Chapter Text
Jinu likened his experience to being reborn.
Rumi, ever courageous and hopeful, had found a way to conjure Jinu’s physical sense of being from the luminescent honmoon, pulling his body into this realm. His existence in between the disappearance at the idol awards through deliberate sacrifice and his rebirth now was something he could barely recall. Formless, like a dreamless sleep, it was as if he was no longer in existence until Rumi called him to be.
And now, in this physical form, everything was a new experience. The screaming memories and haunting voices he had long grown accustomed to were absent, a feeling he was not quite used to, not sure he deserved. Having those torturous sounds had seemed unbearable, but now without them, Jinu wasn’t sure it was fair that he got to experience such muted mental peace.
Parted from Gwi-ma, his soul set free, he did not consider himself to be a demon any longer. He lacked the typical patterns on his visage and his physical body screamed for mortal necessities previously unneeded. Jinu was hungry almost all the time. He was grateful that Rumi had eased him into a casual camaraderie with the other Huntrix girls. The trio could eat. It made Jinu less self-conscious every time he sat down to enjoy a meal with a ravenous and near insatiable appetite.
Additionally, he found himself to be shackled by physical limitations previously not experienced, at least not for a good 400 years. In the evenings, he was so bone-tired, he fell asleep as soon as the sun went down, well before any of the girls resembled any sort of fatigue. He would be relaxing on the couch, listening to their playful banter, his eyelids heavy and his energy so depleted. Jinu would feel himself dozing off in front of them, too exhausted to care, until he was roused by Mira or Zoey. They would laugh and chide him for being an old man, and he would shrug it off, stumbling to the guest bedroom. When he slept, he slept for several hours at a time, a deep and uninterrupted sleep, his body catching up on the centuries of rest it had so badly needed. At first he would sleep in far later than all the others, but gradually, he began to wake up earlier and earlier, rising with the sun and counting down the minutes until the others would awaken.
Rumi was an early riser, the first to greet him in the morning. Jinu loved that he got to spend the first hours of his day with her, just the two of them. Their own precious time, uninterrupted by responsibilities or by other people. Jinu looked forward to it so much and knowingly contributed these moments as the reason he woke up so eagerly in the morning. Often, her hair was down, long silky strands wafting around her body. Her eyes, slightly puffy from having just woken up, would look at him with such warmth, it was all he could ever crave. Together, they would sit on the couch and watch the sun rise over the beautiful city of Seoul, quiet conversations between the two of them before migrating to the kitchen to prepare their morning meal.
As Rumi moved about, washing dishes and prepping food, Jinu found himself her shadow, mesmerized by her, trying to learn everything she was doing. He picked up things quickly and before long, he was able to insert himself effectively as her partner, the two of them working in tandem to prepare breakfast for the household. Rumi would chat about her plans for the day and discuss projects she was working on. Jinu loved listening, and grew comfortable asking questions and offering ideas. He loved when he had the opportunity to share something particularly insightful, Rumi would completely pause whatever she was doing to turn and face him fully, her eyes lit up with excitement, completely beaming.
“That’s a great idea!” She would say, and she would thoughtfully add to his suggestion, melding it until it was something so uniquely crafted between the two of them. His heart would thrum with the satisfaction of being able to contribute.
These mornings, this time with her, it was everything.
And it should be enough.
It should be enough.
But as soon as the other Huntrix girls were awake, she was so often stolen away to the busy responsibilities that came with being the most accomplished idol of their generation. The group would hurry through their food and then run off to get ready, leaving Jinu to clear the table and start the dishes.
Rumi always ensured to make a brief appearance before leaving for the day, jaunting into the kitchen to say goodbye, to check and see if he needed anything, to let him know what time she would be back.
It was thoughtful of her, and Jinu appreciated it, but these daily farewells left a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn’t want that to be the case, he didn’t want to react to her gesture with anything but gratitude. But when he saw her all dressed up in her sharp outfits, face done in glam makeup and hair so perfectly placed, it was a stark reminder that Rumi didn’t belong to him. She belonged to the world. The moments where her hair was down and her face was bare, standing next to him in the kitchen were just a small part of her life.
He was a small part of her life.
He knew he should be grateful for every moment he had with her, no matter how small. After all, it was more than he could have ever hoped for and more than he ever deserved. But Jinu was a selfish being by nature and try as he might, he couldn’t quell the desire for more.
So he would smile, tell her he was fine, that he didn’t need anything and that he would see her tonight.
Relief would bloom on her face, and she would smile and nod, waving goodbye before jogging away to join her friends.
And that would be it, at least until the girls returned home in the evening. To kill time, Jinu would busy himself with household chores, play with the tiger and bird, watch television, eat food, write songs in a notebook that Zoey had gifted him.
He would try to satisfy himself with the routine he had been gifted, until he would once again find himself awake in the morning hours next to Rumi.
He had become so accustomed to this routine that he audibly startled this morning when, after having already said their goodbyes, Rumi came bounding back into the kitchen.
“Jinu!” She called out, her smile bright. The two other hunters followed behind at a much more relaxed pace. “Jinu, I just got an update, our photoshoot got pushed back and the label is going to bring us a buffet spread to make up for it, since we’ll have to do it over lunch.”
Jinu, eyes still wide from the surprise of her return, dried his hands on the towel near the sink to come around the counter and approach the trio. “What are you going to do in the meantime?”
“Well…” Rumi began but trailed off, her eyes darting away from him.
“We were wondering if you wanted to come with us?” Zoey supplied, stepping in and clasping her hands together in a ‘please’ sort of way.
“We now have a couple of hours to get ready,” Rumi returned her glance back up to him. “We were thinking that we could dress you up kind of casually and have you join us as part of our crew.”
“Yeah,” Mira offered. “You’ve got a sort of every-man look to you. If you put on a ballcap and mask, you’ll blend right in.”
“Oh,” Jinu spoke, taken aback by the opportunity. “Are you sure you’d want me there?”
“Well…” Mira drawled out, teasing. Rumi playfully shoved her friend’s arm.
“Of course we would,” Rumi affirmed.
Zoey nodded in agreement. “Besides, you’ve got to be antsy by now, you spend every day at home.”
Jinu wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed or defensive, but he didn’t have time to respond. Rumi reached out to grab his hand, pulling it toward her.
“Come on, it will be fun.” She smiled up at him and it was electric, shooting straight to his heart and connecting him to her. He would follow her anywhere, and he couldn’t deny the excitement he felt to spend a little more time with her today.
The studio was well-lit and bright. Staff bustled about from all corners of the room, adjusting the lighting, moving props in and out, touching up makeup and tweaking the outfits on each of the Huntrix girls.
The photoshoot was a collaboration between Huntrix and a luxury clothing label that Jinu was vaguely familiar with. The crew onsite was incredibly efficient at shuffling the girls about, coordinating their poses and pulling them to the back to have their outfits changed. The shots rotated between group shots of the trio, and solo shots of each individual.
The photographer and the brand ambassador chatted amongst themselves before calling for a break. Staff began clearing the space and then Huntrix girls dispersed from the area. Mira wasted no time, making her way to the back where the food was, while Zoey slipped away to chat with the photographer. He was a young individual with warm, dark-brown hair that fell down his face in waves. He wore glasses and generally looked to be soft-spoken, but when he called for the break and rolled up his sleeves, tattoos were evident on his arm. A contrast that he knew appealed to the youngest member of Huntrix, Jinu wasn’t surprised to see Zoey chatting him up.
Jinu paused and briefly wondered how and when he had become so bemused with the people in Rumi’s life, before his thoughts flitted to Rumi herself.
Where had she disappeared to?
Jinu pulled away from the wall he had been leaning on, glancing about for the familiar head of purple hair.
“You look like a lost puppy.” Mira chimed in his ear as she approached, a loaded plate of food in her left hand. “Rumi is talking with the company CEO in the back.” She pointed to the office that was across and to their left, the glass door ajar. Bobby was standing out front, typing away on his phone. There was a window that offered a glimpse into the room, where several men in business suits were laughing and chatting, beginning to file out of the office.
One by one, each of the monotonously dressed business men dispersed amongst the staffers in the studio room, but Jinu never saw Rumi exit and Bobby still stood post at the doorway.
Hoping to catch a glimpse of her, Jinu drifted away from Mira’s side. He glanced back at Mira for a moment to see if she would chide him, but she was occupied with the meal she was devouring, already on her way back for a second helping.
He hovered nearer to the office, paying no attention to the crowd of staffers prepping the studio for the next set up, bumping into a few of them as he made his way to where Rumi was presumed to be. At last he caught a glimpse of her delicate frame, she was perfectly poised, wearing a backless dress that she had had on for the photo shoot, smiling in the direction of a business man. The man her attention was toward stood facing her, his back turned toward the window Jinu looked through.
Jinu presumed him to be the CEO Mira referred to, an older man most likely, given salt-and-pepper hair Jinu could see from behind. Jinu barely paid the man any attention though, as he was immediately on high alert when a much younger gentleman stood up from where he had been sitting in the office room to stand next to Rumi. The young man lifted her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss.
The older gentleman laughed and tossed his hands out in their direction, coming around to the pair with his phone out to take pictures.
Rumi was pulled in close to the young man, whose hands slid across the small of her exposed back to her waist, fingers toying with the fabric of her dress, tucking her in close to his side for a picture. Those hands that held her close gripped her with an apparent amount of force and dipped just beneath the surface of the hem that draped down her side. Jinu watched with a sickening feeling that erupted in his stomach. Rumi seemed to pay no mind to the possessive nature of the individual next to her, smiling politely in a perfected pose for the pictures the CEO took of the two of them. The older man came around to stand in between Rumi and the younger man for a quick selfie. Jinu felt himself release a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding while watching them.
Rumi bowed to each of the men before turning to depart. As she did so, the younger of the two reached out, catching her arm and pulling her back momentarily to lean in close, whispering something of unknown nature in her ear. Rumi looked mildly flushed, but otherwise unfazed as she separated from him. She looked back and offered a brief wave, exiting the office.
Jinu felt a growing pain in the palms of his hands, not really noting the strength at which he was exerting, clenching his fists and having his nails dig into his skin. He felt heated and a bit disheveled, but all he wanted to do was connect with Rumi, even if for a moment, before the photoshoot resumed.
He watched Rumi as she shut the office door behind her. Her eyes darted around the room after, as if she was searching for something, or perhaps, someone. Jinu felt a spark in his heart, the hopeful feeling that perhaps she was looking for him.
He would never know, however, because Bobby called for her attention, and the two of them engaged in what looked like a serious conversation, walking off in the opposite direction of where he stood.
Someone bumped into him, another staff person moving a large sofa into the staging area, and Jinu realized he was likely in the way. Looking a bit aimless for a moment, Zoey came up and grabbed his arm, pulling him along.
“We have about 10 minutes before we’re back on, we should grab some food!” She chirped, tugging at him to follow her toward the buffet spread. Zoey turned back behind her to wave at the photographer she had been chatting up before returning her attention to Jinu. “So, what do you think? Pretty fun, right? I can’t wait to see how the pics turn out!”
Jinu nodded and followed along dumbly, eyes still searching to see if he could identify where Rumi had gone off to. Zoey handed him a plate and began dishing out food for herself.
“I’m starving, but I need to make sure I have enough time to touch up my make-up before we start the next round,” Zoey hummed, grabbing a little bit of everything that was laid out for them to try. “You haven’t eaten, right? You know you don’t have to wait, you can just jump in. I think Mira’s come through like, three times already.”
“Thanks, Zoey.” He mumbled toward her, but the appreciation was genuine. He was still getting used to the way that Rumi and her friends cared for each other, which by extension turned into caring for him. He reached out to grab the serving tongs so that he could put food on his plate, but it felt performative. He didn’t really feel like he had an appetite, and couldn’t really think of what he wanted to eat when his thoughts kept fixating on Rumi and that guy who so liberally let his hands roam her body.
Jinu glanced down at his own hands, before he gasped, dropping the tongs with a clatter.
“Jinu, are you oka—ah!” Zoey gasped as she turned toward him, catching sight of what had startled Jinu. His hands had turned a sickening shade of pale grey-purple, fingers elongated into tapered claws, patterns threading up his fingers until they disappeared under the sleeves of his sweatshirt.
Zoey put her plate down on the buffet table and quickly reached out to grab Jinu’s sleeve, yanking it down over his hand.
“Zoey, I—” Jinu felt the panic rising in his throat. He didn’t understand what was happening, why his hands presented the way they were now when he had spent weeks feeling so distant from his demonic self. He didn’t want to cause a scene or ruin things for Rumi and her friends, not on the first opportunity he’d had to join them outside of the house.
He swallowed and steadied his voice as he noticed Zoey’s eyes darting around the room in search of something.
“Zoey, is the rest of me—?”
Her eyes snapped back to his. “No, you look fine. I think it’s just your hands.” Zoey offered him a reassuring smile before she turned her attention back to the room. “If I can flag down Bobby, he can arrange a ride to take you back to the house,”
“No!” Jinu cut her off a bit too abruptly. He cleared his throat and attempted to try again. “No, I think I’m fine, I’ll just keep my hands in my pockets for now. I’d rather stay, if that’s okay..?”
Zoey nodded her head. “Of course, only if you’re sure, it’s really no trouble at all to get a ride home though.”
Jinu nodded. He didn’t like the idea of dipping out, knowing that somewhere in this building was someone handsy who had their eyes set on Rumi. “I’m sure. I’ll stand in the back and if it gets bad, I’ll hide in the bathroom.”
Zoey offered a light laugh and patted Jinu’s hand, the one hidden in his sleeve. “Text me if that happens so we know where to find you. Rumi would kill me if we left you behind.”
Jinu shook his head and laughed in return. “Can do.”
Zoey picked up her plate and resumed her work in filling it up with food to eat. “Can I serve you? Just point at what you want.”
Jinu gestured with care toward a couple of items, thoughtful to keep from extending his arm too much, making sure not to reveal the demonic hand tucked carefully in his sleeve.
Someone from the crew called out that there was 5 minutes left, so Zoey hurried away to the make-up area with a loaded plate in tow and her cheeks full of kimbap. She turned back toward him to offer him a reassuring thumbs up before she sat down in the makeup chair, flocked by staff who were primed and ready to touch up her face.
Jinu stepped away from the buffet tables toward the back of the room behind the lights where it was dark and secluded. He had a good vantage point of the studio’s staged area, where it had been done up to look like a plain, modest living room of sorts. The cyclorama wall curved upward and downward, creating a seamless transition to the ceiling and floor. Casual furniture was placed in the center, a rug, lamp and sofa, floating in a vast white space. The sofa had some linens and pillows draped over it that staff were primping in an attempt to make it look effortlessly placed.
Hidden in the dark corner away from the bustle from the set, Jinu lifted his plate awkwardly, attempting to eat off it with just his mouth. He wasn’t having much luck and was about to slip his hands out when Rumi came on the set.
A pang in his heart settled deep in his chest as he looked her over. She was stunning. Rumi was simply dressed in an oversized, longsleeve, white button down shirt with what appeared to be nothing underneath. She was barefoot, and her legs looked impossibly long as she stood there on set, listening as the photographer gave her instructions.
What made Jinu’s heart ache the most though, was the choice they had made to have Rumi’s hair down, and her makeup made to look natural. The woman on set looked so much like his Rumi. The one he spent every morning with in the secluded space of their home. The one he had thought of as just his own. And here she was before a crowd of dozens, people who were here to take a picture of his Rumi and expose her to the world.
Without warning, a growl escaped his throat that startled him from his thoughts. He clasped his hand over his neck abruptly, revealing his hand from his sleeve
Shit. His patterns were glowing now.
Jinu fumbled with his plate of food, setting it haphazardly on the nearest flat surface before he could pull out his phone. He flipped it open and turned on the camera
Shit again .
The patterns had spread to his throat and his eyes were beginning to glow.
What the hell was wrong with him?
He flipped his phone shut and buried it back in his back pocket. He glanced back at the set to see Rumi, standing there in that oversized shirt with a slight flush on her face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
They knew what they were doing. She’s every guy’s wet dream.
The errant thought flitted through Jinu’s mind and his chest felt like it was on fire. He needed to get out of there. Now.
The photographer called for attention, and staff circled up around the set. Jinu took this as his opportunity to make a run for the bathroom.
Sprinting away, he dared to look back in Rumi’s direction and their eyes caught sight of each other. A brief look of shock and confusion, her brows knit together with concern as she watched him leave.
Jinu turned away, his face heated and full of shame, he escaped to the confines of the bathroom.
Shutting the single-stall bathroom door behind him, Jinu let out a deep breath and raked his fingers through his hair. His eyes fluttered shut with the relief of being hidden away.
But the moment he opened his eyes again to catch sight of himself in the mirror, the relief vanished. Before him, his reflection looking more monstrous than it had been in the weeks he’d been pulled from the honmoon. His skin had turned an unsettling pale-grey color, not completely the color he had presented as when a demon, but somewhere in between. Patterns skirted up his neck, dancing along his throat, threatening to spill over onto his face. His eyes reflected back as a honey-brown color, more demonic than his naturally dark irises.
He felt himself shaking as he reached forward to grip the counter of the sink.
This is fine, this is fine.
He just needed to focus. He had had the ability, previously, to shift his visage enough to where the patterns couldn’t be seen by other people. If his patterns were appearing now, maybe he had somehow let them slip through. He could correct this.
He would have to.