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Zoey let her head bob along to the instrumental of their latest (and greatest) track yet. This would be it. This would be the one that would hopefully seal the honmoon and save the world.
Or at least it will be once she could get the lyrics to line up the right way.
World saving, demon crushing masterpiece… no pressure, right?
Lyrical maestro she was, it was nice to be supported by her group mates. Like many of their songs, the trio had worked together to draft Golden. And Zoey gets to play editor and rhymer.
Golden was more than a demon-sealing melody. It was their story. It was them.
Over the years of training and performing, they had grown as individuals and as a group, and Zoey couldn’t be happier to stuck with her found family. Their past struggles, the lives they were bound in before Huntr/x didn’t matter anymore. Now, they were more than they could have ever dared hope, and they were together.
Call it cheesy, but Zoey already felt like her life was golden.
Anyway, that’s the vibe they were going for at least. The first verse and chorus were a reflection of their lives’ journey thus far, with a confidence of the hopefully near future.
So one would imagine the second verse would paint a picture of that golden future, right? At least, that’s what Zoey would have done.
But Rumi had asked if she could tackle the drafting of the second verse into the pre-chorus, and what reason did any of them have to deny her that? Yeah, Zoey was the one with the Lyricist title, but the others were talented too.
But the stanza in the notebook in front of her painted a very different picture. The imperfect tense drew a sensation of longing and uncertainty. There was hope, but it almost underplayed in desperation.
Zoey must have been making a face or something, because she’s drawn out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder.
She didn’t jump. Nope. Totally didn’t react.
“What’s got you all serious?”
Zoey looks up as Mira vaults over the couch to sit next to her.
“Just revising the lyrics to Golden,” she says. “Something about this second verse has a whole other vibe to it.”
Mira leans over to read, the section, and Zoey gnaws on the end of her pen. Maybe she was just over thinking them. Musically, they were great lines, but it just didn’t sit quite right.
“No, I see what you mean, Zo. It’s got a… sad sort of wistfulness to it,” Mira surmised, “Especially with how she has the instrumentals slowing down at this part.”
“What do you suppose she’s trying to convey?” Zoey mused aloud. “I mean, patterns? Hunters? Yeah, we usually reference the whole demon hunting thing, but this just seems different.”
Mira hummed in thought, tapping a perfectly manicured nail against the coffee table.
“Maybe ‘put these patterns all in the past’ is sealing the honmoon?”
That sounded plausible, but Zoey wasn’t sure.
“How about we just ask Rumi when she gets back?” Mira suggested.
“Ask me what?”
This time, they both jumped at the voice behind them. For a team of demon hunters, they were quite unaware tonight.
“Heeey, Rumi.” Turning in sync with Mira, Zoey comes to the sight of their fearless leader hanging up her disguise hat. “How was your photo shoot?”
“It was fine.” She eyed the two of them with an exaggerated suspicion. “Now who wants to tell me what you two are up to?”
Zoey heard herself chuckle nervously before realizing she had no reason to be anxious. This was Rumi, and she really could just ask her. They were bandmates. Duh.
“Just looking over the lyrics you gave me for Golden.” Zoey could have sworn Rumi’s step faltered slightly, but Rumi’s pace evened before she could blink. Must have imagined it.
“What about them?”
“They look great and I’m sure they’ll sound awesome when you sing them! It’s just…” Zoey tapered off as she searched for her next words. For someone so good at writing and rapping, simple discussions still eluded her at the worst times.
“We were wondering what your vision was for this second verse.” Thank the honmoon for Mira.
“My vision?” Rumi stopped her approach and just looked at them for the moment.
Zoey straightened up with a smile and patted the cushion next to her. Almost cautiously, Rumi lowered herself into the seat.
“Yeah,” Zoey herded the question carefully. “What were you thinking when you wrote it. Like, here!” Zoey flipped the notebook around so Rumi could see it before pointing at the particular line she and Mira had been discussing.
"’Put these patterns all in the past in the past now,’ Mira thought this might be an allusion to sealing the honmoon and locking away all those evil demons for good. Was that what you were thinking?”
Zoey waited restlessly as Rumi stared at the page. It was silent for a mere moment, but even that was enough to nearly send her spiraling. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. Maybe –
“Uh, yeah. That’s… that’s exactly what I was thinking of when I wrote this line.”
Aw sweet! Mira totally got it right!
“What about this one?” Mira points to the next line down. “What did you mean by ‘be the girl they all see?’”
Now that she was surrounded by her favorite people, Zoey wasn’t stressing about things as much. And with the start Mira gave her, she was starting to see the vision.
“Ooh, ooh, I got this one! That’s definitely referring to us leading double lives, right? And once we seal the honmoon, we don’t have to lie as much to the fans. I mean, we’ll still get our private lives, but we’ll be closer to the normal Kpop stars they see!”
Granted, there would never be anything normal about their little trio. A life time of demon hunting training would assure them of that. But they could be there for the fans.
She turned to Rumi with a wink, a smirk, and a victory sign. “How’d I do? Have I mastered the art of Rumi analysis?”
Even Mira chuckles at that and Zoey counts it as a major victory.
“Heh, sure, Zoey.” Rumi’s half laugh was far less exuberant as she fiddled with the ends of her sleeves. “That is exactly what I meant by that line. And the whole ‘breaking down the wall’ is absolutely about living our whole lives to seal the honmoon and not getting to be normal people and do normal people things. Nothing else. Totally a group mindset and not a personal insecurity caused by failures from birth. No secrets here! No siree!”
Right… Well, that was a weird assertion.
But it was no matter. This song was going to rock! And they were gonna rock it together, which made it even better!
“For what it’s worth, Rumi, even if the fans don’t see it, we think you’re pretty cool.” Mira says.
“Yeah!” Zoey cheers. “It doesn’t matter if we really are who they see us as, what matters is that we have fun, look out for one another, and kick some demon butt! But we do it together, because as cool as we are on our own, ‘you know together we’re glowin’!’”
The groans came in stereo, but as she cackled gleefully, the others soon followed.
“That was terrible, Zo,” Mira huffed out. “But you’re not wrong.”
Zoey preened at the compliment, putting on her most arrogant ‘I know best’ face. Life was good with her two best friends by her side.
Except, one of her best friends suddenly wasn’t looking too great.
As Zoey and Mira struggled to rein in their laughter, Rumi became sullen, staring blankly at the open notebook once more. Her right hand clutched her opposite arm, and she looked to be miles away.
“Rumi? You good?”
It was Rumi’s turn to startle, her gaze coming back into focus on Mira's face. But Zoey noticed she didn’t loosen her grip or relax.
“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I guess the photo shoot took more out of me than I thought.”
Oh, if that was it, then Zoey could totally relate. She loved her job, really she did. But sometimes the professionals could be picky about poses or expressions, and it could drag on for ages.
“Movie night, or early night?” Mira asked. No shade either way. As fun as movie night was, they all understood the importance of a full night's sleep.
“I think I’ll call it an early night.” Rumi stood from the couch and offered a small little wave before turning away. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
They bid her good night, and she disappeared behind her bedroom door, the telltale click of the lock echoing throughout the apartment. She hoped her best friend could get a restful night’s sleep.
“What about you, Zo? Movie, lyrics, or sleep?”
Zoey made a show of pondering the question before grinning at her other best friend, notebook forgotten for now.
“Better idea: cute animal compilations! I’ve got a whole playlist for you!”
Mira whined again, but Zoey knew it was a façade. She turned on the TV and turned down the volume.
Yeah, this was the golden life.
--- --- ---
A lot of things changed at and after the Idol Awards. But a lot of things stayed the same too. Huntr/x was still trending, Bobby was still the best manager ever, and Zoey still loved her best friends.
Sure, hearts were healing from fresh scars and Rumi was part demon now… well, technically she was always part demon, apparently, and Mira and Zoey just knew about it now. But that didn’t matter.
They had each other again, and they were better for it. That’s what mattered.
Knowing what they had almost lost sparked the need to treasure it, and to never let that rift come between them again. Zoey would make sure of it.
It was about a week into their well-needed hiatus that it hit Zoey.
It happened in a simple way. In a moment where life shattering revelations were unsought for, and peace was all that was on her mind.
Zoey was in the kitchen boiling water for their movie-time ramyeon. From the other room, she heard the others ‘arguing’ over what movie to watch. Really, it was more Mira ragging on every title they owned as Rumi read down the list.
Pure domestic bliss.
The kettle whistled, and Zoey took it off the burner, cautiously pouring in the perfect amount to each of the three cups. Satisfied with the water levels, she set the kettle back on the stove and started humming.
Three minutes. That's how long it took for perfect noodles. About the duration of most songs. Almost exactly the duration of some of their own.
Tonight’s timer would be Golden. The melody came to mind easily, the backing track and choreography seared into her memory from countless rehearsals.
As she danced around the kitchen, she stuck her head around the corner to check on her friends. Mira was sulking on the couch, visibly irked by whatever movie decision Rumi had made. Rumi, in turn, was beaming in that way of hers that shouted both smugness and innocent delight at having come out on top.
As Zoey reached the second chorus, Rumi turned in a way that the overhead light caught the demon patterns along her shoulders as she threw her back in free, unhindered laughter.
Zoey stared.
And stared.
Oh. So that’s what it was supposed to mean.
“-ey? Zoey? Hey, Zo!”
Zoey shook herself from her stupor and turned to Mira, who had been calling her and now approached her with a look of utmost concern.
“What’s up, Zo? What’s with the waterworks?”
Zoey reached up and touched her cheek. Sure enough, the tears were running freely.
Mira went to wrap her up in a hug, but Zoey ducked her, launching herself across the room at Rumi instead.
“All along,” she sniffled. “All along it was about you, wasn’t it? About having to hide who you were and feeling like you couldn’t be accepted. I’m so sorry, Rumi!”
She wasn’t sure how long she clung to Rumi, but she wasn’t letting go anytime soon. Eventually, Rumi must have gotten over her shock. Gently and cautiously, Zoey felt her return the embrace. And Zoey cried harder.
She felt more than saw Mira come join them. Their visual settled behind Zoey and petted her head gently.
It was Rumi who first spoke up over Zoey’s blubbering.
“You're probably right,” she started. “A lot of what I felt was along those lines. But what specifically are we talking about right now?”
Oh, right. They didn’t have the full context.
She sniffled and tried to curb her tears before sitting up a little and staring at Rumi straight on. If she kept crying, then Rumi would cry, then Mira would cry, and nothing intelligible would be said for a while.
“Golden. The second verse… that was about you and hiding your demon half, wasn’t it?”
Rumi was quiet again, but it was a different quiet than she used to offer. This wasn’t a shutting down and shutting out quiet. This was a pensive, trying to formulate a response quiet.
When she did respond, it was softly spoken and a little trembly, but it was honest and it was for all three of them.
“My whole life, it felt like my patterns were a blemish. Worse than that, a curse. If they weren’t hidden, then you guys would see what I was. It was never about who the fans saw me as. It was about how you guys saw me, and I didn't want to risk that.”
A pause.
Zoey burrowed back into Rumi’s shoulder, offering her time to think and as much steady support as her hug could offer. Mira reached her free arm across Zoey with a hand of encouragement, which she rested on her shoulder, embracing the patterns as accepted.
“I know now that these patterns aren’t something I need to cover.” Rumi’s smile and quiet confidence shone. Zoey could hear it in her voice and feel it in the way Rumi's hug tightened slightly. “They are a part of me, but I am more than just part-demon. You guys are my family, and I’m proud of that.”
Uh oh. Here come the tears again.
“We love you, Rumi!”
Mira chuckles at Zoey’s tearful exclamation, but Zoey can tell she’s barely holding back the flood herself.
“She’s right,” Mira supplements. “You never have to hide from us again. We love you as you are, and wouldn’t trade you for the world. You’re stuck with us. ‘Huntr/x don’t quit,’ and all that.”
Rumi barks out a blubbery laugh. “Aww. I love you both too.”
And now they’re all a merry little band of wailers.
When the emotional tsunami began to recede, Zoey peeled herself away from her friend's torso and pried her eyes open. Immediately, she gasped at the sight before her.
From behind her, she heard Mira make a similar sound.
Rumi's patterns, which usually stayed a pale, muted blue unless she got upset, were sparkling iridescently. Their glow was a different shade from the lights above, making it crystal clear they were emitting their own luminescence.
It was breathtaking.
As if sensing their gazes, Rumi opened her eyes and stared back, an obvious question in her expression.
"Your patterns..." Mira started.
"They're glowing," Zoey finished for her.
Rumi glanced down and joined in the wonder.
"Huh. That's new," she said. "I figured they were connected to emotions, but this is the first time it’s happened for a good reason.”
She gathered her friends into her arms with a smile, and Zoey was content to settle in the center of their cuddle pile.
Mira lets out a huff behind her, one of her half laughs that meant she was happy, but didn't want to admit it.
"You're done hiding," she said. "Now you're shining. Literally."
Another round of snickers.
"I am," Rumi conceded lightly. "Just like I'm born to be."