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Jinu found himself sitting at the kitchen counter, alone with them. Again. The chaos gremlin and the pink menace.
He carefully schooled his features, lest he be accused of pouting. They did that a lot, which usually deepened his scowl and brought on more mockery. He really was trying not to be petulant, but they knew exactly how to goad him.
They were succeeding now, forcing him to sit in silence while they prepared him a meal. It irked him, having to rely on Mira and Zoey for food. He hadn’t even needed food as a demon and it irritated him when his stomach yelled at him for sustenance every few hours. How people managed to eat so much food in a day, he would never know. He was appalled to witness the massive meals Rumi, Mira, and Zoey could consume. Although, they referred to the feasts as “movie snacks.”
As if on queue, a low rumble sounded from his abdomen, so loud it even reached their ears, much to his irritation.
“We better hurry Mira,” Zoey said in an unserious tone with the hint of a giggle. “Poor Jinu is starving for his sandwich.”
“Maybe some day he can be trusted to make one himself,” Mira added, holding up the knife she was using to slice cabbage threateningly.
Jinu scowled at that, stopping himself from asking what a sandwich even was, especially when the pink menace was wielding a sharp weapon. Rumi had asked Mira and Zoey to make him a sandwich without explaining to him what it was, leaving him in their torturous care to shower and dress. He didn’t blame her for leaving him in the dark about his impending culinary experience, they were all still getting used to his ignorance on things they found to be general knowledge. There were just certain things that never came up in his 400 years as a demon.
Jinu sighed, trying to watch what Mira and Zoey were doing as they prepared the sandwich. There seemed to be a lot of ingredients involved, the closest of which was a loaf of bread packaged inside a plastic sleeve of some kind. When they weren’t looking, he lifted a finger and poked at it, feeling the softness give way to the pressure. It surprised him, since he expected it to be hard and crusty. He was actually looking forward to the pillowy texture it promised.
Retracting his hand before they could catch him prodding the bread, Jinu looked at the rest of the ingredients. It looked like an assembly of chicken, sauces, and cabbage. Nothing too foreign, so he was hopeful. He wished he could make food for himself, but even before Gwi-Ma he never needed to learn food preparation. His mother prepared all meals and then when he was in the palace, there was staff for that. He had attempted to prepare some food himself, but after an unfortunate incident had resulted in an oven mitt catching fire, Mira had declared his kitchen privileges revoked.
“Here you go Jinu,” Zoey startled him out of his thoughts, setting down a plate in front of him. She nodded to herself, clearly proud of her accomplishment of making a sandwich. “One epicly amazing chicken sandwich, stacked to perfection.”
“Enjoy the fruits of our labor, Princess Jinu,” Mira added with a smirk as she began cleaning up.
He grimaced at the nickname, but found it better not to comment. Instead, he simply forced out a stiff, “thank you,” and pulled the plate closer to himself.
Everything had been stacked neatly between two slices of the bread and then halved, showing the perfect layers. Layers were repeated, resulting in a thick sandwich. He was curious how he was meant to fit it into his mouth. But, it was the bread itself that gave him pause. He had expected the soft white bread, but instead it was lightly browned along the top and bottom. He touched it lightly and found the texture to be crisp, almost rough on this finger.
Jinu glanced up at Zoey, who was looking at him expectantly, clearly waiting for him to take a bite of her creation. He picked it up and opened his mouth as wide as he could, mentally wondering if he missed humans evolving to allow the ability to unhinge their jaws. He took a bite, the sandwich filling his mouth, causing the rough top of the bread to scratch uncomfortably along the roof of his mouth. The sandwich tasted good. Delicious actually, with multiple layers of perfectly fried chicken and crispy cabbage slaw and some kind of tangy sauce. He swallowed and took another appreciative bite, enjoying the taste while trying to ignore the unpleasant sensation of the bread scraping inside his mouth.
He must have made a face because Zoey squinted at him and asked, “Is something wrong with it?”
I’m going to regret this he thought, as he often did when admitting literally anything to these two. He poked at the loaf in front of him as he answered, “I was expecting the bread to be softer.”
Mira and Zoey exchanged looks of incredulity before Mira rolled her eyes and said, “It’s been toasted. To give it a better crunch. Plus it holds up better.” She didn’t add dumbass to the end like she often did, but he heard it in her tone.
He gulped, wondering why he did this to himself as he asked, “Can a sandwich be made not toasted?”
He drastically underestimated their response. Mira and Zoey both spoke on top of each other, yelling at him in tandem.
“...grossly inferior culinary experience…”
“...just like a dumb demon to prefer a shitty soft sandwich…”
“...centuries of sandwich evolution…”
“...only an idiot prefers it untoasted…”
Jinu allowed them to go on while he begrudgingly took another painful bite. He looked at the so-called “toasted” bread as though it personally offended him and wondered why they even cared. He swallowed and was preparing to rebut when Mira and Zoey suddenly broke off their tirade. Their features softened significantly as they looked toward the hallway. He followed their gayze, his argument dying in his throat as he watched Rumi walk down the hallway and into the kitchen. She looked radiant in jeans and a cropped t-shirt, her hair pulled back in her usual braid and patterns glowing softly across her skin.
Rumi smiled at Mira and Zoey before looking over at Jinu. “Did you get a sandwich?”
Jinu opened his mouth to reply, but Mira beat him to it, saying, “We made him our best sandwich and he’s complaining that the toasted bread is hurting his mouth.”
“Yeah, Rumi, can you believe he would actually prefer his bread untoas…”
“Oh no,” Rumi cut Zoey off before she could finish her sentence. “We are not having another bread war.” Both Mira and Zoey looked ready to argue, but Rumi held up her hands to stop them. “Not. Another. Bread War.”
Mira and Zoey closed their mouths and glared at Jinu. How is this my fault? He glared back at them until he caught Rumi’s eyes and immediately schooled his face to be more neutral.
Rumi rolled her eyes, but it was unclear who she was annoyed with. Jinu chose to believe it was the chaos gremlin and the pink menace. They started the bread war and had obviously participated in previous toast-related battles. He smiled at Rumi and took a good-natured bite of sandwich as an additional show of good will.
It must have worked because she offered him a sympathetic smile in return. “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it.”
“No!” He said, his eyes darting at Mira and Zoey. He did not need to give them any more ammunition. “No, it’s fine. It’s tasty.”
“Okay, if you insist,” Rumi said. “After you’re done, do you want to walk to the boba place down the street? You said you hadn’t tried that yet.”
A date with Rumi! Jinu immediately perked up at the idea. “Yeah, that would be great! What’s boba again?” He ignored the snorts of laughter coming from the kitchen.
“It’s a drink with these chewy little balls,” Rumi answered, curling her finger and thumb together to indicate a ball the size of a blueberry. “Comes in different flavors. It’s good!”
“Bet he chokes on one,” Mira deadpanned.
“I’ll take that bet,” Zoey said. They both shook hands before continuing to tidy up the kitchen without further remark.
Jinu was ready to say something, but Rumi seemed to be choosing to ignore them, so he followed her lead. Why poke the bears I guess. She was rummaging through a bag, pulling out what looked like a large leather envelope. He looked at it curiously, as it seemed to contain nothing but flat plastic and paper.
“Is that like a coin purse?” Jinu finally asked.
“Huh?” Rumi looked at him questioningly as though she didn’t understand the question.
Sheepishly, he added, “You know, a coin purse to put your money in. It seems a little flat though so I wouldn’t think it would hold much.”
More laughter was heard from the other side of the counter and even Rumi looked like she was suppressing a laugh. “No, we really don’t use coins as much anymore. It’s all on cards now.”
She pulled one out and showed him and he looked at it, astonished. “Your money is on that plastic rectangle?”
“Pretty much. It connects to a bank account that holds my money,” Rumi explained. None of that made any sense to Jinu, but he nodded as though he understood.
Jinu felt a sense of worry when he considered money for the first time in 400 years. He never had it before Gwi-Ma. He didn’t need it after. He certainly didn’t have it now. He looked over at Rumi, who was still rummaging in the bag. He cleared his throat and she looked up. He glanced over at Mira and Zoey, making sure they were still preoccupied with whatever they were doing in the kitchen.
“You know I…” he paused, lowering his voice a little. “I don’t have any money…not yet.”
Rumi smiled and exhaled a little breath. “Is that what you’re worried about? Jinu, I’m one of the three most successful K-pop idols in the country, I’ve got it covered. I already opened an account for you and put some money in it, until you can get settled to bring in your own.”
Zoey and Mira heard Rumi because Zoey turned her head, shaking it in disapproval and saying “What a scrub.” Mira nodded in agreement before they both returned to their task. Jinu scowled in their general direction. He absolutely refused to ask what that meant because he knew for certain it was not a compliment.
When Jinu looked back at Rumi, he found her looking at him, as though she was considering whether to say something or not. Taking a breath, she said, “you know I don’t think you’re a scrub, right?”
He still didn’t know what a scrub was, but hearing the sincerity in her voice made him care a little less. Whatever it was, she didn’t think it was true and that gave him a warm feeling in his chest. “Thanks, Rumi.”
Jinu was about to say more, but Rumi continued. “I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything either, I just want to help you. I know Gwi-Ma tormented you about the choice you made…about your mom and sister. I don’t want you to feel that way with me.”
Thinking about his mom and sister, Jinu felt his chest tighten with emotion. It was a familiar feeling, the guilt creeping through him like the tendrils of a vine, squeezing. He tried to breathe but it came out a little ragged. Rumi looked at him with concern and held out a hand. He stood up to walk around the counter towards her. As he moved forward to grasp her hand, his foot collided with someone small but hard, sending him tumbling forward, landing hard on his knees with a surprised umph. When he turned his head to see what had tripped him, he saw a perfectly shaped red brick. What the hell is a brick doing there?
No sense in not asking. “Why is there a brick here?” Jinu stood up with some effort, rubbing his knees which still ached from the impact. His emotions about his family seemed to ebb as his ire for the offensive object grew.
Mira glanced up and shrugged her shoulders. “That’s always been there.”
“You have bricks just lying around your home?” Jinu narrowed his eyes.
“Yes,” Mira and Zoey answered in unison. Jinu looked at Rumi who just nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders.
This place was beyond absurd sometimes, and this coming from the 400 year old demon with a tiger and magpie as his best friends.
***
The afternoon was warm with the sun shining brightly and the barest hint of a breeze as he walked side by side with Rumi. Rumi had put on a hoodie to cover her patterns and hair, allowing them some anonymity in public. Despite the warmth, she didn’t seem uncomfortable, and he realized she was probably used to it, which gave him a momentary pang of sympathy. He looked at her hand, swinging casually at her side, and he considered grasping it. Each time he moved his hand towards hers though, she swung it again and after a few minutes of chasing it around he gave up.
Instead of daydreaming about the feel of her hand in his, he tried to focus on her voice. The entire time they walked she was chatting about Mira and Zoey. He listened because he liked the sound of her voice, but was determined to change the subject to something else. He attempted to casually steer the conversation to other topics, but her answers always managed to veer the conversation back to them. It was remarkable, really. He was saved from further attempts when they arrived at the boba cafe.
Jinu took a step forward and reached for the door, holding it open for her. Smiling, she walked past him to the counter while he followed behind. The cafe was colorful, decorated in anthropomorphised drinks with exaggerated smiles. Jinu enjoyed the silliness of it, reminding him of Derpy’s irreverent grin.
The cashier greeted them with a friendly welcome and asked for their order. “What do you suggest?” Jinu asked, looking at Rumi. She was looking up at the menu with her hand on her chin as she considered options.
She pointed at the board behind the cashier which had menu items with little pictures. “You should probably start with a classic. Black milk tea, taro, or brown sugar.” He looked at the pictures next to each one, considering his options.
He looked at the cashier and said, “I’ll take taro please.” She smiled and tapped on the screen in front of her. He looked at Rumi and absently brushed his hand along the edge of her braid. “It kinda reminds me of your hair.”
Rumi chuckled, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink as she turned to the cashier. “I’ll take strawberry, thank you.” She turned to Jini and added, “reminds me of Mira’s hair a little.”
Huh? Mira? He wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just nodded. The cashier tapped on her screen again and then told them the total for their order. Jinu reached into his pocket and pulled out the plastic rectangle Rumi had given him. It felt light in his hand, nothing like the weight of coins he had once been accustomed to. It didn’t feel as though it held worth, but what did he know? He was going to suspend disbelief and trust Rumi on this one.
He held the card out to the cashier. She smiled at him without taking it. Was he meant to say something? The entire transaction made little sense to him. He wondered if, when she finally took it, he would receive it back? Would he need to get new rectangle plastic for future merchant interactions? As usual he was slightly annoyed that no one had bothered to explain any of it to him.
He continued holding out the card to the cashier, trying to be encouraging with a big smile. Her own faltered a bit and he wondered if perhaps he had smiled too big. He had been told that sometimes his smile could be creepy. Granted, it was Mira and Zoey who said it so it’s not like he could entirely trust the source.
The cashier seemed to have realized something, pointing down at a small white box on the counter in front of him, saying, “You can just tap to pay.”
He looked down at the white box, unsure. It didn’t seem to have any buttons on it, just a smooth surface with three curved lines painted on, each getting larger from the bottom up. He looked at Rumi, who smiled encouragingly. So he mentally shrugged and lifted the hand not holding the plastic rectangle. Extending his index finger, he hit the small white box three times with a tap tap tap and waited for something to happen. When nothing did, he turned to look at Rumi, who wore a slightly pained expression.
“No, not like that,” she said, reaching up and grasping his wrist to pull his hand away from the small box.
The warmth of her hand on his skin didn’t help assuage his anxiety, as he hesitantly explained, “She said tap to pay.” Should he have tapped harder? Did he tap too hard? Perhaps he had not left enough time between taps. Or should he have tapped only once?
“It’s okay, I got it,” Rumi said, holding her hand out so he could drop the rectangle plastic into her hand. She smiled apologetically at the cashier and said “he’s a lot older than he looks.” As if that was any sort of explanation.
He tried not to look like he was pouting as she held the card over the small white box without touching it. A larger screen lit up with some numbers that looked like options for something. Was one meant to select the price they could pay? He would have to ask her later because he didn’t want the cashier to look at him like he was incompetent. Any more than she already was, he thought.
The transaction seemed to be complete, because she held his card back out to him. As he took it couldn’t help but comment, “You didn’t even tap anything.”
“Ugh,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. He knew she was about to say it again, and sure enough… “You're so old.”
Jinu sighed. He supposed she wasn’t wrong. He turned in resignation, finding them a booth to sit at. He scooted over to give her room next to him, but she chose to sit across from him instead. He was momentarily disappointed, but decided it was better this way because it allowed him to easily look at her while she talked. She had picked up where she left off in her story about Mira and Zoey.
Jinu enjoyed spending time with Rumi. She seemed to feel comfortable around him, especially after everything they had been through. It was easy and he was grateful that she didn’t feel the need to hide herself around him. He just sometimes wished she would talk about Mira and Zoey a little less when they were together. He was starting to feel like a fourth wheel and the other two weren’t even there. He opened his mouth to say something, but was saved when the cashier called out their order number. He stood up to retrieve the drinks, handing Rumi her pink one and looking at his purple one.
“Thanks Jinu,” Rumi said, taking a long drink. Her eyes closed in appreciation. “This is really good, they have the best flavors here. Go ahead, take a drink!”
He looked down at the purple liquid and could see little black balls settled at the bottom. He sucked in a deep drink through the wide straw and was first struck by the pleasant, nutty flavor with a hint of vanilla. But before he could properly enjoy it, he felt a soft object lodge itself into his throat, cutting off his air. His hands came to his throat as though he could squeeze it out. Tears began streaming down his face as he struggled to choke it down and clear his airway. Rumi stood up in a panic but didn’t seem to know what to do.
“Jinu!” She hovered near him, hands flailing about with uncertainty. “I don’t know the heimlich thing!” The what? He had no clue what she was talking about, how was that helpful? Thankfully, he swallowed hard enough to force the little ball down his throat, allowing him to gulp in a huge breath. He wheezed, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Rumi still hovered over him, a hand on his shoulder, which didn’t exactly help his nerves. “Are you okay Jinu?”
Jinu wiped tear streaks from his cheeks, taking another shuddering breath. His voice was scratchy and high pitched as he said, “Why do modern beverages always try to kill me?”
***
Despite his near death experience, Jinu felt a sense of contentment as he walked side by side with Rumi back to Huntr/x tower. The sunshine felt warm on his skin and the cool breeze ruffled his hair. Rumi was quiet next to him, but not in awkward silence. It was the content kind of silence between two people who didn’t feel like they needed to fill it.
A few times her hand swung close to his own and he again felt the urge to grasp it. He inched his own hand closer, readying himself to make the move. Preoccupied with watching the other people strolling along the street alongside them she once again eluded his grasp. Every now and then she would look over at him and offer one of her warm smiles.
They reached the tower and Jinu hopped ahead of Rumi and opened the door into the lobby, holding it open to allow her to walk through ahead of him. At the elevator bank she pressed a 4-number code into the keypad and then pressed the button with the up arrow. They hadn’t told Jinu the code yet, so he still required one of them to gain entry. He had pointed this out to them once but the only response he received was, “Exactly.”
Once inside the elevator, Jinu looked over at Rumi. She was checking a message on her phone, smiling at something. “I had a good time, Rumi,” he said, hoping to make her smile in the same way.
She looked up and was rewarded with her dazzling grin. “Me too, Jinu! I’m glad we could get out for a little while.”
With a ping the doors opened into the penthouse. To Jinu’s immense disappointment, Mira and Zoey were sitting on the couch, having an animated discussion. They turned and looked over when they heard the elevator doors, smiling at Rumi. They didn’t outright glare at Jinu, so he took that as a win.
His goodwill toward them didn’t last long, since the first thing Mira said was, “did Jinu choke on the tapioca pearls?” How could they possibly know, Jinu wondered to himself. It was a cruel twist of fate that saved him from Gwi-Ma but landed him with these two absolute gremlins.
Rumi looked at Jinu, not wanting to go back on her word. Unhelpfully, she simply said, “Uuuuuuhhhh.”
Mira whooped, holding her hand out in front of her, towards Zoey. “Pay up, Zoey”, she said.
Zoey scowled, reaching into her pocket and handing over several folded bills. She glared at Jinu, saying, “That’s the last time I give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“Thanks for being so predictable,” Mira said, pocketing the bills.
Jinu gave Rumi a quick look and was horrified to discover she was trying hard to suppress a laugh.
Throwing his hands in the air in defeat, Jinu stomped down the hall to the sounds of Mira cackling.