Archive of Our Own

The penthouse was silent in the middle of the night. Celine padded through the kitchen, taking care not to disturb the quiet as she searched the closets for a glass.

She wasn't sure what woke her up, exactly. Maybe it was the silence. The old hanook let the sounds of nature filter in, and she was no longer used to the silence of expensive housing. The hum of the ventilation and the expensive fridge the only sounds she could perceive despite the never-asleep city sprawling under the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Maybe it was the nervous tension. It was the first time Celine had ever slept in guest room of the penthouse, after all. Usually, when she had to come back in the city, she booked an hotel or used one of the dedicated temporary room in the Sunlight Entertainment building. But Rumi had asked if she would stay, after dinner, and Celine didn't really feel like denying her, when their relationship was already so… unstable. It had only been a few month, since Rumi appeared near the ritual tree, and asked her to… Since that day at the tree.

Celine was not stupid enough to not realize that Zoey and Mira blamed her for it, as they should, but they didn't outwardly oppose her and Rumi's attempt at rebuilding their relationship so Celine will not look that gifted horse in the mouth and accept her dau— ward's attempts at reconciliation. She would make the best of it, that she swore to herself.

She must have been distracted, or maybe she was truly getting old, because she didn't realize that Zoey was also awake until a light shined upon her and she heard a small yelp, only turn around to see the younger girl clutching her chest, her phone in the other hand, with the flash switched on.

"God, you scared me!" Zoey wheezed, "What are you doing in the dark?"

Celine looked at the windows, letting in plenty of lights from the outside to orientate oneself, and held her tongue to opt for a more diplomatic answer. "I was just looking for a drinking glass. I did not want to turn on the ceiling lights."

"Like mother like daughter, I swear…" muttered Zoey, shaking her head, which Celine promptly ignored.

Zoey shuffled forward, a large shirt billowing down to her thighs. Celine noted with a certain lack of surprise that this particular shirt used to belong to Rumi. Zoey did always borrow her group mates clothes. What was more surprising was the sheen of sweat clinging to Zoey's skin, despite the AC keeping the whole penthouse at a very comfortable temperature. Did Zoey wake up from a nightmare? Celine resisted the urge to ask her.

A large glass procured from the closet Celine was about to open, Zoey filled it to the brim with water before holding it out with an awkward smile on her face. Celine took it and drank a couple of mouthful to lower the water to a safer level before speaking. "Thank you. Were you looking for water as well?"

"Oh right!" Zoey perked up and grabbed two sport drinks from the fridge. Celine once again resisted the urge to scold her about proper nutrition but her face must have betrayed her. Zoey was already scrambling to justify herself. "I'm—! I, uh… couldn't sleep so I was doing some uh… cardio!"

Ah, this explained the sweat as well.

They returned to the rooms in awkward silence, exchanging goodnight in the hall. Before entering her room, Celine looked behind her one last time for no discernible reason. Zoey was typing something on her phone, both drink held below her arms, and standing frozen in front of… "Isn't that Rumi's room?" Celine couldn't help but ask.

Zoey startled a little and looked at Celine, then the door, then Celine again with a small embarrassed laugh. "Oh yeah, ahah! Thank you! Goodnight!" She turned on her heels and entered her own room, leaving Celine alone in the hall to do the same.

She did so with a small shake of her head and a smirk tugging at her lips. Zoey had always been prone to small innocuous mistakes like that, outside the stage and battle. Witnessing it now again brought fond memories to Celine's mind.

She was almost about to fall asleep when she heard the distant sound of doors opening and closing again, and smile yet again in the dark at the thought of Zoey having forgotten something else.

This girl really had her head in the clouds sometimes.

"Rumi?" Bobby knocked on the door of the single-person changing room, still scrolling on his phone. "Rumi, are you in here?"

For a while, after the last Idol Awards and the big revelations that the girls were moonlighting as demon hunters, they had asked for a communal changing room. With the full explanation of why Rumi had insisted for a separate room in the past, Bobby couldn't have been more proud.

And yet, recently, they started requesting to have a single room prepared next the communal again, "just in case". Bobby had prodded, gently, but they had assured him that Rumi wasn't regressing, and it was just "in case one of them wanted the calm". It made a certain amount of sense, actually. Even without the need to hide her patterns, Rumi may have genuinely enjoyed the privacy, before and after the intensity of a show.

Bobby was about to try the communal room when the door finally opened, only it wasn't Rumi who answered but Mira, her makeup half-off already.

"Hi Bobby," she smiled, warmly, and not for the first time Bobby wondered how this image of the heartless badass could stick to someone like Mira. "Did you want something?"

"Oh yeah!" he unlocked his phone and scrolled up while talking. "There's this reporter, a good one, the one who did the interview post-Idol Award, do you remember? He asked if we could do a short post-show segment to talk about your Comeback tour, so I wanted to ask Rumi if she was up for it. I was expecting her to be here, actually! Old habits die hard I guess, haha. I'll just knock in the group room, sorry to bother you Mira!"

"No wait!" Mira actually jumped to grab his arm before he could wander off too far. "Rumi and Zoey are… uh… napping."

And see, Bobby was a trusting person. By nature, oftentimes, but mostly, by choice. It was his role as a manager and as a friend to respect his girls' privacy. It was then with deliberate intent that he chose to believe Mira's words exactly as she pronounced them and to not examine them any further. He just had to make sure, though. "Oh, are they alright?"

"Oh, yes, yes, don't worry," was quick to reassure Mira, with enough confidence to settle Bobby's nerves. "They just… didn't sleep enough those last few days."

"Were they nervous?"

"No, no, actually." Mira smirked. "I would blame Zoey's poor decision making but I think this was Rumi not being responsible for once."

"I think she's earned it, after everything." Bobby chuckled. "Alright! I'll make sure they're not disturbed and I'll present our apologies to the reporter. Bye Mira! I'll knock again once we're ready to leave!"

"Bye Bobby, you're the best!", grinned Mira.

And if Bobby heard a little shuffle when passing in front of the communal changing room, well, Zoey had always been a fitful sleeper.

"Okay so… would you believe me if I told you I had an airsoft game yesterday?"

Ji-An, the middle-aged makeup artist, raised one eyebrow, her hands already grabbing the extra-strength concealer matching the exact tone of Zoey's skin without looking. With a deadpan tone, she asked. "And they shot you in the neck? Multiple times?"

Next to them, Rumi was squirming, her scarlet face peeking from behind her own makeup, and certainly sweating enough to warrant another layer to be reapplied. Mira, on her side, was barely holding on to her sanity by biting at her freshly painted lips and looking directly at the ceiling.

"Yes! Exactly!" answered Zoey, with a unwarranted confidence and a negative amount of shame. "They were very focused on that spot!"

Ji-An hummed, and simply pulled the collar of Zoey's crop top one inch, exposing the contours of a bite, the canine defined enough to be identifiable at a glance. She resisted the urge to look at the only woman she knew with canines long enough to leave behind such marks, who was currently looking at the beige paint of the wall with unending fascination.

Zoey's eyes flicked to the mark, and her grin faltered a little. "There were… zombie actors? At the airsoft game? That I went to yesterday."

The make-up artist simply went to work, letting silence work for her.

"They were very bitey," assured Zoey.

It was at that moment that Mira exploded, shrieking in laughter until all air was gone from her lungs while Rumi was doing her best impression of an overflowing kettle.

Ji-An just shook her head fondly and let a tiny smirk grow on her face. She had been working with those three for the better part of a decade now, since they were barely sixteen and preparing for their debut. They always had this sense of responsibility to them, making them overly serious, even backstage, it was nice too see them act a little more relaxed recently. A bit like the teenagers they never could be.

Zoey shot a wink above Ji-An's shoulder that she pretended not to see.

Hormonal teenagers.

Dispute in Huntr/x group?
From huntrxFourthMember

Ok so first of all, let me tell you that I'm not a hater. In fact, it's with deep dread that I write this post, please please please tell me if you have proof that I'm wrong! I love huntrix so so so much idk what I would do if they disbanded!

So, I saw Rumi and Zoey at the aquarium yesterday. I was drawing the sharks for my art classes, and trying not to lose my mind over my inability to capture their shape, when I hear someone speak a mile a minute behind me. The voice triggers me so I look, and lo and behold here is Zoey, explaining all the different races of shark to Rumi who looks like she's absorbing everything directly as it comes out of Zoey's mouth. I won't describe their clothes, because they were obviously trying to remain incognito and im trying not to be the cringiest fan ever. BTW I'm only writing this post because Zoey posted about visiting the COEX aquarium on her socials.

Like the being of confidence and class that I am, I probably made a sound because they turn toward me and realize I was looking at them. Immediately I apologize and fumble my way to both of them signing my sketchbook (never throwing it away by the way). Zoey even congratulated my drawings!!!

So yeah, my point: there was only Rumi and Zoey here. I was looking around to see if Mira was also here and I could not see her anywhere. Zoey joked that they were here on a date with Rumi, so I assumed Mira was busy with work, but when I got home I saw that Mira had been streaming some cooking like she does in her down time.

My point is: is this usual for them to split up like this? Someone noticed recently that Mira was always a bit farther apart than Zoey and Rumi in public. Is this hiding an internal dispute? Are they gonna split up?

Please please please reassure me, I'm freaking out a bit!!

—

• notAHunterBut: least anxious Huntr/x fan smh

  • askmeaboutmyjob: ikr so what the girls are not stuck together 24/7??

• zoeysFourteenthFreckle: hear me out, what if Zoey was telling the truth with the date thing?

  • dreampaladin: ZOERUMI NATION RISE UP

  • doomed_soccer: oh yeah lmao, because idol famously date within their groups and reveal it to some rando

    • dreampaladin: oh so you're just homophobic

      • doomed_soccer: ?????? im literally gay???

• xekstrin: don't worry OP, I think they're alright! During the cooking stream, Mira mentioned making enough for the three of them, and she even prepared a spice-free portion for Zoey. I don't think theres bad blood unless they're all covering it quite well

  • dreampaladin: plus Zoey posted the plushies they brought back from the aquarium and there was one for Mira too! a funny pink octopus iirc

    • xekstrin: oh yeah! I really doubt they'd go through the trouble of finding a gift just for PR sake

      • doomed_soccer: you really underestimate the length kpop groups go for PR

        • xekstrin: fr im surprised zoey and rumi were allowed to go out in public by themselves, specifically to avoid the kind of freakout OP has lmao

    • huntrxFourthMember (OP): oh thank you for that! I can keep on living!

      • dreampaladin: op, are you alright?

  • zoeysFourteenthFreckle: tbf a spice-free portion of what Mira was cooking could be considered a hate-crime, that looked SO delicious…

    • xekstrin: no yeah, give me the pain, I can take it

• doomed_soccer: OP when people actually spend some time with some other friends than them: DO YOU HATE ME

  • huntrxFourthMember (OP): see, I know you're joking buuuutt….

    • notAHunterBut: girl, go see a therapist

• xX_justaphage69_Xx: I hope they disband and stop making the slop they call music forever

  • xekstrin: fuck off

  • huntrxFourthMember (OP): you're on the huntrix forum???

  • notAHunterBut: get some help

Min-Soo trotted along the corridors, looking for the meeting room with urgency. The notification for a "URGENT ALL HANDS MEETING" had popped on his screen barely five minutes ago, and he was already three minutes late. God, please help him not get fired from his dream job during his very first week!

He just had graduated, top of his class in community management and public relationship, and aced all his interviews to get in. He did found weird that the interviewer was almost trying to convince him to join, but that was probably because of the work load, though it had remained very reasonable until now. That may be about to change, given the sudden meeting, but Min-Soo was not about to give up for a little overtime! Not when he had the opportunity to work for THE Huntr/x!

He finally slipped into the meeting room, closing the door softly behind him to the nod of his supervisor. The head of the PR department apparently had waited for him because she immediately started.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Here's the situation: this video has been posted online about thirty minutes ago. Of course, legal has taken care of it as soon as it was brought to our attention, but you know how it is: someone already made a copy, and now it has escaped containment.

"So now, I need you all to help us come up with a cover for… well, you'll see."

She pressed play.

On the screen appeared a silent CCTV footage, showing the back of a small convenient store. The timestamp at the bottom right was dating the video to the night before, around 2 AM. For a few seconds, nothing moved, until a short person came onto the screen, skipping lightly, and opened a fridge. The probably-woman wore a multi-color bomber jacket and an almost offensively bright yellow bucket hat obscuring her face. She ruffled in the fridge for a couple of second before pulling a bottle out and brandishing it victoriously to someone off-screen behind her.

That someone would not remain hidden for long. Min-Soo could see a taller figure approaching casually, hood of their hoodie up, and their silhouette swallowed by a long coat. The clothes were a bit more conspicuous, probably too warm for the current weather, and Min-Soo was starting to have his suspicions about the identity of the two persons. He was also starting to wonder if he would get summoned every time Huntr/x appeared in any kind of unsanctioned footage. They were just on a snack run late in the night, after what had probably been a grueling day of work. Did it really warrant an all-hands meeting?

Except, on screen, probably-Zoey turned back to the fridge, to grab something higher, exposing her face to the camera and confirming the suspicions. She struggled a couple of seconds before probably-Rumi came in with a smirk and an extension of her taller body to grab the drink under the maknae's nose.

Min-Soo almost snickered at the immediate offense on Zoey's face, and the way she turned on her heels to try and grab the drink in probably-Rumi's hand. But probably-Rumi extended her arm upward, keeping the coveted prize out of reach, a shit-eating smirk on her face. Zoey stomped her foot and stepped even closer, in what appeared like an unsuccessful attempt at intimidation, and just as Rumi's smirk turned smug, she raised up to… to…

Did she just… kiss Rumi? Probably-Rumi?

Probably-Rumi did not seem to share in Min-Soo's surprise, as she immediately leaned down to retaliate with a kiss of her own, then another, then… then Zoey grabbed the bottle that had been lowered in the distraction and bolted out of screen.

Min-Soo could almost hear the sputter of indignation coming from Rumi as she rushed to the chase.

There was a couple second of static image before probably-Mira… okay no that was full-on Mira, in casual clothes, with just glasses and a cap on her iconic pink hair. Did nobody taught them to conceal their identity in public? Mira strolled languidly in view of the camera, looking toward where Zoey and Rumi had disappeared, before Zoey entered the camera again like a hurricane, hiding from Rumi behind Mira and almost toppling her in the process.

Rumi arrived slower, prowling, her movements fluid like a predator. She circled Mira while Zoey matched her, keeping the tallest woman between them. After one full turn, Zoey tried to disengage and tear away from Mira, but Rumi expected it now. She jumped almost supernaturally fast, tackling the maknae to the ground, the drink at the origin of the whole dispute rolling on the ground.

Trapped, Zoey could only shriek in laughter as Rumi trapped her between her legs and tickled her sides mercilessly. The assault relented quickly enough, however, and Zoey was left to recover her breath, still trapped between Rumi's legs. Only once she seemed calmer did Rumi twist her in her grasp to capture her in a much deeper kiss. This one lasted long enough for Mira to visibly sigh, and step around them to recover the lost beverage.

Only when she rose up did she spot the camera and froze like a deer in headlights. She batted blindly behind her, whispering something between her teeth at her group mates. The two immediately separated, looking a little out of it but quickly recovered to finally stare directly into the camera.

All three remained frozen in place, perfectly immobile in realization of the trainwreck they just caused. Then, Zoey's arm jerked toward the camera and the feed cut abruptly in a flash.

A long silence fell in the meeting room, as everyone tried to digest what they had just saw. Then, a notification popped up on the projected screen.

From: [email protected]
Subject: sorry!!!!!!
im so so so so so so so so so so soso so so so sorrryyy!!!!!!!

The greying woman leading the meeting sighed lengthily. "Does anyone have a brilliant idea to cover that up?"

Silence.

Another sigh. "Alright, well. We have a hard launch on our hands." Immediately, she started dispatching the teams. "Ha-Rin, your department contact the main news outlets and promise them some interviews if they don't publish anything in the meantime. Sang-Min, contact legal and handle the broken camera business, with our deepest apologies. Taeyong, I want a first draft for a public announcement in thirty minutes. I'm taking care of contacting the girls and getting us a green light."

Min-Soo perked up at mention of his supervisor's name, but there was still something he didn't understand. He raised his hand almost unconsciously, as everyone was already scrambling to depart.

All eyes turned toward him and silence fell back in the room. He tried not to swallow too obviously before asking: "Will… won't their contracts be terminated?"

Silence. Then snickers all around the table. People resumed their departure, as the head of the PR department came forward, still smirking kindly. "I assume you missed the memo during your onboarding. No they won't get terminated. They own this company.

"Welcome to the circus."

Booming music. Brightly decorated floats. People walking and dancing, brandishing flags of all know color combinations. The Pride was in full boom in the streets of Seoul, and for the first time ever, Rumi was part of it.

Her so-called "bi-liner" exacerbated to the n-th degree, and complimenting her matching outfit, Rumi felt both a little ridiculous and a little underdressed compared to everyone around her.

At the front of their float, Mira was leading the procession in a dancing march. She was wearing a gorgeous dress, handmade especially so the pink of her hair served as the pink of a lesbian flag, its orange stripe serving as the bridge to the sunset colors of the aroace one.

Next to her, helping her throw heaps of pride merchandise that they decided very early on would not be stamped Huntr/x, was Zoey, in an eyesore of overalls, with the bright colors of the pansexual flag scattered among the different pieces of fabric. Under it, she wore a much more tasteful shirt with the muted pink, white and light blue of the trans flag.

The colors clashed horribly, and the explosive makeup didn't help, yet Rumi had never felt more drawn to her. Her beautiful chaos. Her spirit, finally free to be expressed outwardly. Her exuberant happiness, that she knew Zoey made the conscious decision to choose every day.

She never loved her more than now.

If only she could kiss her.

The music changed and Zoey span around to look at Rumi, delighted. "OH MY GOD! We have to sing this!"

Wait, their relationship had already gone public! She could kiss her.

Carried forward by the electric atmosphere, Rumi stepped closer and gently grabbed her chin. Zoey startled. "Rumi?"

The kiss started slow, but quickly gained in intensity as the crowd caught on to what was happening and the hurrah increased in volume. The feedback loop held until they had to emerge for air.

"I love you."

Rumi was pretty sure she had already said it half a million time already, yet it still elicited the prettiest blush to bloom on Zoey's face. A helpless little giggle escaped her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Zoey kisses her gently. "I love you too."

They stay tangled for another good couple of minutes, utterly blind and deaf to the crowd around them. Eventually, Rumi sighed. "I know I'm the one who initiated it this time, but we really need to stop or PR will be mad again."

"'This time'?! The shop reveal was your fault!" yelled Zoey, deeply offended on principle and utterly unbothered by it.

Rumi sputtered, and opted to counter with one last kiss. A short one this time. Promise.

They still had to apologize to PR again.