Chapter Text
(Zoey POV)
"So... have you decided if you're coming back to Seoul with me?"
"Well... honestly, I don't think I need to think about it much. I guess that whole 'give me till the end of the day' was just a reason to spend time with you for longer. Guess you could say my mind was already made up."
Kenzie looked a bit anxious, almost too anxious that I thought she might thank me but say no. But she couldn't possibly want to continue living in this place where she was just a pushover right?
I mean sure when I left nobody was too pleased and I felt bad but it was for the best. Though, I only realized that way later.
"Zoey, thank you for today. It was the most had I've fun in a while. And it really just helped me to solidify my decision. Zoey, will you please take me to Seoul with you and convince your manager to give me a job or something. Seriously, I can do anything! Im not picky, I'm just grateful I have an opportunity to get out of this place."
"Awhh, Kenzie! Of course! Bobby will be absolutely thrilled and Mira and Rumi will love you!"
I threw my arms around her and hugged her tight, nodding rapidly. Finally, Mystery's plan had worked and Kenzie had agreed to come back to Seoul with us!
He would be thrilled to hear this. Not exactly because she was coming along but because we could finally go back home. But that was okay, he'd grow to like her I'm sure.
"So, when do you think you'll be ready to leave?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, like get all your stuff ready and packed. I never really fully unpacked since I was only supposed to stay here two weeks, not a whole month, so I can go any time. But how long do you think you'll need, I can make arrangements with flights and all that."
"Oh! Well, I think I'll be good by Monday-ish. Probably even tomorrow. Do I need to move my furniture too or...?"
"No, don't worry about that silly! Every room in the HUNTR/X tower is furnished. Anything else you might want we can buy once we're there. How's that sound? All you'd need to pack is clothes, maybe hair tools, you know essentials."
"Oh... then yeah, I'll be done by tomorrow no sweat."
"Perfect, I'll buy flights for us tonight then. Mystery's coming too by the way, weird coincidence huh?"
"Yeah, that's strange."
Kenzie was bound to find out the truth about Mystery eventually, but I didn't think she'd start piecing it all together this soon. Or maybe she was deep in thought about something else, something deeper. Probably about how her whole life was about to change.
I didn't blame her. She had never moved internationally before, c'mon most people from the states never move out of their state at all. This was a big move, sure, but it would be so beneficial.
It's not like she was taking a spontaneous risk! She had a job, she wasn't alone, and she had a home. I just hoped she thought the same way.
"Right then, tomorrow it is. Just text me the information and I'll see it tomorrow morning, packing won't take me long."
"Got it! Goodnight, Kenzie. Hope you get some good sleep."
"Goodnight, Zoey, don't let the bed bugs bite!"
She left with a smile, which I took as a good sign since her smile was genuine.
Tomorrow was a huge day! I'd finally return to with Rumi, Mira, and Bobby!
Now all I had to do was sleep. What a challenge.
****
Mystery.
Mystery.
Mystery.
He freaking came back around 11 at night! And he just wouldn't leave. I thought he might want to talk or something but nope! His whole reason for coming back was that he had previously said he would be back soon and that all he wanted was sleep.
If all he wanted was sleep he would've stayed at his hotel and slept on an actual bed!
Yeah, Mystery ended up on the floor, however, he fell asleep before I could even offer him a blanket. I did fix the space on the floor to be a little more comfy though, providing a blanket and some pillows for him once he had fallen asleep.
I guess that's why he didn't want to take his clothes back to his hotel room with him. Lucky for him we would be out of here, hopefully, by tomorrow. If all went well with Kenzie of course.
I hadn't told him what Kenzie had said yet, too focused on our own conversations. I wanted to ask what happened to the rest of the Saja Boys since Mystery was roaming free, Gwi-ma had basically no control over him. Well, that was besides the occasional whisper Mystery said that he heard only a few times since leaving.
When I woke up Mystery was already awake, right next to my bed with his arm on my bed. His hand was gently wrapped around one of my wrists while he played on the ipad with his other hand. Even one handed Mystery was still great at the games.
"Good morning..."
"Good morning, Zoey. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah... I guess. What about you? I told you to go back to your hotel to sleep on an actual bed."
"The floor was fine, trust me."
"So uh... why are you grabbing onto my wrist?"
"Am I not allowed to? I'll let go."
"No, I mean, you can do whatever you want but I'm just a little surprised. That's all."
"Oh, no reason then."
I just nodded at him, not wanting to interrogate him first thing in the morning. I did manage to convince him to let me go for just a second so I could go to the bathroom and properly get ready for the day.
When I got back, Mystery was still on my floor playing games on my ipad. Oh the ipad kid I had created.
"This is unacceptable, all you've done is rot on that thing since you got up!"
"Well, I didn't want to wake you up."
"Excuses! Ooh I've got a great idea."
"Okay... Tell me."
Mystery finally put the ipad aside and looked up at me, sitting up criss cross on the floor.
"Fashion show! Since you left all your clothes here from yesterday's shopping, you can model them all for me!"
"Maybe not..."
"Oh come on please! Think of it as a small fee for keeping your things here."
"But I don't know how to."
"All you need to do is put on all the different clothes. You were an idol weren't you? I'm sure this will be a piece of cake!"
"...Fine."
And with that, Mystery got up and grabbed his two shopping bags of clothes. He grabbed the blanket he was using and threw it onto my head.
"Since I can't go to the bathroom, don't look."
"Why can't you? Ohh, because no one knows you're here. Fine, and you better model well."
"As you said, I was an idol not a model."
"Oh come on, its basically the same thing."
"Very much not."
We went back and forth for a few minutes until he took the blanket off my head again.
And man, did he look amazing in the first set of clothes. Sure I had picked out the outfits, but i tried to stray away from the whole Saja Boys wardrobe. Which meant this was almost a completely new look.
A few outfits later we heard scratching at the door and I quickly opened it since I knew it was Mochi. Oh! His walk! No wonder he came scratching. I typically always went to him to go for walks, never the other way around.
"Hey Mochi, we're gonna have to delay your walk a little okay? It's going to be your last walk in Burbank! You excited?!"
The dog just looked at me, probably annoyed that he had to come find me and that we were delaying his walk. He growled at Mystery and just hopped onto my bed.
"Can I be done now? We're halfway through so I'm sure you've seen enough. Also what do you mean by Mochi's last walk in Burbank?"
"Nonsense! You're almost done, might as well finish. Ohh right! I forgot to tell you. Kenzie agreed! We're leaving for Seoul tonight with Mochi of course."
"Oh, finally. I guess you really did put my idea into action, didn't you?"
"I did, it was a good idea, Mystery!"
He just smiled at me, tossing the blanket back on my head and quickly changing into the next outfit. That's when I remembered something I had seen the night before and decided to ask what had been on my mind this whole time.
"Hey Mystery? What happened with the rest of the Saja Boys? And Gwi-ma. Did he let you free or something? You're still a demon aren't you?"
"Yeah, still demon. I don't think that's changing anytime soon. As for the other Saja Boys, I don't know. I know Jinu is practically a slave for Gwi-ma now since he gave his soul to Rumi. Baby, Abby, and Romance I have no idea though. They could've escaped like I did. Could be out here in the human world trying to live in a different way from the past. A lot of demons could've escaped Gwi-ma though, he's too weak to retaliate. Barely the size of the flame on a small candle."
"So you're saying they didn't like die?"
"Yeah, no one died. Gwi-ma used the last of his strength to pull the Saja Boys and himself back into the demon world. We were so weak it took me days to properly walk again. I woke up before any of them though, might've been because he pushed me back to the demon world first. So you couldn't kill me."
He walked up and gently pulled the blanket off my head. I assumed his eyes were meeting mine, though I wasn't exactly sure.
"Why do you ask?"
"I saw a video yesterday of this guy in LA performing a rap solo. He reminded me of Baby Saja for some reason... that's all."
"That could be him, or could not be. I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed behind with Gwi-ma. He never liked him much but he also never told us anything about his life before becoming a demon. I bet he's sticking around Gwi-ma to make sure he doesn't snitch. Despite his looks, Gwi-ma is such a gossiper."
I laughed, imagining Gwi-ma as one of Alex and Lana's friends. That would be a hilarious sight to see.
"That's funny. I guess I wouldn't want someone telling somebody else my business either. Also I like this outfit on you. It's comfy and cute and so airport style clothing. You should wear that later, we have a long flight after all."
"I guess so. We should probably go on a walk with Mochi now though, I don't want him to hate me more than he already does."
"He doesn't hate you! But sure, I guess he's getting a bit upset. Let me just buy the plane tickets real fast okay? I need to call Bobby real quick so he'll send me next month's allowance."
I grabbed my phone and quickly called Bobby's number, not having even touched that for a month or so. Poor Bobby, I need to apologize to him and the girls big time when I get back.
Luckily he picked up, though that was weird since it was around one in the morning in Seoul.
"Hi Bobby! Really quick, sorry for waking you up but... I'm coming home! And I need a bit of an advance on my allowance. Around four thousand."
"It's okay Zoey, I mean you're coming back! And you don't need an advance, I'll cover it. But why so much?"
"I'll explain when I get there, promise you're gonna love the reason. Thanks Bobby, love you!"
"Alright then, love you too Zoey."
And with that the call quickly ended and Bobby sent over the money. I didn't know how much I actually needed but it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra.
I quickly got my phone out and looked up our flights, they were pricy since we were buying for the same day and business class. But it was fine! It was a long flight with two connections, we deserved some comfort.
"And done! Four tickets from LAX to ICN with two connections. We sit in business class and it's at 1:40PM LA time and we get there at 11:50AM Seoul time. I think... I'm not too sure."
"Wow, look at you buying them so quickly. You all packed up?"
"Sorta, I never really unpacked since I was only meant to stay here for two weeks."
"We need to find you a carry-on bag though so you can take your things."
"Oh right, do you have a spare?"
"I might, let's check when we get back from Mochi's walk 'kay? He's getting even more mad."
I grabbed the collar and leash, placing it on Mochi and attaching the leash to it.
"I'll tell Kenzie when we come back too okay? She's probably working on her on carry-on so we shouldn't bother her."
"I'll meet you at the corner of the street okay? It would reaffirm the suspicions of your step-mom and step-sister if I just magically walked out of your room."
"Right, see you in a bit Mystery!"
"In a bit, Zoey."