Y'all better gear up. This is the longest stuff I've written (as per how much I write). This is a meteor shower, imo. Not my best, but definitely something I'm proud of.
Flashback: Mira
It was supposed to be a normal event. Huntrix were often invited to galas because of their popularity. It should have been like any other event for Mira. What she did not expect, however, was to see her family there. She’d left them long ago, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t affect her as much. Rumi was talking to one of their sponsors, and Zoey was back home, sick due to eating too many shrimp chips. Rumi did say that they could go back whenever because they were special guests. She didn’t want to bother Rumi with it because she didn’t want to get Rumi involved with her family’s toxic problems.
It started the way it always did, with her parents asking her to come back and telling her they’re sorry for their behaviour. She knew it was just a lie, a facade. They’d thrown her out and said that she was worth nothing without them, just a problem to be dealt with, and now, they wanted her back solely because she’s a world fashion icon, richer than them, more popular. She’d refused as politely as she could because the paparazzi were watching. That was when their polite mask dropped. They tried to gaslight her, emotionally blackmail her. When that didn’t work, they resorted to taunting her about how she’s nothing without her bandmates, that they would leave her the second they saw who she really was: a problem child with anger issues whose rage controlled her actions.
Rumi had overheard this and politely excused herself before standing in front of Mira’s parents with a glare she definitely picked up from Celine. She gave them a piece of her mind, saying that they wouldn’t be this popular if it weren’t for Mira. She’s their choreographer, the world fashion icon and their friend. If they were to ever resort to such habits again, they would be banned from attending any galas where Huntrix is present. Rumi had even gone as far as to whisper in her father’s ear that if they ever tried to get in contact with Mira and perform such antics, she would personally have Celine make their life a living hell on her way out.
Mira had already left by then, standing by the open balcony to get some air. Rumi had gently convinced her that they should go back to the penthouse, Bobby said he’d handle the rest. Mira had nodded wordlessly, her expression blank. It was pretty late, so Zoey was fast asleep. After changing into comfortable clothes, Mira stood on her room’s balcony, looking down at the dazzling lights of the city below them.
There was a knock on her door, following which Rumi entered her room. Mira spoke in a monotone voice, saying that Rumi didn’t have to interfere; she could’ve handled it. Rumi countered it, saying that they’re friends, a family. As the eldest and the leader of Huntrix, it is her responsibility to make sure no one says shit about either Mira or Zoey. Mira retorted aggressively, moving forward to jab a finger at Rumi’s chest and saying that she should spend more time with her and Zoey if she really cares about them. With how much she keeps them at arm's length, it feels like she’s just…there. Not present with them. She then turns away, feeling slightly guilty (though she won’t admit it) and looking down at the Honmoon’s soft glow, her hands on the railing.
Rumi has no words because she knows the reason. Her patterns. She looks away from Mira, breathing in heavily before letting it out. She tells Mira that she’s pretending. Mira isn’t truly mad at her. She’s just feeling vulnerable. Without another word, she wraps Mira in a hug from behind, staying there for a moment before moving to stand beside her. She slips under Mira’s arm, gently resting her head under Mira’s chin, wrapping her arms around Mira’s neck as she pulls her down for a hug. Mira is a little shocked since Rumi isn’t usually the one to initiate physical contact. She avoids it like a bug. Looking down at Rumi, she wraps her arms around Rumi’s waist, pulling her closer.
They stay like that for a while before Rumi lets go, telling Mira that she’s not aggressive. If she were, Mira wouldn’t make breakfast for her and Zoey every morning, carry around stuff they might need whenever they’re out, restocking the med kit even though there are several around the penthouse. She and Zoey would never abandon her, no matter what. Even if it’s them or the world, Rumi would always choose them.
Rumi wishes her goodnight and leaves the room after telling Mira to get some good rest, sleep in tomorrow if she wants to. She and Bobby will handle tomorrow’s PR meeting while Mira and Zoey get some proper rest for the weekend.
Mira was left with a warm feeling in her chest, smiling softly as she went back to sleep, a sense of belonging now in her heart.
Flashback: Zoey
Zoey was having trouble coming up with lyrics for their new album. She’d stayed up day and night, surviving on coffee and shrimp chips. Mira was away for a photoshoot with one of their fashion sponsors. That left only her and Rumi in the penthouse. Rumi was working on the music as well as managing event schedules and new collaborations with Bobby.
Zoey wanted to make herself useful, too. She had to. Mira and Rumi were working hard, so it’s only fair that she does too. However, she hit the lyricist’s block. She couldn’t think, couldn’t find inspiration for her lyrics. The fact that she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in 3 days didn’t help either. She’d been lying to Rumi that she had eaten because Rumi usually came back late, and she didn’t want to bother an already tired Rumi with dinner. She didn’t want to be too much.
Rumi, on the other hand, was concerned. She suspected that Zoey had not been eating properly. That was solidified by the fact that there were no dishes in the sink or in the cleaning rack, and the fact that Bobby said that Zoey would always tell him she’d eat later or order something. He was in charge of Huntrix’s security, too, so food deliveries would be sent up only after Bobby had been notified and pinged Rumi about the food as well.
Rumi entered the studio to find Zoey passed out on the keyboard. She immediately rushed over to Zoey and shook her awake. Zoey mumbled drowsily that she felt sleepy and hungry. When Rumi asked if she’d eaten anything, a proper meal. Zoey replied in a daze that she’d eaten shrimp chips and drank coffee. When asked if that was all she had in the last three days, Zoey said yes.
Rumi had a feeling it was food poisoning. She immediately contacted Bobby and asked him to clear her and Zoey’s schedules for the next few days, also asking him to bring electrolytes because she suspected Zoey had food poisoning. Might come in handy in case Zoey starts puking if she feels sick. Bobby had agreed immediately.
Rumi carefully picked Zoey up to avoid making her sick from the motion. She put Zoey down on the couch, adjusting pillows and throwing a blanket over her to avoid making her feel cold. She started making a light fruit salad and some ginger tea. Zoey had woken up when the elevator dinged, and Bobby stepped out of it. He had a plastic bag with him, which he put on the coffee table next to the couch. He informed Rumi that he’d brought some electrolytes and fever medication in case Zoey started running a fever.
Zoey had her eyes closed but heard everything. It made her feel like she was a burden, being too much. Had she taken care of herself, this wouldn’t have happened, and Bobby wouldn’t have had to explain to a show host that they were supposed to attend tomorrow and that they would have to postpone it. Bobby had patted Zoey’s head gently on his way to the elevator before asking her to get well soon.
Zoey sat up as Rumi gently guided her to do so, drinking a glass of water that Rumi was holding to her mouth with small sips. She apologised to Rumi, saying that she should’ve taken care of her health, should have eaten something, and that she’s sorry for being too much. She also apologised for not being enough, not being able to come up with just lyrics, while Rumi and Mira did the important work.
Rumi immediately understood what the problem was. She carefully wrapped her arms around Zoey, leaning back to put Zoey’s head on her chest, gently shushing her as Zoey broke into sobs. Rumi pulled down the sleeves of her hoodie as they rode up slightly (to avoid her patterns being discovered) before rubbing a hand up and down Zoey’s back while the other scratched her scalp. When Zoey’s sobs had faded into hiccups, Rumi fed her small bits of fruit, saying that Zoey could never be too much and that she loved taking care of Zoey.
(She also loved how Zoey lit up whenever turtles came up in a conversation or when she was sharing facts about animals, but wouldn’t admit it.)
Rumi also reassured Zoey that it was completely normal not to be able to come up with lyrics. A creative block can happen to anyone. When Zoey said that she had to because she and Mira were working very hard to make this their best tour yet. Rumi told Zoey that she’s more than just their lyricist. She was their maknae, a part of their family. No matter what happens, her lyrics are not what define who she is. Just because she can’t come up with lyrics doesn’t mean she’s worthless or not working hard enough.
While comforting her, Rumi helped her eat more than half of the fruit salad and drink enough water. Rumi had stayed with her the whole time, asking her if she needed anything and even helping her with the music. This memory with Rumi was her inspiration for the lyrics of one of their songs, “Paper Lanterns”.
The song was trending on the charts for months until they released a demo of How It’s Done for their next album.
Flashback: Celine
2005. Four years after Celine had lost both Miyeong and Poppy. Four years since the demon attack that killed Miyeong and caused Poppy to turn away from her. Four years since she’d lost one of the loves of her life and distanced herself from the other.
It was 24th October, Miyeong’s death anniversary. The day after Rumi was born, she lost her mother, leaving her in Celine’s arms as she looked pleadingly at Poppy, begging her not to leave.
Celine was currently sitting by Miyeong’s grave, cleaning up weeds and planting Lilacs and Peonies. She’d cleaned the grave stone too, lighting an incense and putting freshly cut flowers. After offering food to Miyeong’s spirit, Celine sat there for a while, bursting into tears as she begged her unnie to come back. Even if it had been 4 years, she still remembered Miyeong’s smile, voice and touch like it was just yesterday, the grief still fresh.
Rumi was watching from far away, seated on the Hanok’s porch. She straightened up as Celine began walking back to the Hanok, a frown on Rumi’s face as she saw Celine’s tear-streaked expression. She knew Cece was upset because Eomma wasn’t home (that’s what she’d told Rumi because she was still too young to understand that her eomma was dead).
Celine sat down behind her, doing her best to hide her tears as she braided hair. As soon as the hair tie was in place, Rumi turned around to hug Celine as tight as her little body could. Celine hugged back and asked her what the matter was. Rumi replied in a muffled voice, “You looked sad, Cece. I feel better when you hug me if I’m sad, so I hug you to make you feel better.” Rumi might have been just four years old, but Celine couldn’t deny that she saw every bit of Miyeong in her at this moment. Unable to hold back her tears anymore, she held Rumi close to her chest, letting silent tears stream down her face as she let her emotions loose a little for the first time since Miyeong’s death. After she’d calmed down, she walked back into the Hanok with Rumi in her arms. She put Rumi down and asked her to get Coco. In the meantime, she prepared kimbap and hotteok for Rumi, looking amused as Rumi swallowed an entire roll of kimbap without even chewing it.
The following year, on Miyeong’s death anniversary, Celine told Rumi about her father, the truth about her mother’s death, and about the Honmoon as she braided her hair by Miyeong’s grave.
Present Day: Demon realm
The boys are currently in a council meeting with the elders, discussing modernisation since most of the demons are from old times. They’d left Rumi at home with Mae-rin, a trusted friend of theirs who is also the one helping Rumi heal.
Zoey and Mira had made a plan to take Rumi ‘home’. They’d seen the boys leave and saw this as the perfect opportunity to bring Rumi back to the human realm, talk things out, and make everything normal, the way it was before. Celine was opposed to the idea because she knew Rumi was still terrified of them. Zoey and Mira reasoned that it was just an illusion, a front demons were putting up, all a part of Jinu’s plan to break them apart.
Celine had once again reluctantly agreed because she remembered that Jinu, too, had confessed to backstabbing Rumi during the IA. They sneak up to the Saja Hanok, unaware that Rumi was, in fact, not alone. They peek in through an open window and see Rumi resting on a bean bag, careful of her arm and leg, holding Coco with her uninjured hand.
Just as Zoey stood up sneakily to climb in, a gentle voice rang from the kitchen, asking Rumi if soup was all she wanted, to which Rumi said yes. Mira quickly pulled Zoey down, cursing under her breath. They watch as a demon woman steps out of the kitchen with a bowl of soup. She sets it down on the couch table in front of Rumi before looking inside her box of medical supplies, nodding when she finds everything she would need.
Rumi tried to eat, she really did. But her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. They were trembling so violently that the spoon almost fell to the ground, had it not been for Mae-rin catching it mid-air. For the first time since their arrival, Rumi spoke, whispering out a meek apology. Mae-rin gently reassured her, saying that the Hunters’ arrival and their previous encounter had shaken her up a lot.
For the years they had known Rumi, she had never avoided eye contact or stuttered, always confident and standing up for them whenever things got out of hand. Mae-rin gently brought the spoon to Rumi’s lips, saying that healing takes time, especially from PTSD and anxiety. Rumi had eaten only half of the soup before mumbling a meek ‘no more’. Mae put the bowl on the kitchen counter before walking back to Rumi.
Mae asked Rumi how long it had been since her last dose. Rumi said that it had been nearly 9 hours. Nodding, Mae said that it should last a few more minutes before the effects wore off. Zoey and Mira suspected that the demons were drugging Rumi, a plausible reason as to why she was so terrified of them, even though they were friends.
Mae unbuttoned Rumi’s shirt from the side (it’s one of those things where the buttons/zipper are on the side instead). She gave Rumi a tough belt to bite on in case it hurt too much, but Rumi refused, holding onto Coco tightly. Taking off the bandages showed how severe the wounds inflicted by Zoey and Mira were.
The hunters in question and Celine let out a horrified gasp at Rumi’s condition.
It was a huge gash on her shoulder, the skin around it charred. It covered the expanse of her shoulder, a bit of her upper arm and went dangerously close to her jugular. Taking off the bandages had caused some of the skin to come off and blood to come through. Though there was only slight bleeding, the fact that they could see burnt bone from a certain angle made Zoey sick, bile rising to Mira’s throat. It was her Gok-Do that pierced Rumi over there, after all.
Mae carefully cleaned the wound, applied burn cream and deemed it healed enough for delicate inner stitches. Rumi let out a whimper as the needle pierced sensitive flesh, saying that the herb was probably wearing off. Mae asked her how much longer she could go without the herbs because she couldn’t just leave the needle halfway through Rumi’s flesh. Rumi told her that it would hold out for maybe 30 more minutes before the pain became unbearable. It only took Mae 10 minutes to stitch up and bandage her wound, courtesy of being a healer.
Moving on to Rumi’s calf, Mae had been extra careful because there were two wounds there, Zoey’s Shin-Kals being the culprits. Though small, they had damaged many of the nerves and muscle tissue around them, making movement difficult without crutches or hopping on the other leg. Removing the bandage revealed twin wounds similar to the one on her shoulder. Rumi had let out a louder whimper, the medication wearing off a bit more, making her anxious, which in turn caused her chronic pain to flare up. Mae soothed Rumi as she sobbed softly while the wound was being stitched and bandaged, Rumi’s stutter and tremble becoming more prominent.
Mae held a vial to Rumi’s mouth, asking her to swallow as she gently rubbed Rumi’s hand. The vial was a mix of herbs and water to help wash them down. For the next few minutes after that, she gently held both of Rumi’s hands and drew small circles on the back with her thumbs. Rumi had let the dam break, sobbing and stuttering as she told Mae about how helpless she felt on that stage during the Idol Awards, how terrified she’d felt when Zoey and Mira had come so close to ending her life, how betrayed she felt when Jinu told her that he planned it all along, how hopeless she felt when Celine refused to end the life of a mistake like her. She had tears of frustration (because she couldn’t find her words), grief and anger in streaming down her cheeks.
Mae pulled her in carefully, as Rumi sobbed into her shoulder, the pain from her wounds and the chronic pain from the older ones, which had not healed properly, hitting her like a truck. As the herbs started taking effect, Rumi’s sobs quietened down into hiccups and eventually into silence as she fell asleep. Mae gently picked her up before taking Rumi back to her room, tucking her in, placing Coco in her arms and asking the already present Derpy to watch her since Sussie had informed her a few minutes ago that the Saja pack would be home soon.
The Hunters went back to their temporary residence in the demon realm as they heard the Saja Boys getting closer. Zoey and Mira held each other as they cried to sleep, while Celine beat herself up for not being a better parent to Rumi, begging Miyeong for forgiveness.
The Rumi they knew was the leader of Huntrix and Celine's daughter. Zoey and Mira always looked to her because she was their leader and knew what to do even in the worst situations. The Rumi they saw now was broken, in pain, stuttering, anxious and couldn’t even eat by herself. The complete opposite of the woman they once knew, the one who would take hits for them, patch them up before herself, direct backlash towards herself, take care of them no matter the situation.
This made them realise one thing: What they did dug deeper into Rumi than it did for them. Their actions caused her so much pain. They didn’t deserve forgiveness. Even if Rumi did forgive them, being the kind soul she is, they would never be able to forgive themselves.
Phew. That was a lot. Y'all like it though, right? I know I do. It's a mess, but it's mine.