinct of hers begging her to not say anything else. She couldn't help but go against it like she had all her life with him.

"And plus, the sleepover tomorrow will definitely help us regain some lost connection we had." Zoey uttered before she could even think about what she had just said, mouth clamping shut and down on a greasy burger before she could take back anything she had said.

Rumi and Mira shared a concerned look with Zoey, both unsure of what to say before Rumi finally spoke up.

"And you're sure you want to sleepover with him?"

"Of course!! Its been so long since i've seen him we have soo much to catch up on!" Slipping back into the mask she hadn't needed to don since highschool was familiar and slightly conforting. Zoey took a bite out of the fries still in Rumi's hand and chewed before continuing.

"And its only 1 night, you both can pick me up the next morning and we can head to the aquarium together!"

"Sure Zo, whatever you want." Mira said after. Her voice full of sincerity and concern that made Zoey sick to the stomach. If she didn't believe Zoey would be okay sleeping with her own flesh and blood for 1 night she would just have to make them believe it.

"C'mon guys.. you'll really miss me soo much that you can't beat to sleep without me one. single. night?" Zoey teased, emphasising her last few words.

"Zoey thats you. When me and mira had the flu you quiet literally clawed at my door for 20 minutes and ended up getting sick when you managed to pick the lock and join me and Miras cuddle pile." Rumi let out a snort before playfully swatting miras hand away from her stash of fries.

"Thats because you were having fun without me and i was stuck at solo photoshoots and interviews all day!" Zoey whined back at them, feigning sadness and upset.

"You ended up even sicker than us afterwards" Mira retorted, playfully rubbing the hand Rumi had slapped before grabbing a handful of nuggets and casually tossing them into her mouth.

As they continued on their mix of meaningless banter and scarfing themselves full, the slightly tense atmosphere dissipated. Leaving Zoey to push down and bury the dread bubbling in her stomach. It was only 1 night, how bad could it possible be?

Chapter Text

It was definitely way worse than Zoey thought it would be. She had already almost thrown up at her hotel out of a mixture of fear and dread about going back to her childhood home, even despite all of the self reassuring she had done the night before. She had managed to successfully hide it from her girls like she had always done, even before she met them. Of course, Rumi and Mira insisted on coming along to see where her childhood home was, and who was she to deny the other halves of her soul?

As their driver started pulling closer and closer to increasingly familiar streets, Zoey was stuck between nostalgia and anxiety. She had so many good memories here in these streets, and she decided to tell her girls as such. To relieve her anxiety or theirs, she didn't know.

"Guys, did you know that lamp post is where I first wiped out on my skateboard!" Pointing a finger towards a dented lamp post and with more enthusiasm than she thought she could've mustered, Zoey slapped on a grin as she leaned over Mira's lap to point out of the window, the latter quickly holding her around the waist so she wouldn't fall. Rumi hummed, quietly observing the cracks in the pavement that she's more than 100% sure Zoey had tripped over in her former years.

As the car pulled to a stop, the trio looked out the window to see a perfectly average suburban American house, beige paint and a blueish-grey roof. Some patches of the grass were dead, with the mailbox looking like it had seen better days. Parts of the house's paint was chipping off, revealing the wooden foundation underneath. The wooden steps leading up to the porch and the porch itself looked like it would never meet any building regulations, the wood obviously rotting in some parts, the railings alone looked like it could be tipped over with a single push. Zoey gulped, both fear and nostalgia washing over her like a tidal wave as she suddenly had many, many flashbacks to the home she hadn't seen since she had first left the US.

Zoey tensed slightly before forcing herself to relax. Throwing on whatever smile she could convince herself was real, she pressed a soft kiss to Rumi then Mira's lips, her own lips trembling slightly as she interlinked her hands with theirs. Rumi rubbed circles on Zoey's back with her free hand as Zoey was still halfway on top of Mira whose arm was supporting her waist. Zoey buried her neck into Miras, fully climbing onto her and straddling her thighs as Rumi came closer to wrap her arms around them in a tight hug. They sat there in the silence of the car, the driver patiently waiting with his headphones in, privacy screen long since pulled up. The trio would have sat there wrapped in each other's arms forever, but they knew they couldn't, Zoey slowly unwrapped herself from Mira and opened the car door, taking her backpack from the floor. 

“I'll be back before you know it! It's only a night.” Zoey tried to lighten the mood, having climbed over Mira to exit the car, Zoey pressed another kiss to both of their cheeks, grinning slyly as she threw a half wink at them, turning around to trudge slowly towards her home and doing her best to not look back. A joking threat was yelled over her shoulder for her girls to buy the aquarium tickets and pick her up the next morning.

Rumi and Mira watched with a tight smile on their face as they saw the door open, their own car door closing, Zoey's smile twitching ever so slightly before her father embraced her in a hug and their driver started the car to drive off.

"Rumi, book the whole aquarium."

"Already did, I wanted to buy it but I don't think Bobby would have been okay with us doing that."

A soft silence filled the car following Mira's snort at that revelation. Mira looked at Rumi as the latter seemed to ponder something before looking up at Mira and continuing with the purest form of concern in her eyes.

"Do you think Zoey.. Do you think she'll be okay?"

At that revelation, Mira forced a short laugh, only for it to come out as a soft sigh instead. Her concern for their shorter soulmate and maknae was evident in the way her brows were slightly furrowed, a slight shakiness and uncertainty to her voice as she reassured Rumi regardless.

"Zoey's tough, don't worry Ru." Rumi eased slightly at the use of a familiar nickname as Mira continued, taking Rumi's hand and lacing their fingers together to rest on the seat where Zoey once sat, still warm with Zoey's residual body heat. "Plus, she can survive anything. Remember when she was trying to teach us how to skateboard on the set of 'Golden' and she accidentally crashed into the expensive camera equipment? She got up with only a few scratches. Our girls tough, if she can make it through the idol awards she can make it through anything."

Rumi nodded, nudging closer to sit beside Mira, leaning her head on her shoulder and pulling their intertwined hands to rest on her thigh. The act helped release both the tension in their shoulders as they started discussing what to wear and bring to their aquarium date the next day.

________

Zoey already started regretting wearing jorts to her fathers house. Coupled with the white t-shirt underneath a sleeveless gray hoodie, she really wished she had worn something warmer because it was doing absolutely nothing to prevent the goosebumps forming on her skin from the cool evening breeze. She had a whole scheme she planned out last night in the hotel toilet for this visit in her notebook, tucked away into a corner in her bag.

Zoey's totally amazing guide to meeting and surviving him!

1. Greet parental unit, eat dinner with him whilst engaging in awkward small talk and while also not revealing anything about my salary, just in case
2. Wash the dishes and excuse myself to my room, take in the sweet kid Zoey memories while waiting for him to fall asleep.
3. Grab my old (and probably really dusty) childhood skateboard and climb out the window to the skatepark (going to be very nostalgia inducing, maybe i should grab tissues incase i cry)
4. Get back home before he wakes up, shower and change and make breakfast and leave when he does wake up (blame busy schedule) so i can go for my aquarium date with my beautiful soulmates!

**if push comes to shove, don't use shin-kal, use that hunter/taekwondo training and book it out

Zoey could see the curtains at the window shift, before the front door opened ominously. Her fathers gaze made her speed up slightly, almost tripping on the paved concrete before immediately getting her balance back and skipping to make the trip look intentional. Only god knows why she decided to skip instead of just faceplanting onto the ground right then and there and accepting her fate.

"Cub! I'm so glad you're home!" Zoey's father exclaimed a little too loudly in her ear, immediately embracing her in a bone crushing hug as he eyed the car she came out of start to drive away.

Having been ushered inside by her father, Zoey feigned a happy grin, clenching her fists to hide the slight fear she felt when he had suddenly hugged her. The house was almost exactly the same as when she had left it those years ago. The same barren walls devoid of any framed photographs or paintings, the same holes and dents in the wall from when they were ripped off one wall and thrown into the other. There were also a few takeout boxes of food around the kitchen and dining room.

But the one thing that caught her attention the most wasn't the way the kitchen looked more like those protein shake stations at gyms, no. her gaze was caught on the beer cans littered all around the couch and living room area. And almost all of them were empty.