Chapter Text
Rumi watched Jinu leave with a soft hidden smile. The demon dispersed into pink tinged smoke before reappearing on the ground. He turned once more to wave up at her with a smirk before finally walking away. Rumi didn’t want to admit that she’d been getting used to their nightly meetings. At first she had only accepted them out of some begrudging curiosity and desire to understand both who she was and more about the handsome enigma which was Jinu. The more time she spent with him, however, the more her belief system about demons became strained and the lines blurred between them. She was no longer sure what to think. The fate of the Honmoon and the Idol awards loomed over her, with only a few weeks left and so much still uncertain. In a weird way her meetings with Jinu had become an escape from that. She was able to share the night with him. They chattered about irrelevant parts of their lives and lyrics more often than they delved into deep painful conversations. She found herself looking forward to seeing Jinu. After every one she tried to reason with herself that it should be the last but she couldn’t quite bring herself to stop and lose the comfort she had found with the demon. By now she had a pile of postcards, still slightly covered in tiger slobber, tucked under her bed and there was no sign of them stopping.
Speaking of Derpy, the blue spirit animal sat beside her on the roof, his tail wrapped around her while the magpie stood on her other side, eyeing her with a far too knowing gaze. Derpy’s chest rumbled with gentle purrs and his bright yellow eyes were closed in satisfaction. Rumi gently stroked her fingers through his fur and sighed.
“What am I doing?” She whispered to the Seoul night and her silent companions.
“I could ask the same thing.” Rumi startled at the deep voice behind her, springing up and drawing her sword as she turned. To her surprise one of the Saja boys, Abby, stood in front of her, balanced on the roof with a cocky ease. Rumi jabbed at him with her sword but the demon darted away with his smirk still in place. “Woah hey, hey. Calm down princess! I’m not here to threaten you. What, you only have time to talk to one specific demon?” He asked mockingly.
Rumi grit her teeth as he sidestepped her again. “Give me one reason to trust you.”
“I’m not asking for your trust, just less sword swinging would be nice.” He replied, lifting his hands in surrender.
Rumi glared at the demon but stilled her blade. Abby watched her with his smirk still intact but his eyes were wary. He looked deceitfully human. His pink hair tucked into a pale blue beanie and wearing a thin silk shirt which did nothing to protect from the chilly night’s wind. Rumi wondered if a demon could even feel the cold. She would have to ask Jinu when she saw him again.
“What do you want?”
“Hey, I’m not here for you. I was just trying to figure out where Jinu was disappearing off to and who he is so enamoured with. I’m not particularly surprised it’s you. If anything I’m more surprised that you are giving him any time of day… or night I suppose?”
“So you followed us?”
“I followed him, sweetheart.” Abby corrected. “You were just the little surprise he led me to.”
“And why did you do that?” Rumi asked, ignoring Abby’s condescending name for her. “Why do you care enough to stalk him?”
“I don’t.” Abby scoffed. He bared his fangs like a wounded animal, his patterns shifting across his face.“You of all people should know that demons are unable to care. Isn’t that right? We’re soulless monsters aren’t we. Or have you forgotten, Huntress?” Abby spat out the name.
It seemed that he’d figured out about their meetings but was yet to discover Rumi’s most shameful secret. He didn't realise that in a way she was one of them. To her she was just a naive human. One who knew nothing more about demons than how to make them bleed.
She had got to know Jinu and there was no way to catalogue him as a heartless, emotionless monster. It went against everything she was taught but she couldn’t deny the other side of him she had seen. She had seen how gently he stroked Derpy and how careful he was to not offend her. She had seen him smile, not his idol smile, but a small real smile. She could no longer view him as something to destroy, some innately evil creature that deserved to be condemned to eternal suffering. He was goofy and soft and funny. He was a contradiction to all she thought she knew and the only reason she was giving Abby a chance to speak and not sending him straight back down to Gwi-Ma.
“Jinu is different. He was once human. He remembers what it is like to have his soul.” Rumi tried to reason.
Abby laughed humorlessly at her words. “And you think the rest of us don’t? We were all human once. At least all of our group were. Jinu is just stubbornly sentimental. The stupid boy still believes in fairy tales, in hope and love and a huntress to save the demon in distress.” Abby was no longer baring his teeth in a wicked smile, instead his expression was a bitter and sad frown. “He is foolish to believe he can defy Gwi-Ma. You are even more foolish to think that he will ever escape him. That he’ll ever be more than the demon he is.”
If it was possible for Abby to show weakness, this was the closest she’d ever get to seeing it. His voice remained emotionless, stating each fact like it was undeniable, but he looked defeated. She realised with a sickening start that he was resigned to his fate. He simply was who he was expected to be because he refused to believe he could be more. He reminded Rumi of Jinu when they had first spoken. The broken desperation in his eyes was undeniable.
Rumi eyed the demon curiously, part of her, a part which a few weeks ago she would have pushed down entirely, ached in sympathy. Abby seemed to notice a change in her posture and straightened, masking any of the emotion that leaked through into his face. Rumi sighed. What was one more demon to talk to? She had already crossed a line in Celine, Zoey and Mira’s eyes. The old her, the one which had no time for empathy for the demons she hunted, was growing weaker by the day.
Her mind made up, Rumi carefully lowered herself to the tiled roof and patted the space opposite her for Abby to take. Derpy, seemingly glad that the confrontational part of the evening was over, laid himself beside her, his paws spread into her lap. Abby looked shocked and confused by her action and silent offer, a slight frown forming again on his face. Rumi rolled her eyes and set her sword to the side.
“Just sit. I won’t attack you if you don’t attack me.”
Abby looked skeptical but cautiously joined her, crossing his long legs beneath him.
“So you were human too, huh?”
Abby didn’t reply but Rumi was expecting as much.
“You do care though? Despite what you say you wouldn’t be out here following Jinu if you didn’t care for him.”
“Maybe I just wanted to find out what he was doing so I could turn him over to Gwi-Ma as a traitor.”
“I don’t think so.” Rumi was good at reading people. Abby was genuinely concerned for Jinu, something she used to think was impossible for a demon to be, although she still expected he would die before he admitted it. Abby pursed his lips but did not contradict her.
“What made you trust him?” Abby asked instead.
Rumi shrugged. “I’m not sure I entirely do. But I like his company and feel safe around him.”
“But you’re a hunter!” Abby reminded her, he seemed frustrated by his inability to grasp what was actually going on and how she had seemingly reconciled Jinu’s nature and her duty.
“And you’re a demon. Yet you’re still sitting here with me.”
“Maybe I’m trying to seduce you to the dark.”
Now it was Rumi’s time to scoff. “As if. You’re not my type.” She said with a little giggle.
Abby looked ridiculously offended. “What do you mean I’m not your type?!!”
“I don’t know how to break it to you but you can’t be everybody’s type.”
“Um.. Fuck you. I am literally made in the most appealing image. It was part of my deal.”
“What, you traded your soul for abs?” Rumi mocked him.
Abby’s response to her words however was a mix of embarrassed and ashamed.
“It’s not like I gave it much thought.” He muttered darkly. “I didn’t know it would end up like this.”
Rumi hummed, trying to contain her judgement. She knew just how persuasive Gwi-Ma was meant to be, how easy it was to be trapped by one of his deals. They were arsenic wrapped up in a chocolatey cover, you didn’t know just what you’d done until it was too late and the poison had already spread.
“I see.”
“No I don’t think you do.” Abby sighed. “You can’t possibly know what it’s like.”
“I may know more than you’d think.”
“What’s that meant to mean?”
“Nothing.” Rumi muttered in frustration. She may be trusting Abby enough to speak with him but she in no way trusted him enough to share her secret. No, that was for just her and Jinu.
Abby watched her thoughtfully but didn't press any further.
“You believe you can save him?”
Rumi didn't have to ask who Abby was talking about.
“I believe he can save himself.” Rumi answered hesitantly.
Abby didn't look convinced. Rumi didn't know what else to say. Jinu was yet to agree to help her seal the Honmoon and they usually avoided talking about such things when they met but Rumi felt like she was wearing him down. Each time they met Jinu seemed more human and less demonic than the last.
What Abby said next startled Rumi from her thoughts.
“He's the closest thing I've ever had to a brother.” Abby murmured softly.
Rumi looked up in surprise.
“I know I don't feel emotions like I'm meant to. I haven't been able to since Gwi-Ma claimed me entirely. We're not close but there is little comfort and companionship in the demon world. Jinu has always been there as long as I've known him. It's why I agreed to this farce. I got to escape the demon world even for a little while but I also got to repay him for not abandoning me in the demon realm. I would have gone mad and lost myself if it wasn't for him these past few hundred years.”
“That can happen?” Rumi asked softly.
“If you have nothing to hold onto, nothing to remind you of who you are, there is nothing you can't lose. For demons who used to be humans it is too often the case that what we lose is our minds. When Gwi-Ma brings you to the demon realm you don't lose your memory of humanity and emotions but all you are left with is pain, guilt and regret. He enhances those feelings and feeds off our despair. It doesn't take much more to drive a human turned demon to madness.That's what happened to Mystery. He went mad long before Jinu found him. Jinu reminded all of us of more than the pain. I don't think he really realised he was doing it. He was just so different to all the others, and being around him made us feel like we could breathe again. He helped Mystery become more stable just by spending time around him. Mystery… he's still not all there but I watched as he returned more and more around Jinu.”
Rumi contemplated everything Abby said. She knew there was a chance it was a trick, to force her to empathise with the demons so much that she was unable to do her job but Abby seemed so sincere. She had also felt the way Abby described when she was around Jinu. It was like she could finally breathe again, like she could forget her pain in his presence.
“What makes him so different?”
“I'm not sure.” Abby made a soft humming sound as he contemplated, it was so normal that Rumi had to blink to refocus. “We are all damaged, but maybe some more than most. I think he had more to remind him of who he once was. Gwi-Ma sent him to the earth far more often than any other demon. There is something about being up here which makes our existence more bearable. He also reminded Jinu of his family as a punishment whenever he messed up, I don't think Gwi-Ma quite realised that in using Jinu's worst memory he was constantly conjuring up something more valuable and powerful than the guilt and pain that came with it. He never got a chance to forget them. Plus his spirit guardians..” Abby gestured to the tiger and bird. “..even Gwi-Ma couldn't turn them away. I think they protected him far more than he even knows. I think they took away some of the crushing pain and allowed him to stay afloat even when he was stuck down below.”
Rumi brushed her hands through Derpy’s fur. She could see why having him around would be a balm, his gentle glowing presence was an immense comfort. Her heart ached for Jinu and the family Gwi-Ma forced him to leave behind. She knew how much he hated those memories but it made sense that they had linked him to his humanity so strongly.
“Whatever it was, Gwi-Ma never erased Jinu’s connection and fondness of humanity.”
“So he could break free?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. There is no escaping Gwi-Ma.” Abby growled. His eyes flashing with gold, but Rumi thought it was more out of fear than anger for her suggestion.
“What if there was?” Rumi pressed. “What if the Honmoon could be sealed with you guys on the other side, away from Gwi-Ma?”
“Oh, Huntress, don’t tell me you have grown so soft to truly believe that.” Abby looked like he was pitying her. “Whatever your plan is, it will only cause you more pain. You cannot save him no more than you can save yourself. Gwi-Ma will win and he will make you suffer for trying to resist him. Leave Jinu out of it, there is no need for him to suffer alongside you for his lapse in judgement. I won’t reveal your tryst. I’ll keep your secret, not for you but for Jinu. But remember that you’re gambling with more than one life. You can only help Jinu by letting him down easy before Gwi-Ma gets wind of his duplicity. He wouldn’t survive that.”
Abby disappeared with those parting words in a pink haze. Rumi was left alone with his warning. She didn’t want to cause Jinu harm but she had to believe that together they could vanquish Gwi-Ma, seal the Honmoon and free themselves. It was obvious that Abby had no such hope but maybe that was because no one had ever given him reason to. In the end it was Jinu’s choice anyway. She trusted that he’d make the right one.
“It will work.” She whispered fiercely. “It has to.”