Chapter Text
Rumi had always been in solitude.
She was born in solitude.
Raised in solitude.
And she expected to live in solitude.
So seeing trainees come out one by one on stage made Rumi feel sick.
She had never worked along side anyone before. She had always been by herself, relied on herself.
But Celine made it clear that it was mandatory as a hunter that she have two other huntresses by her side.
Rumi sat in the back of the auditorium, her foot tapping restlessly against the floor. Nails digging into her crossed arms. Teeth seeping into her lips.
Every girl who auditioned was the same. The same voice, same looks, same fake personality.
Rumi grew less fond of the idea of partners as each girl came onstage.
Until number 31.
Until Zoey.
A girl stepped out on stage. Black hair in space buns. Face covered in a constellation of freckles. Eyes big, wide, innocent.
Rumi couldn't pull her eyes away from this girl.
And when she spoke, it was in the most beautiful accent Rumi had ever heard. The accent was rich and gentle. With a slight lisp to it.
Beautiful.
"Number 31, may you please tell me your name?" Celine asked. Staring at the clipboard held tightly in her hands.
"Zoey. Zoey Park." Zoey spoke nervously.
Zoey.
Beautiful name.
"Okay Zoey, and what do you aim to achieve in a k-pop group. What do you have to offer?" Celine asked, her voice controlled, steady.
"I uh-I can rap and I can sing, I think." Zoey mumbled.
Rumi chuckled.
Then caught herself.
Don't get invested in her.
"Go ahead, Zoey." Celine nodded, sitting down, her eyes locked on Zoey.
-
Zoey felt her whole body tremble.
Celine.
The Celine.
The woman who Zoey used to rave about in high-school. Was sitting in front of her. Talking to her. Interacting with her.
Watching her.
That in itself made Zoey tremble. But the purple haired girl in the back of the room wasn't helping.
Zoey couldn't tell if the girl was annoyed, interested, or bored.
Zoey swallowed thickly, before she began singing.
Her voice trembled slightly. High notes catching slightly. Some notes not held long enough, some held too long.
The lack of commentary only made Zoey's nerves spike. She expected someone to tell her to stop, to tell her to leave, to tell her that her voice wasn't good enough.
But that someone never came.
She finished her song uninterrupted.
Celine nodded, a gentle smile on her face.
"That's good, thank you so much Zoey. Go to the back and we'll call you out when all the contestants are gone through." Celine explained.
Zoey nodded. Her heart pounding in her chest.
Did she do it?
Did they like it?
Did they hate it?
She didn't know. But they didn't interrupt her, and that meant just as much to her as any clapping ever would.
-
Rumi adjusted in her seat. Blinking slowly.
Zoey was amazing up there.
Sure her voice was a little rusty, but that meant nothing. A few lessons and vocal warm ups and she'd be amazing.
Rumi had thought they'd gone through the only interesting contestants.
Until number 44.
Until Mira.
Celine called for number forty-four. And Rumi honestly didn't know what she had expected.
But a tall, slim, beautiful, model looking goddess?
That wasn't on her list of things to expect at all.
And her voice.
God. Her voice.
Deep. Rich.
Powerful.
Strong in a way that made Rumi sit up fully. That made Rumi's face feel oddly hot.
This girl was-
Wow.
"Hello number forty-four. Please state your name." Celine stated.
"Mira Kang." Mira answered, face unchanging.
No sign of fear.
No sign of nervousness.
No sign of anything.
"And Mira, what do you belive you can add to the-"
"I dance." Mira interrupted.
There was a moment of silence.
Rumi's eyes widened.
No one ever interrupted Celine. No one ever dared to. And if they had, they'd apologize like their life depended on it.
Not Mira.
Celine cleared her throat, clearly taken back by the sudden disrespect.
"Please wait until I'm finished talking to speak." Celine said. Keeping her voice calm.
Mira didn't respond. Not through a nod or a "yes ma'am." Nothing.
"So you dance?" Celine asked.
Mira nodded, reaching over to the speaker.
"Well then, you may-" Celine began.
Once again interrupted.
This time by blasting music as Mira began her choreography.
What was this girl's problem? Why was she so disrespectful?
Like a lioness snarling before anyone had the chance to get close.
However, Celine didn't say anything. Didn't tell her to stop. She just watched.
And Rumi watched too.
-
They were watching her. Mira was well aware of that.
She was nervous. Nervous out of her mind. She had interrupted Celine twice.
Celine.
The woman who would decipher if she would make the cut or not.
Mira took a deep breath.
Apologize later.
Focus.
She moved. The way she had taught herself for years. Her movements were sharp, calculated, precise.
No room for mistakes.
Mira could feel her heart pounding. The rhythm of her own unsteady heartbeat made her slip up. A move not done right. Not done sharp enough with the precision that should've been.
Mira ignored it.
Just breathe.
Just dance.
And she did. She let go. She let the mistakes happen. She didn't care anymore. She just let her body move in what felt right.
By the end of her dance, she was a panting, sweating, mess. But she didn't care. She had danced.
In a way she'd never done before.
In a way that felt right.
"That was very impressive, Mira. Good work. Go back stage and I'll call you up once the rest of the contestants are done." Celine said, a small smile on her face.
Mira nodded, gave a small quick bow, and immediately left the stage.
-
Wow.
Just wow.
Rumi had never-Never seen anyone move like that. She had seen dancing. She had danced before. She was an idol in training, of course she'd danced before.
But that wasn't dancing.
That was soul.
That was raw.
That was someone being allowed to take up space for the first time in years.
That was something Rumi wasn't sure she was allowed to see with her own eyes.
For the rest of the auditions, Rumi couldn't stop thinking about them. Only them.
Zoey's voice. Beautiful, gentle, imperfect but mesmerizing all the same.
Mira's dance. Powerful, raw, sharp, the embodiment of art itself.
Rumi wasn't paying attention to any of the other trainees. She couldn't. Her brain wouldn't let her.
Then, her attention snapped back as all the contestants came on stage. All standing nervously.
Only two would be picked.
And there were over fifty.
"You all preformed great tonight. Beautiful voices and dances. But as great as you all were, only two of you will be chosen." Celine explained.
But before Celine could explain.
Rumi felt something.
A surge that shot clean through her chest.
No.
Not her chest.
Her heart.
Her soul.
She needed Mira and Zoey to be picked. She didn't know why. She didn't give herself time to wonder why. She just knew-
It had to be them.
So she moved, quickly. Down the long aisle and straight towards Celine.
"Yes, Rumi?" Celine asked, attention on the fifty young girls infront of her.
But then she paused.
That look in Rumi's eyes.
Celine saw it. She saw that look. She Knew that look.
The Honmoon was speaking through Rumi. It knew what it wanted. It knew who it wanted to pair.
Celine wouldn't question it.
"Who do you pick?" Celine asked gently.
Without missing a beat. Rumi pointed towards Mira and Zoey.
Celine nodded. This was the Honmoon's pairing. The the Honmoon never lied, it never failed.
"Zoey Park. Mira Kang." Celine called.
The two girls stepped up to the front of the crowd. Nervousness written all over their faces.
"Congratulations girls. You will be apart of this new team." Celine smiled.
-
"You will be apart of this new team."
Zoey's heart stopped. Her nervous expression went blank.
She was chosen?
Her?
Zoey wanted to retort. To call Celine out that some sort of mistake must've been made. But nothing came out. She just nodded.
Be cool.
Don't freak out.
Don't be how you were back in Burbank.
Beside her.
Mira Kang.
Beautiful woman.
Staring at her through the corner of her eyes.
Zoey curled her shoulders in, immediately facing foward again. Zoey wasn't sure about Mira, or about the purple haired girl that she'd soon be partners with.
But she could worry about complications of relationships later.
She was going to be a k-pop idol.
The people she used to look up to, she was about to become.
She couldn't handle it.
"Please excuse me." Zoey choked out, her voice strained.
Zoey quickly made her way to the nearest bathroom she could remember. Locked herself in a stall and slid down the door until she hit the floor.
Tears flowed down her face as her body shook violently. Her chest heaved with oxygen that didn't feel like enough.
She got in. She really got in.
-
Mira watched as Zoey left. Quick and in a hurry. But Mira couldn't bring herself to care. She could learn how to deal with the two girls she'd have to work with later.
Right now?
She had gotten in the group.
Originally, she auditioned as a way to rebel against her parents. She had told them she would go try out for a trainee. Knowing full and well her parents were highly against it.
But now? She had actually gotten in the group. And she couldn't help the giant grin the appeared on her face.
Her parents would be pissed.
Good.
-
Rumi left the auditorium the second Celine had announced the winners.
She needed to gather her bearings.
Why the hell would she do that?
Asking for those two to join the group? Celine had it under control, so why did she choose to intervene?
Like she was scared Mira and Zoey wouldn't be picked.
But Rumi shouldn't care. She never did. People were just faces that Rumi was used to seeing.
But these people were different.
So very different.