Chapter Text
"And now, this question is for Zoey!"
The idol in question immediately perks up at the sound of her name, her gaze snapping away from the crew members behind the camera to instead look at the man interviewing HUNTR/X. It was your standard run-of-the-mill interview, most of the questions being about the upcoming album they were going to be releasing, as well as the tour they'd be going on shortly after.
Rumi was the one who answered most of the questions, and Mira would chime in whenever a question was targeted toward her, but Zoey rarely spoke during interviews. Not because she didn't want to, or anything like that, she just… wasn't usually the subject of questions.
If it wasn't about the lyrics of the songs or her rapping, then chances are she wasn't going to be asked anything. She was prepared for the question to be related to one of those two things, already coming up with her response.
"Recently, some pictures of you got posted online, and you were seen hanging out with Saja Boys' Mystery." Already, Zoey feels herself tensing up.
She knew what photos were being referenced. They were the first thing she saw when she woke up, and fans had been spamming her socials all day because of it. It was just a simple collection of photos of Zoey and Mystery getting lunch together after bumping into each other on the way out of their shared building. Somehow, it was enough to reignite the 'Zoeystery' shippers and speculation.
She could feel Mira and Rumi's eyes on her, as well as the crew members watching them. And a quick glance off set, and she can see Bobby mouthing something to her, probably wanting her to avoid the question.
"Uhm," Zoey clears her throat, an awkward laugh threatening to escape her as she smiles and tucks some of her hair behind her ear, "I'm not sure I understand what you're saying…" She says, even though she definitely understood what was being hinted at.
The interviewer, either oblivious to how uncomfortable she was or just choosing to ignore it, merely smiles and goes on to explain, "Well, the fans, and… let's be real, I was wondering if there was maybe… something going on there."
She blinks once, then twice, glancing over to Mira and Rumi to find that they were both glancing at each other, and Zoey has to force a laugh out of her as she clasps her hands together in her lap. All of her media training seemed to vanish in an instant, and she struggles to even come up with a way to avoid answering.
Her lips part, but Mira is speaking up before Zoey can get a word out, her tone a bit cold, "I don't see how this is related to our album or tour."
"It's just a harmless question, Mira," The interviewer says, which has a sour expression appearing on said idol's face, "Besides, it's not as if Zoey's done a very good job at hiding her crush on Mystery. We all see the way she looks for him whenever you guys attend an award show or stage program. Not to mention the little smile that shows up on her face whenever she does see him."
The longer he speaks, the more embarrassed Zoey can feel herself becoming. Her face was probably beet red by now, and she was staring down at her lap, trying to will away the tears forming in her eyes. This felt like some weird humiliation ritual, and she was starting to feel sick to her stomach the longer this went on.
Rumi, being the godsend that she is, quickly interjects, cutting the man off before he can say anything else, "If the question isn't related to the album or tour, then it's not something you should be asking." Her words left no room for argument, and when he opens his mouth to do just that, Rumi cuts him off to continue, "There are other places we have to be after this, so if you plan on wasting our time with questions we have no interest in answering, then we will leave."
There's this really long moment of silence after Rumi's words settle. The interviewer looks annoyed, though he doesn't say anything. Mira's got this smug smile on her face as she leans back in her seat, and Zoey just wants this whole thing to be over already. She can already picture the backlash Rumi will no doubt receive from this, and it's all her fault.
When the interview ends, Rumi and Mira are quick to usher Zoey off the set, Bobby greeting the three with an empathetic smile, "You guys were great!" He says. It's his go-to greeting after every interview they have. He always means it, even if Zoey would beg to differ this time around.
Zoey doesn't pay much attention as Rumi and Bobby chat with each other, and she even chooses to avoid the concerned look Mira gives her, something the pink-haired idol doesn't take kindly to.
"Zoey, you're doing it again," Mira says, walking in pace with her as Rumi and Bobby walk ahead.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zoey responds, which causes Mira to roll her eyes.
"That thing you do when you feel like something's your fault, when it's not. You get all stuck in your head and convince yourself you're doing something wrong, or that you're a terrible friend, and we've been over this before."
Mira's words struck hard, even if they probably weren't meant to. It's fairly obvious to anyone who looks long enough that Zoey is a people-pleaser and goes to great lengths to make sure that everyone around her is happy, even if it means making herself uncomfortable. It's a bad habit of hers that she's been working on for a while now, but certain situations cause her to fall back into that awful mindset of 'someone's not satisfied and it's all my fault'.
It certainly didn't help that she just froze up during the interview, instead of just standing up for herself. Even if the question caught her off guard, she's been an idol for years now. She thought she'd be able to effortlessly handle these sorts of situations, but in the end, Mira and Rumi had to take over. It just made her feel bad.
But it's so hard to explain that she was feeling this way, and why. All she can do right now is mutter a quiet apology, which has Mira opening her mouth to speak, but Zoey quickly picks up the pace when they finally step outside, and she's the first to reach the van.
She knows Mira will talk to Rumi about this later, and they'll probably corner her tomorrow to try and work through these feelings with her. She's expecting it and hoping that it will happen, but right now, she wants to forget about the situation and clear her mind. Focus on something else. There was only one person she could think of to make her feel better, and she was itching to see him.
So when their schedule finally cleared up for the day, Zoey was quick to leave. Not even five minutes after entering their penthouse, she was rushing out a quick 'see you later' to Rumi and Mira before scurrying away with nothing but her phone. It's not like she needed anything else, considering her destination was only a few floors beneath her.
One short elevator ride later, and she was soon standing in front of the door to the apartment that the Saja Boys lived in. Being under the same company, it was only natural for them to live in the same building. It made visiting each other a lot easier, not having to worry about being followed by anyone with a camera.
There's a brief moment where Zoey hesitates, taking a deep breath, before knocking on the door. A few beats of silence, and then the door opens and she comes face to face with Mystery. Dark brown eyes stare into her own, and it takes her a second to realize that he has his hair up. She can't help but stare for a moment, wondering if this is the first time she's ever actually seen his eyes before.
But then he's clearing his throat, and she's snapping out of her thoughts.
Maybe it's because of the influx of rumors and speculation happening right now on social media, but she finds herself feeling a bit awkward and far too self-aware as she flashes Mystery a small smile.
"Is now a bad time?" She asks, glancing over his shoulder to peek into the apartment. She couldn't hear any of the other Saja Boys, but she wanted to make sure none of them were actually around before barging in.
Mystery shakes his head and steps to the side, allowing Zoey to enter the apartment before closing the door, "Jinu and Romance are at the studio, and Abby is at the gym."
Zoey nods along to his words, still finding herself glancing around as if they'd somehow magically appear in the apartment if she didn't look. This was routine every time she came to visit, though it left her feeling a little guilty for being so secretive.
"'Kay, thanks," She softly says, offering a more genuine smile before moving past him to head down the small hall. Though, before she's able to fully get by him, Mystery is grabbing her arm.
Mystery isn't an expressive guy. More often than not, he appears fairly apathetic, with his smiles and frowns being so minute that it's impossible to tell they're there unless you're looking for them. And Zoey was always looking, because even though his expression was relatively neutral, she could see the frown on his face, and the way his brows were pinched together just a bit.
"…I'm sorry." He simply says.
Two simple words, but Zoey understood their meaning. The photos, and the unnecessary speculation that's being posted online because of them.
"Hey, don't apologize, it's not your fault! We'll just have to make sure we're more careful next time we hang out," She says, brushing his apology off. It really wasn't his fault, and she didn't want any sort of apology from him to begin with. He's one of her friends, so it's not like she cared that people took photos of them together. She just wasn't comfortable with the dating rumors, which isn't something either of them had any control over.
Fans, and the media, will come up with the craziest ideas and theories to fuel whatever is going on in their heads, even if it makes no sense.
He stares at her for a few moments, and Zoey gets the feeling that there's something else he wants to say, but before she can ask, he's pulling his hand away from her and stepping back. Maybe she's just making things up in her head, but it felt like his touch lingered for a second before he actually let go of her.
"I'll let you know when the others are on their way home," He mumbles, leaving without sparing her another glance. His bedroom door closes behind him, and Zoey can't help but feel as if she'd done something wrong.
It's a feeling that lingers with her, even after she reaches the end of the hall to knock on the door there. A muffled voice is all she needs to hear for her to open the door, and she steps inside, closing it behind her. On the bed was Baby, playing a game on a handheld console. It's silly, and it makes her feel a little childish, but her heart starts to race the moment her eyes land on him.
Resting her back against the door, she turns her phone on and swipes to the camera, aiming it at Baby. The picture snaps right when Baby glances up at her.
The room was dark, save for the dim light coming from the city outside and the faint glow of whatever game he was playing. The photo came out dark and a little blurry, but Baby was illuminated in it with a soft light, and it's one of the few pictures she has of him right now. She might not be able to make it her lockscreen, but she'll definitely look at it whenever she starts to miss him.
He raises a brow, and she only offers a smile in response.
No words are exchanged between them. Baby scoots over on his bed, offering just enough room for Zoey to slide in next to him, and she presses to his side, her head resting on his chest. She's got a full view of the game he's playing, but the only thing she finds herself able to focus on is the sound of him breathing and how fast his heart seems to be beating.
All the worries that had been eating at her throughout the day seem to just wash away now that she's next to him, and she exhales, the weight on her shoulders going with it.
Nothing and no one else exists in the world in this moment. Just Zoey and Baby, together.