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Celine had never seen Rumi in love before, but it was so obviously like Miyeong that it made her heart ache in that way that she'd almost forgotten about. Maybe, in some small way, she was grateful for the memory of that ache. To forget how she'd loved Miyeong felt like a crime against the nature of the universe.
A wistful sigh from Rumi brought Celine back from the present. The girl was staring down at her phone, a soft smile on her face. She giggled before tapping away, and rested her chin on her hand.
She sent another message, then her eyes widened and she mumbled under her breath, too low for Celine to hear anything but 'why did I say that' but her distress clear as day. Whoever was on the other side replied and the tips of Rumi's ears turned pink, a flush running up her neck.
"Are you alright?" Celine asked, setting down the needlework she was doing.
Rumi jumped, fumbling her phone and catching it mid air, "I'm fine! Good. I'm good. Everything is good!" She clutched her phone to her chest, "I'm so good."
"Are you sure?" Celine tilted her head, "You look a little flustered."
"Nope! Just…" She pulled her phone away, looked down, eyes actually bulging out of their sockets, "Hot. I mean I'm warm. I'm going to shower."
She was gone before Celine could do more than raise her eyebrows. Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, she did not hear the water heater kick on.
Rumi had never been this glued to her phone before, nor had she gone out of the house as often as she had the past several weeks. It was endearing in the way of seeing someone closed off open up, even if Celine felt a growing sense that told her that Rumi might not need her as much as she'd had. Like a fledgling getting ready to leave the nest. Celine wasn't sure how she felt about that. It would be… harder to protect her. And she'd sworn she would.
But Rumi had met someone, obviously. Perhaps at that industry event Celine had taken her to. Celine had deliberately kept Rumi's exposure to the life that she'd led before her birth as low as possible in that effort to protect her from it but sometimes it couldn't be helped. Mostly, she didn't want Rumi to suffer as she and her mother had. But she still loved music and singing, so Celine had tried to guide her in a direction less under the microscope.
Had it been that pretty boy that Rumi had fallen for? The himbo with abs? Celine dismissed the latter immediately. Rumi wasn't that shallow and the kind of person who preferred a deeper connection. She had spent some time talking to the pretty boy though. What was his name? Keanu? Jinu?
Celine pulled up some photos from the event, searching for the more candid shots that simply showed people mingling and talking. She could see Rumi's distinctive purple braid in a few and in almost all of them she was standing or sitting with two other women.
The taller one she recognized and not just because of the vibrant pink dye. It was hard not to know Kang Mira, the rebellious model, dancer and philanthropist who'd had a particularly brutal falling out with her conservative family. Celine was much too old for her but in her day, Mira was exactly the kind of woman she'd have had a fling with.
Before Miyeong. Before So-Yi.
The other she didn't recognize, but was very pretty with her hair pulled into little buns. A quick search brought her to Choi Zoey, a nature photographer with a side gig rapping and singing on youtube and tiktok. She was really good, and sounded familiar. Celine realized that she'd gotten a few background vocal and writing credits with some of her own label's artists.
"Huh." Celine went back to the photos, and studied the expression on Rumi's face. Soft, relaxed, and looking at one or the other of them with the same sort of subtle awe that one might evoke looking upon a work of art.
"Huh." That should have been on her bingo card, honestly. And if some of these photos were to be believed, Rumi wasn't the only one enraptured.
"Rumi?" She called out.
Rumi's head peaked out from the other room, "Yes, Celine?"
"When do I get to meet your new friends?"
Eyes widening, Rumi stammered, "Uuuhh. Soon?!"
Knowing that it would probably be some time before Rumi actually got the courage to introduce her, Celine set about making sure herMiyeong's daughter would be safe. First she ran a background check on the more unknown of the two women.
Zoey had dual citizenship in both the US and South Korea and had grown up in what Celine surmised was lower middle-class. Not a disqualifier by any means, since Miyeong had come from a similar background. She had no real troubles with the law beyond a few citations for noise and a stack of tickets for skateboarding in places one shouldn't.
Remembering the time she and her girls had broken into an amusement park at midnight, Celine couldn't judge, and if she was honest with herself, someone who could have fun might be good for Rumi.
Her online presence was loud, fingerprints all over the web and an AO3 account that had Celine sighing in exasperation when she saw the contents. That could be a problem, but one for future her to worry about.
Mira's background check turned up a few sealed juvenile records and almost—but not quite—perfectly buried story that had her seething. She made a note to check if she was doing any business with Mira's family and end it immediately. Otherwise, this was a woman known for being somewhat brusque, but polite and kind to the people she worked with, and had a talent for dancing that actually left Celine breathless.
In another world, she could see these two and Rumi on top of the world. Rumi's voice and Zoey's words and Mira's moves…And she hadn't even seen what chemistry they had outside of a few pictures.
Shaking her head at that notion, since Rumi wasn't at all interested in stardom and Celine had done her best to shield her from the spotlight, Celine sat back and sipped at her tea. Even if that wasn't the issue, Rumi's interest was obvious and a trio of gay idols was not something she thought the industry was ready for.
At least, she didn't like the idea of watching Rumi going through that media hellfire. Not that Rumi wanted that, she was sure. Rumi would have told her, right?
"Celine?" Rumi came into her office, and clasped her hands behind her back, "I'd like to go with you to that fundraiser. It… would be a good chance for you to meet them. My friends."
In a safe, neutral location was the unspoken addition. Celine wasn't upset at that, and she understood, "I'm not going to bite, Rumi."
Rumi eyed her dubiously, "You threatened to bury my ex-boyfriend in the dirt by the tree."
Celine nodded, "I did."
"Alive."
"Indeed."
"But they're not my… we're not, it's just, they're just friends." Rumi clarified very quickly.
"Of course," Celine agreed. Rumi clearly needed her help.
A part of Celine actually enjoyed fundraisers. The sick twisted part according to So-Yi, the kind, human part according to Miyeong. But she'd always liked the idea of using her media skills to help people. Money was always the most important thing and she contributed enough directly, but far too many people who had money needed to show off about how generous they were. And Celine enjoyed extracting those donations, ruthlessly at times and with just enough of a smile to make them thank her for it.
She'd just secured enough to keep one of the non-profits running for a year when she spied Rumi with her two would-be paramours. Putting on her best unimpressed bitch face, Celine approached them.
Zoey noticed her first, eyes widening slightly as she instinctively stood straighter. Even Mira straightened, which had Rumi straightenined as she turned to smile at Celine with that too-awkward smile of hers, "Celine! Fancy meeting you here?"
Mira snorted, and Celine raised an eyebrow, "We drove here together, Rumi."
"Right. Of course!" Rumi laughed. It sounded vaguely like a devastated hyena, which was a new impressive level of nervous.
She kept her eyes on Celine and gestured to her left, "This is Choi Zoey, and this is Kang Mira. We've been corresponding for a month or so now."
"Corresponding," Mira stated flatly, rolling her eyes. There was no malice in the expression, if anything she looked at Rumi like she was a precious thing as she did so.
"More like keeping us up all night," Zoey replied, smiling brightly.
"In texts!" Rumi clarified. "And video calls."
Mira's smirk was telling, "Those too."
Rumi shot a stern look back at Mira, then turned back to Celine, "We've been… we've been working on something."
Celine tilted her head, feeling suddenly nervous herself, "Working on something?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is these aren't just my friends, they're my bandmates," Rumi said, straightening her back and looking Celine in the eyes. "I know the industry is tough, but we have something magical, I can feel it. We even made a video and we can show it to you."
Celine felt her blood run cold, staring at Rumi with wide eyes, "Rumi I … I promise your mother I'd protect you from the industry."
"I know, I know how horrible it was to her and to you." Rumi took her hand, "I still want to try. "
She glanced back ant Mira and Zoey, "For them. and for me."
"It could eat you alive," Celine warned, but she was already wavering.
Rumi smiled back at her, "Or we could bite back."
Celine sighed, and wondered if she'd been too protective. They were years late for a traditional debut, they'd have to take a different tact, "I can't be directly involved, we'll have to find you a manager and a media team and the pressure will be titanic."
Zoey reached out first, grasping Rumi's hand, Mira quickly following suit. Rumi squeezed their hands, "I think we can handle it, eomma."
Now that was playing unfairly.
"We're really good together," Zoey said. "Like, Sunlight Sisters good."
"Better," Mira said, which had Celine narrowing her eyes.
But Rumi was looking at her with such hope and fire in hers that there really was no chance. It was like the teddy bear museum all over again. How could she say no?
"All right. I'll review your video and anything else you've prepared," Celine said, knowing damn well Rumi probably already had demos and a dozen other things ready to go. Probably even a logo.
She was just like that. So much like herself really, "This isn't a promise, but if you are all as good as my background check showed, I don't see any problems giving you a boost."
"Background checks?!" Rumi looked aghast, but Zoey started laughing as Mira looped an arm around Rumi's shoulder, grinning.
"One more thing," Celine plucked a glass of champagne from a passing server. "Because god knows you need all the help you can get."
Rumi eyed her suspiciously, "What?"
Looking first Zoey then Mira over, Celine smiled, "Ladies, your clothing would look very nice on Rumi's bedroom floor."
Celine casually lifted her drink to her lips and took a sip like she hadn't just exploded a bomb in their faces. Zoey squawked out a choked sound, her eyes wide and bulging as Mira's mouth dropped open and her face turned the color of her own hair.
Rumi's face also turned the color of Mira's hair and she looked like she wanted to jump out the nearest window. Celine simply nodded and walked away, hoping the girls could take it from there.
She could still keep her promise. But maybe it was time for Rumi to stretch her wings and fly.