Work Text:
Everyone knew Zoey was half American.
That part wasn’t a secret. She talked about LA all the time. Burbank, specifically. Studio runs, late-night diners, the weird quiet pockets between freeways. Her American-ness came out in little things: sarcasm sharper than idols were used to, posture too relaxed, eye contact held a second too long.
But a Texas accent?
Nobody had that on their bingo card.
Especially not tonight.
Backstage at MAMA was chaos in the specific way only award shows could managers. Wires snaking across the floor, makeup artists speed-walking like ER nurses, staff shouting time stamps into headsets. Huntrix had just finished their performance, and the adrenaline drop hit hard.
Zoey was wiped.
Her jacket was half-off her shoulders, hair damp with sweat, eyeliner smudged just enough to make her look dangerous instead of tired. She leaned against a metal equipment case, head tipped back, eyes closed, breathing slow like she was counting it out.
Mira and Rumi flanked her automatically. Not touching just there. A wall.
Rumi glanced down at Zoey, then up at the approaching figures and sighed.
“Okay,” Rumi said calmly, but there was an edge to it. “Before anyone says anything.”
Mira crossed her arms. “She’s exhausted.”
Zoey cracked one eye open. “I’m alive,” she muttered. “Barely.”
The Saja boys had stopped a few feet away Jinu at the front, Romance and Abby behind him, Mystery and Baby lingering like they weren’t sure if they were allowed to exist in this space.
Jinu raised his hands in mock surrender. “Relax, we’re just saying hi.”
Mira didn’t move. “This isn’t the time.”
Romance nodded quickly. “We get it. We really do.”
Zoey straightened just enough to push off the case, rolling her shoulders once. “It’s fine,” she said. Her voice was its usual low, even, unmistakably LA. “I can handle hi.”
Rumi glanced at her. “Zo.”
Zoey waved her off. “I’m good.”
That should’ve been the end of it.
It wasn’t.
Jinu smiled, that casual grin that worked on cameras and fans and apparently his own common sense. He tilted his head, eyes flicking over Zoey like he was still poking for a reaction.
“So,” he said lightly, “what was your name again?”
Mira’s jaw tightened.
Rumi’s eyes narrowed.
Zoey froze.
There was a beat just one where the noise of backstage seemed to dip, like the universe itself leaning in.
Then Jinu added, laughing, “Peter, right?”
Zoey slowly lowered the water bottle in her hand.
She turned.
And something shifted.
The exhaustion didn’t leave but it sharpened. Her posture changed, spine straightening, shoulders squaring in a way that felt less idol and more… something older. Something learned somewhere else.
Her accent slipped out before she could catch it.
Not LA.
Not Korean.
Texas.
“Do I look like my fuckin’ name is Peter, you skunk-haired motherfucker?”
Silence detonated.
Mystery stopped breathing.
Abby’s mouth fell open.
Baby stared at the floor like it might swallow him whole.
Romance’s head snapped toward Jinu. “She just—”
Zoey took one step forward. Just one.
“You understood that, didn’t ya?” she continued, voice drawling now, vowels stretched lazy and dangerous. “Good. Means I ain’t gotta repeat myself.”
Jinu blinked. Once. Twice.
Zoey tilted her head, eyes narrowed. “Now kindly move along, you bow-legged bastard, before I say somethin’ that’ll get all of us in trouble.”
Somewhere behind them, a stylist gasped.
Mira’s hand shot out, grabbing Zoey’s sleeve. “Okay. That’s enough.”
Rumi was already moving, placing herself between Zoey and Jinu with a practiced ease. “We warned you,” she said flatly, eyes locked on the Saja boys. “She’s tired.”
Zoey blinked, the tension snapping like a rubber band. She looked down at Mira’s hand, then at Rumi’s face.
The accent vanished.
“Sorry,” Zoey muttered. “I told you I was tired.”
Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. “You just sounded like you own land.”
Zoey shrugged weakly. “Had friends in Burbank. From Texas. Guess it stuck.”
Rumi took her by the wrist. “We’re leaving. Now.”
They walked away as staff rushed in, as the Saja boys stood frozen in the wreckage of the moment.
Romance finally exhaled. “Did she just verbally end him?”
Mystery nodded slowly. “With a ranch accent.”
Jinu didn’t say a word.
The video hit Twitter twelve minutes later.
Blurry. Cropped. Shot from behind a stack of speakers.
But the audio?
Crystal clear.
@mama_clips404
“Zoey snapping backstage at MAMA after Saja Boys’ Jinu joked with her 😭 why does she suddenly sound TEXAN??”
▶️ video attached
@huntrixhq
SHE SAID THAT WITH HER WHOLE CHEST???
@rumisleftmic
WHY SHE SOUND LIKE SHE OWNS A RANCH AND THREE HORSES 😭😭😭
@mirawontwait
That accent came with PROPERTY TAXES
@yeehawzoey
I thought she was from Burbank WHY DID A COWBOY SPAWN
@sajaboysdefense
He was just joking—
@alphazoeylawyer
—and she was just responding 🧑⚖️
@bowlegged_boy
“skunk-haired motherfucker” just entered my daily vocabulary
@idolsnapshots
Mira and Rumi dragging her away like secret service agents is killing me
@texasismyfriend
That’s not a fake accent btw 😭 that’s what happens when you grow up in LA around Texans
@cancelledbyzoey
Jinu is never speaking again
@huntrixfanunion
Reminder: Rumi and Mira WARNED them. Multiple times
@cowboyhatdebut
Huntrix concept next comeback: western. Manifesting.
@zoey_apology_tour
She went from “sorry baby I’m tired” to verbal execution in 0.5 seconds
By the time Zoey saw it, she was curled up between Mira and Rumi on the couch in the greenroom, phone buzzing nonstop.
She groaned. “I’m never living this down.”
Mira smirked. “You threatened a man in a ranch accent on camera. No, you’re not.”
Rumi smiled softly, pressing a kiss to Zoey’s temple. “At least everyone knows not to mess with you when you’re tired.”
Zoey closed her eyes. “Next time, I’m growling.”
Mira laughed.
////
Zoey woke up with the kind of headache that had nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with the internet.
Her phone was face-down on the nightstand. Vibrating. Relentlessly.
She groaned and rolled onto her back, squinting at the ceiling. “Why does it feel like I committed a crime.”
Mira, already awake and scrolling beside her, hummed. “Define crime.”
Rumi leaned over from the other side, hair still messy. “Trending crime.”
Zoey froze. “…What do you mean trending.”
Mira tilted the phone toward her. The video autoplayed.
There she was. Exhausted. Murderous.
And then—
Do I look like my fuckin’ name is Peter—
Zoey bolted upright. “OH NO.”
Rumi winced sympathetically. “You sound like you’re about to collect cattle.”
Zoey buried her face in her hands. “Why do I sound like that. I don’t even sound like that when I’m mad-mad.”
Mira smirked. “Burbank Texans. You warned us this would happen one day.”
Zoey peeked through her fingers. “Did I swear?”
Rumi and Mira, in unison: “Yes.”
“…Did I swear a lot?”
Mira showed her the comments.
Zoey groaned louder. “I fucked up.”
Rumi slid closer, gentle. “You were tired. We warned them.”
“I know,” Zoey said, muffled. “But still. PR is gonna kill me. Fans are gonna think I fight people behind barns.”
Mira laughed. “Honestly? Brand expansion.”
Zoey sighed, picked up her phone, and opened Bubble.
💬 Zoey Bubble
Zoey:
…good morning
Zoey:
I have been informed that I apparently own a ranch now
Zoey:
I would like to formally state that I do not
Zoey:
I was very tired last night
and when I’m tired my mouth does not listen to my brain
Zoey:
also I grew up around friends from Texas in Burbank
so sometimes the accent jumps out like a stray cat
Zoey:
I’m not mad!!! just exhausted
Zoey:
I already apologized privately 🙏
Zoey:
please don’t fight anyone on my behalf
unless it’s about snacks
Zoey:
I will go drink water and reflect now
Zoey:
love you
— Zoey 🤍
Mira watched her send the last message. “You forgot to deny owning horses.”
Zoey groaned again, flopping back onto the bed. “Great. Now they’re gonna ask me what breed.”
Rumi smiled, kissing her forehead. “For what it’s worth,” she said softly, “you were kind of hot.”
Zoey peeked up. “…I was?”
Mira nodded. “Terrifying. But hot.”
Zoey sighed, resigned. “Next time I’m tired, just muzzle me.”
Rumi laughed. “No promises.”
///
💬 Fans’ Bubble Replies
Fan:
unnie it’s okay… we all have accents when we’re tired 😭
Fan:
PLEASE why did you sound like you were about to tell him to get off your land
Fan:
Zoey I support you but do you own horses yes or no
Fan:
“stray cat accent” is crazy 😭😭
Fan:
don’t worry we already forgave you after “good morning”
Fan:
you were not angry you were just TEXAN
Fan:
PR team fighting for their life rn but fandom is chilling
Fan:
I watched the clip 17 times and it gets funnier every time
Fan:
Mira and Rumi warning them first makes it justified btw
Fan:
please never suppress the accent again
///
@yeehawlineleader
SHE SAID SHE DOESNT OWN A RANCH BUT THATS EXACTLY WHAT A RANCH OWNER WOULD SAY
@alphazoeydefense
“She already apologized privately” okay case closed move on your honor
@huntrixbubble
Zoey calling it a “stray cat accent” I’m crying 😭
@rumisvoice
Fans: it’s okay
PR team: screaming crying throwing up
@cowboyconcept2026
Zoey western concept WHEN
@mirarightarm
If Mira and Rumi warned you and you still poked her that’s on you
@texansinyourarea
As a Texan: that accent was REAL 😭 that wasn’t acting
@zoeyfanbase
Reminder that she was exhausted after MAMA + still iconic
💬 Zoey Bubble
Zoey:
you are all ENABLERS
Zoey:
but I love you