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“Okay, girls, we’ll start by doing an individual soundcheck before we test it altogether”
It was the day before Huntrix’s performance at the annual Idol’s Night 2025. It was their first appearance before the Idol Awards, making it a very important presentation for both the girls and their fans. And after a summer spent hunting demons and releasing the Song of the Year, the Huntrix girls felt the weight of it all on their shoulders.
The past few weeks have been marked by intense work. Mira came up with a new choreography while Zoey was preparing an impromptu rap during an instrumental part. Rumi, on the other hand, was focused on her vocal training, which had been such a challenge for her. Every time she practised, she had the haunting thoughts of the night when the Honmoon broke into pieces, when she saw herself coming apart, when the fear of showing herself paralyzed her.
She knew Mira and Zoey were there for her, and they all were doing their best to give an excellent performance. She also knew they accepted her despite being half-demon, but what if they didn’t do it fully?
She kept her thoughts and tried to clear her mind before it was time for the soundcheck. Everyone seemed so calm and focused about it, so that gave her some peace of mind. And of course, waiting backstage with Mira, Zoey and the rest of the crew, talking nonsense as if they were middle school kids was definitely helping a bit.
Some moments later, Bobby entered the room.
“Okay guys, we’re ready now. First one will be Zoey, we’ll see you on stage in three minutes” he called as Zoey stood up from her chair, leaving Rumi and Mira behind.
“Wish me luck!” Zoey said as she started walking faster, heading to the stage.
“Go kill it, Zo!” Mira exclaimed in response as Zoey turned around and stopped to blow a kiss to both of them back. A few minutes later, they started to hear her practicing her vocals for the new version of Takedown.
Rumi suddenly started to feel an overwhelming anxiety. What if no one wanted her to be there? What if this was their last performance before they decided to go their separate ways? What if her voice cracked again and the fans found out what she was, or what if they already did?
Her mind was rushing with all sorts of thoughts, ending in her just wanting to run away.
“I’ll wait in the dressing room” she said as she stood up and started heading the opposite way from where Zoey and the rest were going.
Mira noticed and followed behind in silence. It was not normal to see Rumi waiting inside a room instead of being with the team, double-checking if everyone was doing their part right as she usually did.
“Rumi, what’s wrong?” Mira asked as Rumi reached the door. Rumi quickly turned around to face her.
“I just need a minute” she quickly addressed, but Mira knew there was something else.
“Sure? You seem off. What's going on?” Mira asked again, looking into Rumi’s eyes.
“I’m just so nervous, Mira. I just don’t know why. We’ve done this so many times before” she replied, opening the door and stepping inside the changing room, with Mira following behind.
“Rumi, you’re going to do great, as you always do” Mira responded, closing the door behind her so they had more privacy to talk.
“I’m just scared it might all go wrong” Rumi finally confessed, her voice about to crack as she looked down.
“I know you can do it” Mira responded, holding Rumi's hand as she caught her worried gaze.
“But what if-”
Mira slowly stepped closer, letting go of her hand to place her hands around Rumi’s waist.
“Just do what feels right” Mira added as Rumi tried to look away shyly. Rumi’s face started to show a bright pink shade. Yes, Mira has held her like that before, but this time it felt different. Amongst all the chaos she was feeling, being wrapped around Mira’s arms made her forget about it for a solid second.
Suddenly, Mira crashed her lips into hers as she pulled in closer. Rumi stayed still at first, not sure of what was happening. She held her breath, but then felt Mira’s hands softening their grip, as if she were about to pull away. Rumi then started to relax into her embrace and slowly kissed her back, focusing on how soft Mira’s lips were. She then instinctively placed her hands behind Mira’s neck and felt warmth flushing her cheeks.
The kiss was soft, but purposeful. It was the first time Rumi actually felt good when kissing someone- it’s not that she hadn’t done it before, but the other times, she felt stiff and insecure.
Mira smiled into the kiss as she started to move her hands a little higher, just at the height of Rumi’s ribs, pulling her even closer as they went on, causing Rumi to feel like she wanted more.
A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door, which startled the two, causing them to pull apart.
“Rumi? It’s time for your mic check” a voice called from the other side of the door.
“Fuck!” Rumi muttered as she quickly stepped away, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.
“Give me a second!” she responded as she looked at Mira, smiling sheepishly but with an evident shock in her gaze. Mira chuckled as she helped Rumi fix her clothes in the mirror.
Rumi then applied some lip gloss but didn’t say a word, as she was still surprised about what had just happened.
“Now go, they’re waiting for you” Mira said with a grin, gesturing for her to go attend as she sat back on one of the chairs. Rumi was always the extremely punctual one, and to everyone’s surprise, she was late today, on the soundcheck before the concert.
“Not before this” Rumi nervously replied as she cupped Mira’s face with her hands before giving her a small, quick peck on the lips, which only made Mira’s cheeks turn a shade of bright red as she looked at her in awe. Did Rumi just kiss her again?
“We’ll talk about this later” she added with a nervous smile, swinging the door open as she walked outside, taking her lip gloss with her.