Chapter Text
"Come on Celine, it'll be fun! You're so lonely, you need to get out there, back into the dating pool again!"
Celine scoffs as Zoey pulls up yet another dating site on her phone to show her. Yes, she's been single for over two decades, for longer than she's had Rumi in her life, but she doesn't see why she has to break that streak now. She could make the excuse that she's part of the 4B movement as explanation of why she hasn't dated at all, but that'd be flimsy justification in the prying eyes of this excitable maknae.
If she agrees and goes on a few dates, maybe it'll assuage Zoey's worries for her.
With a huff, Celine gets her own phone out.
"You know what? Fine. I'll try it. But no promises, I'm not exactly good at this."
"Oo oo oo I can fill out the profile for you if you want! And relax, you're a stunning woman, I'm sure there are fish in the sea for you! Any guy or girl should be begging for a chance to take you out to dinner!"
Celine narrows her eyes at the -or girl- comment, but doesn't object. Zoey means well and just wants her options to be open, that's all. It's not for her to know, that the one person Celine truly loved in a romantic sense has been dead since Rumi was a baby. Oh how she misses Miyeong. Miyeong didn't know either. It's fine. A secret she can take to her grave.
Wordlessly Celine hands her phone to Zoey, who gets to work setting up a profile for Celine on the dating app. She taps Celine's shoulder and asks her to smile shortly before taking a photo and cropping it to make it the profile picture. Celine grimaces after the shutter sounds - she is not anywhere put together enough to be presentable for a dating app picture!
She puts a hand on Zoey's shoulder, staring down at the photo Zoey chose. "Here, let me choose the photo. I don't have any makeup on right now."
"You look fiiine!"
"I want to look better than fine! Give me that." She grabs her phone and turns away from Zoey while scrolling through her phone's photo gallery to pick something else.
Most of the photos she's taken have not been selfies at all, they're mostly pictures of her plants and chrysanthemums in her garden, or saved promo photos of Huntr/x, or photos of herself with Rumi and the girls, and saved pictures of Rumi as a kid. A few saved old scans of magazine covers of herself and Miyeong and Su-jin in their Sunlight Sisters days. Wonder how Su-jin is doing now. She knows they haven't talked in years. They didn't exactly leave on speaking terms.
With a deep sigh, Celine turns her phone off. She doesn't want to re-use one of her own promo photos; she doesn't want it to be obvious from the start that she's a celebrity. She just wants a normal relationship, without the parasocial idol worship. She doesn't want to be with someone who was already obsessed with her, that sounds endlessly creepy and would definitely be her taking advantage of her fame.
No, she needs a new photo.
"Zoey? Can I borrow some of your makeup? I need to take a better photo for this."
"Of course! Wait can I do your makeup? Please please please let me give you a makeover I swear you'll look sooo good!"
Always enthusiastic, that girl. Celine can't help but laugh as she nods and follows Zoey towards her bedroom. That's how she finds herself sitting at Zoey's desk — pointedly not making eye contact with all the posters of herself in her Sunlight Sisters days taped to the walls — as Zoey sits on the desk and gently applies eyeshadow to Celine's eyes.
She's so cute and excited, tilting her head this way and that with her tongue sticking out a bit as she focuses on drawing on that perfect winged eyeliner on Celine's eyes. Celine keeps steady and closes her eyes when asked, used to the feeling of having her makeup done after years of makeup artists for public appearances and interviews and concerts.
Zoey grins from ear to ear after applying lipstick to her mentor and checking to make sure it doesn't smudge. Gosh, Celine has such nice lips. In her mid-40s, but her lips really haven't thinned out much at all. She's aged so gracefully, the main wrinkles being the subtle crow's feet crinkling around her eyes, and the eye bags from a life of lost sleep and stress. Her hair has a few stray grays, and in Zoey's eyes the gray just adds to her appeal.
Okay Zoey, stop ogling your mentor, you're trying to make her look good for a dating profile. No way she'd agree to date a girl she's known since she was in her teens. That'd probably be weird and awkward. No, move on from the highschool crush, Celine deserves someone that sees her just as a normal woman without all the baggage of being an idol.
With the soft click of Zoey closing her makeup drawer, she pulls out a hand mirror to show Celine.
"What do ya think? I think I did a good job, but I know it might not be your usual style."
Celine opens her eyes and turns her head to pose this way and that while looking in the mirror. Zoey went heavy on the eyeshadow, it's a smokey blue with sparkly glitter applied. Subtle blush on her cheeks that accentuate her cheekbones. She chose a bold red lipstick for Celine to add to her older woman allure. Very sultry looking. Very confident and eye-catching.
Hm, not bad. She can work with this. It's different than her usual makeup routine, so maybe it'll help differentiate her from her celebrity self.
Celine gives a soft smile and hums at Zoey's handiwork. "Different from what I'd do for myself, but I like it. Very bold, and dare I say, sexy?"
"Yeeees! Let's give sexy Celine a try, I'm sure someone will be making heart eyes at you when they see your profile picture and it's this!" Don't give it away that you've been making heart eyes at her since you were 13, Zoey! Be cool, be cool about it.
Celine leans back in the chair and does her best to pose nicely and give a natural looking soft smile. Zoey happily snaps some pics of her at different angles, then hands Celine her phone back to pick the best one.
After mulling it over, Celine crops and favorites the picture of herself she likes best. In her eyes, all her wrinkles and flaws are too visible. The crow's feet around her eyes. The wrinkles and veins in her neck, the eye bags and subtle wrinkles on her brow, the smile lines. Maybe she should get some work done to make those wrinkles go away. Maybe she'd be more desireable then.
No, stop it, now is not the time to spiral over a few wrinkles. Zoey and the other two girls have assured her that she looks nice for her age. Zoey practically begged her to not dye over the grays, Zoey said her graying hair makes her look wise and dignified. Well fine, if these girls in their 20s think she looks nice in her 40s, she'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Finally Celine selects the photo to make it her profile photo on the dating app, and hands her phone to Zoey for her to fill out the information. Mainly because Zoey begged her to let her do it.
"Okay Celine, what do you want to put down as your hobbies?"
"Gardening, of course."
"Just gardening? Nothing else?"
"I mean… karaoke, I guess? I also like going on hikes and dancing?"
"Got it got it. Oh! What age range do you want to set your preference to?"
Celine mulls it over. She doesn't want to be creepy with someone that's freshly 18, but she's not exactly interested in someone significantly older than her…
"Set the range… from 35 to 55? Someone around my age?"
"Gooot it. Are you looking for casual hookups or a serious relationship?"
Celine purses her lips. She doesn't know, so she shrugs.
"I'm putting down 'both' then. Oh, you want men or women or both?"
Again with the asking about her sexuality? Celine furrows her brow, if she says leave on both, is that her admitting something to Zoey? Zoey won't judge her. It's fine. "…Leave it open to both, I guess? I've never been with a woman but I guess I could try to see if that's something I'm even interested in."
She never was with Miyeong but that doesn't change how she felt about her.
Zoey's grin conveys something Celine can't quite place. She's a bit too happy about filling out this dating profile for Celine.
A giggle falls from her lips as she types into Celine's phone. Slightly suspicious.
"Oh, do you want to specify if you like to top or bottom or switch? Any kinks you'd want your date to know about?" Zoey waggles her eyebrows at her, and Celine rolls her eyes.
Gosh this is embarrassing, for someone young enough to be her daughter, asking her about that kind of thing.
"Zoey… is that really necessary?"
"I mean you don't have to, but it does give the option!" She's a bit too fast in her response, briefly panicking that asking about that was pushing too much into personal territory Celine wouldn't want her to know.
Celine crosses her arms, mulling it over. Does she have any kinks or fetishes? She can't really think of anything off the top of her head. Doesn't know if she'd even be into that kind of stuff, she was expecting this to be more chaste candlelit dinners and maybe kissing and cuddling kind of deal.
"I guess… I mean is there an unsure option? Or an 'open to trying something new' option? I never really think about that kind of thing if I can help it, usually I'm too busy with work to even fathom dating in the first place."
"I'll put down 'open to try something new' for you then. What do you want to put down for your profile bio?"
"Still more things to fill out? Here, hand it over."
Zoey reluctantly hands her phone back as Celine looks over the profile created so far. With Zoey hovering over her shoulder, Celine fills out the rest of the profile.
Celine, F, 46, Likes Gardening and Karaoke
Open to relationships with men and women
Open to casual or serious relationships
Unsure but open to trying something new
I love walking through nature and tending to my garden. I like visiting art museums. I love to travel and sightsee, I used to live in France but now live in Seoul or Jeju Island when not at work. Trying to make time for myself in a busy work schedule.
I have an adopted daughter that I love with my whole heart, every day I am proud of the woman she has grown into.
I may be a bit shy at first, but with time I might open up. I love quality time and giving gifts, expect me to pay when we go out to eat.
Ideal date: karaoke night, or dinner then a walk through the park together
Celine shows Zoey what she's typed out, waiting to get that maknae seal of approval.
"Hm, seems fine I guess. Maybe add something about what you're looking for in a partner?"
"That's the thing, I don't really know what I'm looking for. So I'm leaving that part out."
"You really have no idea what you want in someone to date?"
Celine presses her lips into a thin line and shakes her head. It's only a half lie. She knows what she wants, who she wants, but who she wants is someone dead in the ground. She can't have what she wants. So she'll settle for whatever else will land in her lap. Not really encouraging.
Zoey huffs as Celine pushes herself to her feet and steps back towards the door of her bedroom. She gives an apologetic look as she opens the door.
"You've been a great help Zoey, really. I'll figure this out. Promise. I know you and the girls worry about me."
"I mean, duh, we see how lonely you are! I know you love Rumi, Rumi knows too, but we can tell you need more than just her and us in your life! And it's not like you can date Bobby or anything!"
Celine blanches at that. "Bobby? No, absolutely not, I love the guy but that would be such an abuse of my power as his boss! No, it has to be someone I don't sign the paychecks for. No offense."
"None taken. Well, let me know how it goes, I wanna know all the juicy details when you have your first date!"
"Okay Zoey, I'll do that."
Before she goes, she turns back to Zoey and gestures for her to come closer. Immediately Zoey is nearly crushing her lungs in a koala-like hug, and she laughs lightly while hugging her back. Such a sweet girl, she cares so much, and she cares about her too.
It's nice to have someone willing to help her with something that feels so awkward.
A/N: Drew how Celine looks in the makeup Zoey put her in to take pictures for the dating profile.
Okay, the app user interface is simple. Swipe left for someone she doesn't like, swipe right for someone she does like. If both people swipe right, they can text each other through the app.
Because she doesn't know what she really wants, Celine starts out swiping right pretty frequently. If the person is remotely attractive, she swipes right. Gotta leave her options open.
First mistake. She should have checked the blurbs in the profile first. First match sent a very raunchy text asking for nudes. Unmatched immediately. Blocked.
Okay, be a bit more careful, make sure this person isn't here exclusively for hookups. Wow there are a lot of guys looking for hookups, and couples looking for a third. No thank you.
Next guy she matches with just comes out the gate with a dick pick. Immediately blocked and she feels so gross about it.
Why is this so annoying? She just wants a nice dinner date and walk through the park with someone!
Finally, she matches with a guy that's not looking for hookups and doesn't torment her eyes with unwanted dick picks. He's 55, ten years older than her, but he's not unpleasant to look at, and he's polite in his first message where he breaks the ice by asking about what her favorite songs for karaoke are. He's not really her type, per say, she feels zero attraction towards this man, but she doesn't really have friends, so maybe this could be a way to make one?
…Okay maybe that was wishful thinking on her part. The guy was nice during their dinner date, but also slightly pushy, in a chivalrous misogynistic way. He got fussy at her when she insisted on paying, remarking that ladies should never have to pay, that is a gentleman's job. Even though she specified in her dating profile she wants to pay for her date's meals.
The whole ordeal leaves her with a bad taste in her mouth that makes her think maybe she should just say she's in the 4B movement to avoid men altogether.
None of the men on this dating site are doing it for her. None of them at all.
Nervously she tabs to the preference settings. Maybe… maybe it's time to try matching with women?
She clicks the gender preference setting and swaps it from open to both to women only. It felt a bit odd, how even though she set it to both, she got almost exclusively men, and the few women she saw were definitely not her type if she has a type for women.
…So she has a type, she realizes. And the type is a dead woman. So… it's simply unfair to compare the flawed living to the nostalgia colored dead.
But alas, she must try, at least so Zoey can get off her back about being so lonely.
It's been about a week of fiddling with the dating app, but she swipes right on a few women - fit, athletic, dark haired, and most importantly, remind her of Miyeong. Miyeong is the blueprint she measures everyone else against, at least in terms of possible compatibility.
No matches so far. Guess women similar to Miyeong just aren't interested in a fading star like her.
And then the unthinkable happens.
Celine is with the Huntrix girls out and about, having some bonding time, paying for their purchases while absentmindedly swiping through the dating app.
The next dating profile pops onto the screen. When her brain catches up to register the face staring back at her, her eyes nearly bug out of her head.
Su-jin. The third member of the Sunlight Sisters, who had left after Celine stopped her from killing Rumi's dad while he was holding his infant child. Celine promised Miyeong she would protect Rumi with her life, and that included against her fellow hunter. They hadn't been on speaking terms since the group disbanded. In fact she's fairly sure they both have each other's phone numbers blocked. It is not a pleasant memory.
There she is. On Celine's screen. Going by the nickname "Suzie". Using a photo of herself from when she was younger, because there is no way she still looks that good now. There's no way her hair has stayed all black and perfectly curled. There's no way her face is still so perfect and wrinkle-free.
There's no way she'd want to talk to Celine after everything that happened.
As Celine fumbles with her phone to swipe away, she sees in horror that she accidentally swiped right on her. Oh heavens no. Well, there's no way 'Suzie' would swipe right on her, right? She'd do the sensible thing and swipe left and make sure she never encounters her again!
Celine turns her phone off and shoves it in her pocket, chewing on her lip with mounting dread. Ah, great, Mira and Rumi are coming out of the dressing rooms with their chosen designer outfits to buy. Zoey squeals at them in glee, telling them how good they look. Celine isn't fully paying attention, until she hears her name called out to cut through the noise.
"—Celine what do you think of these outfits? Preeeetty nice, right?" Zoey looks back at her and waggles her eyebrows, then pauses when she notices the conflicted expression on Celine's face.
Right. Fix your face, Celine. She clears her throat and throws a pleasant fake smile on her face as she nods at Zoey. "I think they look great, Zoey. Truly, you girls can make anything look good as long as you're the ones wearing it."
Mira rolls her eyes at Celine's non-committal comment. Rumi playfully scoffs right along with her.
"Oh you're just saying that because you already like us."
"I mean, two things can be true at once, Rumi. I'm proud of you girls and I think you can make anything you wear look good."
Her eyes soften at Rumi. It's been a few months since The Idol Awards incident. She's been doing everything she can to make it up to Rumi, that she had messed up so severely in her judgment by instilling such shame in her during her upbringing. She wasn't the perfect mother figure, she knows that, but she tried. She loves Rumi, she's always loved Rumi, she tried so hard to do right by her, do right by Miyeong. And now she's trying to do right by her again, and make up for her failures. Be the present, warm, loving mother Rumi needs her to be. Accept her, patterns and all.
The girls round up more outfits to try on, all three of them disappearing back into the dressing rooms. She can hear them softly giggling through the thin dressing room walls. It warms her heart to know they're happier now. She loves seeing Rumi happy.
A buzz from the phone in her pocket. The dread creeps back in as Celine pulls out her phone to see a notification. You've got a new match!
The dating app. A matchup. Oh no.
She unlocks the screen with bated breath, and her fears are confirmed. She sees 'Suzie' is the one that matched with her. Su-jin found her on the app and swiped right. Oh. Oh no no no she's typing already!
Then she gets a ding from Zoey texting her in the dressing rooms. A distraction from the mounting dread.
'Wanna help me pick a necklace'
Celine quickly texts back 'Of course, Zoey'
Quickly two photos are sent, of Zoey holding two different necklaces in front of her neck. The way she's posed and the cut of her shirt is showing off so much of her cleavage as Celine stares that it's really not helping her calm down. She can feel her face heating up from gazing at the photos. Wow, okay, guess women do in fact do it for her. But also, stop thinking about your protege that way, Celine! Pull yourself together!
Then the impending message from 'Suzie' finally pops up in her notifications.
Fuck. She doesn't want to keep Zoey waiting for a response. So she texts a quick 'I'm a little distracted' to Zoey before finally tabbing back into the dating app to see what Su-jin sent her.
The text burns into her mind as she stares at the screen.
'So is this how you're coming out to me? As if I didn't see you making heart eyes at Mi-Yeong during every choreography practice back in the day. You're not as subtle as you think you are, Celine.'
Her mind is reeling. Coming out? Miyeong?! She couldn't have been that obvious about having a crush on her, could she? But then again, Su-jin was always perceptive.
The typing bubble pops up again. Su-jin texting more. Celine's heart leaps in her chest as another message appears.
'I saw that whole debacle on the news, about the Idol Awards, and then the Huntr/x Comeback. Glad the Honmoon got repaired, though I wonder if you hadn't stopped me all those years ago, would it have ever had a chance to recover? That is to say, I apologize for raising my weapon at you and Rumi. And for leaving. But I can't undo what happened.'
An apology. For the fight that broke up the Sunlight Sisters.
A weight she didn't know she had been holding in her chest lifts. She feels lighter. Getting closure she didn't expect she'd ever get. Maybe… this won't be an utter disaster.
Another text, from Zoey, just saying 'Celine???'
Right. The necklaces.
She types back 'The second option looks better in my opinion.' then tabs back to the dating app. She needs to respond.
She starts drafting a response, then backspaces to delete it. Types then deletes her message again. Surely Su-jin can see the typing bubble popping up and out over and over. Ugh, what does she say?!
Stop overthinking it. Just send something.
'I want everything between us to be water under the bridge. If you'd ever be willing to meet me face to face again. If you unblock my number, I'll unblock yours, and we can talk about it.'
Before she can agonize over the message she just sent, she hears the girls coming out of the dressing rooms. Quickly she shoves her phone back in her pocket, trying to mask how frazzled she is over a few texts.
Her frazzled state does not go unnoticed. Rumi and Mira merely raise their brows at her, while Zoey grins at her while wearing the necklace she chose.
"Heeey Celine, like what you see? Based on that text I'd say you do!"
Is Zoey puffing out her chest on purpose to accentuate her breasts? Celine makes the mistake of glancing down, then quickly averts her eyes back to the pendant on the necklace above Zoey's collarbones, then back to her face. Her eyes are glinting with excitement and mischief.
With a scoff, Celine turns away, all too aware of the burning flush rising up to her ears. "Yes, Zoey, you look great. That necklace looks good on you."
Judging by that subtle smirk pulling at her smile, Zoey knew exactly where she was looking. Luckily she doesn't mention it, she lets it slide for now.
Author's Note/AN: Did a meme redraw and aforementioned meme redraw inspired this entire fic. Meme redraw below:
Finally they're done picking out jewelry and outfits and Celine pays at the register, then carries their purchases as they wander to the food court. There's a boba shop there, perfect, the girls love boba. Celine sits down at an empty table and sighs in relief to put the bags of recent purchases down, and waits for the girls to come back from the boba shop with their beverages of choice.
Celine's attention drifts back to her phone burning a hole in her pocket. She pulls it out to check it again. Another message from the dating app.
'I unblocked you, now it's your turn.'
She tabs out of the dating app and clicks onto her contacts, tabs through to the blocked numbers. She still has Su-jin's number memorized. Her finger trembling as it clicks the options to unblock it.
She clicks on the number to send a text, nausea churning in her stomach at how anxious this makes her. She sends one word, to test it, almost in disbelief this is happening.
'Su-jin.'
She turns off her phone screen and leaves it on the table in front of her, waiting for a response she half hopes will never come.
Zoey's back from the boba shop first, grinning around the large straw poking out of her lychee flavored boba milk tea. She sits down across from Celine, chewing on a boba pearl and humming in satisfaction.
Celine looks up at her and forces a smile on her face, eyeing her phone on the table as if it's a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
Even though she's waiting in anticipation, the buzz of her phone getting a text still makes her flinch. She snatches her phone off the table to see she got a response from 'Suzie'. A one word response to match her.
'Celine.'
…How does she continue a conversation off of that? She's never been good at flirting. Does she even want to flirt with her old bandmate, or is this the rekindling of a friendship? She's not sure what she wants from this, unsure what reconnecting with Su-jin will lead to.
Before she can think of a response, another text pops up from the other former Sunlight Sister.
'I know you still live at the training grounds. Say the word, and I will come visit you tonight. We can talk there.'
Wow. Um. That's forward. If she's reading into this right. Skipping meeting at a coffee shop or park or karaoke bar and cutting straight to the chase. She texts back 'Yes' before she can overthink it.
"Who ya texting, Celine?" Zoey's voice startles her and she quickly shuts her phone off and shoves it in her pocket, trying to laugh off her nerves.
"Oh, just… someone that I matched with on that dating app."
"Oh you got a match finally? I'm so happy for you!!!" Zoey beams at her and nearly leaps out of her seat to go across the table and give her a hug, but thinks better of it and stays seated as she sees Rumi and Mira walking towards them from the boba shop.
Celine does her best to mask her nerves, though her drumming her fingers on the table isn't helping her case. Internally hoping Zoey will get distracted talking to Rumi and let it slide without prying further.
No such luck.
"Sooo, guess what Rumi? You know how I got Celine to make a profile on that dating app? She got a match!"
"Oh, really? My old lady's still got it!" Rumi giggles at her own quip, grinning in unison with Mira and Zoey at Celine's expense. Celine does her best to mask her nervousness and tersely smiles back at them and nods, hoping they don't interrogate her further.
She's tight-lipped about it, just remarking "Oh, it's someone around my age range." and leaving it at that. Reluctant to admit it's a woman, let alone who that woman is.
Zoey would not leave her alone about it. That damn maknae wants to know what her new date looks like so bad! She hasn't even gone on a first date yet, they're not even dating, they just happened to match on a dating app!
"What do they look like? Is it some tall thin hot guy? Or maybe a girl? Eeeeh?" Zoey waggles her eyebrows at her mentor, and Celine scoffs and turns away to hide her phone screen to quickly type back her answer to Su-jin.
'Yes. I will see you there. I should get home around 7, I suggest you show up after then.'
She turns back after turning off her phone screen and slipping it into her pocket, tense smile back on her face as she addresses Zoey.
"We aren't even dating yet, Zoey. It's just a match, a few texts. We are ironing out the details for the first date, but I will say my date wants to meet tonight. So do give me some space to sort it out, please?"
"Tonight? Damn, get it Celine! And tell us aaall the juicy details!"
"Okay okay, I'll tell you whether it went well or not. But I make no promises."
That seems to be enough to suffice, so that the maknae will back off and let her breathe. Though, knowing who she'll be meeting that evening… no amount of regulated breathing will prepare her for this.
Celine feels like she's walking into her grave. Fingers crossed Su-jin doesn't kill her.