Chapter Text
Celine should have known something was wrong the moment she noticed the first signs. First, Miyeong declined an invitation to a bar, which she never did. Then she started sneaking out more without telling them. For someone who was always so open about everything in her life, sometimes too much, it was very strange. Celine should have been more suspicious. She should have known.
Miyeong just started disappearing more and more after that, and after a few months Celine wasn't seeing her at all outside of the odd video call. They were between tours, so at first Celine didn't think much of it. Everyone needed some time to themselves. Life as a hunter and an idol were both stressful.
She should have known.
In the end, Celine only realized what was going on when she got a call at midnight. She heard Miyeong, clearly in incredible pain, begging for her to come over. Celine didn't even ask any questions. She just rushed over to the provided address to find her partner lying in a pool of blood in an apartment that Celine hadn't known she had.
She was already dead by the time Celine arrived, surrounded by the ashes of a dozen destroyed demons. All she had been able to do was sketch out a quick note, written in her own blood on the hardwood floor. Asking Celine to take care of what she left behind.
Celine could have saved her if she had been faster. If she had already known where to go, or if she had been there with her. If she had been more trustworthy, a better partner, she would have been there to fight by her side. That, Celine knew deep down to her bones. Following her friend's last wish was the least she could do.
The baby girl who Celine found crying in her crib answered many questions. The patterns on her skin raised many more. Celine knew what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to kill all demons. It was what she had been trained to do, and what every hunter for the past four hundred years had been trained to do. If it had the patterns on its skin, it had to die.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't kill Miyeong's baby, no matter the circumstances. Even if Miyeong hadn't asked her to take care of her, it wouldn't have mattered. She'd protect what Miyeong left behind. It was some small way to atone for her mistakes leading to this. Besides, with Miyeong and their partner dead, that meant Celine was the last hunter. If she killed the baby, there would be no one left to train the next generation.
(The idea of killing Miyeong's baby and not immediately killing herself never even occurred to her. If she crossed that line, she didn't deserve to live, no matter what her training and traditions said.)
While searching through the apartment, she learned that the baby's name was Rumi. There was no sign of her father. No notes about him, no pictures of a suspicious man. Celine didn't know if Miyeong had been seduced by a demon in disguise, or something... more violent. She resolved not to think about it.
Adopting Rumi was easier than she would have expected. Once the issue of Miyeong's death was ruled an accident, and the government confirmed that she didn't have any other family, Celine was the obvious choice to take care of the girl.
Dividing her time between hunting, managing Sunlight Studios, and looking after Rumi was a challenge. She couldn't hire a nanny; she couldn't risk rumors of Rumi's patterns escaping. She started bringing Rumi to work at the office as soon as it was even slightly reasonable to do so. That... had its own challenges, but Rumi was a well-behaved child. There were no major issues.
Once Rumi grew old enough, she started asking questions. Celine immediately resolved that she would not lie to Rumi. She told her what had happened to her mother, as much of it as she knew at least.
She told her what her patterns meant. About Gwi-Ma, and the demons.
Celine would always remember very clearly the way that Rumi rubbed her arms. The way that her patterns darkened, like bruises. She would always remember telling her that they'd find a way to fix it. Years later, she had nightmares about that promise.
Celine scoured the archives, searching for anything like this that had ever happened before. There were no records of any half-demons, at least not in Korea. There were, however, records of various demonic artifacts from before the Honmoon was first made. Many of them had the magical patterns that Gwi-Ma had made famous since. Once the Honmoon came into existence, the artifacts were purged of their corruption.
It wasn't quite a guarantee, but it was certainly good news. There was even a specific reference to a cursed statue that had been attacking people, only to revert to normal when the Honmoon appeared. All its horns and other demonic features disappeared overnight, leaving behind an ordinary soldier statue.
This was what Rumi needed. Of course the Honmoon was already here, but there was another chance. The Golden Honmoon that they had been working towards for centuries was within reach. If the next generation could make it work, then Rumi's patterns would disappear, and she would be safe.
She had to be.
One day, Rumi did something new. Celine never forgot the moment. She was working on the computer while Rumi was practicing silly dance moves. Celine had half an eye on her just out of habit, but she wasn't worried. She kept asking Celine to look, and she did, but she was busy, so she kept looking back to her work.
Eventually Rumi called out, "Mom?"
Celine almost fell out of her chair. "I'm—what?" She looked over at Rumi, wide-eyed. "Why—why would you call me that?"
Rumi shrunk down into herself. "I mean... I thought..." She looked down at the ground and muttered something too quiet to hear.
"Speak clearly," Celine said, tone firm. "Project your voice."
Rumi took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "Mom," she said, back straight and gaze firm.
Celine took a deep breath of her own. "Rumi." She paused, struggling to keep her face straight while she frantically thought of a response. "You know that I am not your mother." She reached over and picked up a picture from a nearby shelf. "I've told you about Miyeong before."
Rumi nodded, hesitantly. "She was... she was your partner." She rubbed her arms, where her sleeves hid her patterns. "She... she gave birth to me." Somehow, she made that sound like a curse.
"She was your mother," Celine insisted. "I'm not, and never will be. I wish she could be here, but..." She took a deep breath. "All you have is me." She brushed Rumi's cheek. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Celine," Rumi said quietly.
She was a good girl. Celine wished she could let Rumi call her mother, but that would never be an option. How could she ever be Rumi's mother, when she was the one who had gotten Rumi's real mother killed? If she had been faster that day, or more trustworthy before, Miyeong would still be alive. She did not deserve to be Rumi's mother.
(If Celine had expressed this idea out loud, it would have helped quite a bit with Rumi's self-esteem. But Celine had been taught, and she taught Rumi in turn, to always hide the pain. She never considered doing differently.)
Rumi stared at the picture for another few moments. She touched her mother's face. Celine just sat there, waiting to see if she would say anything else.
"Can you make my hair like hers?" she asked at last.
Celine smiled, genuinely. "Sure. It will take a while to grow it out, though."
Rumi pouted. "Can you make it grow faster?"
Celine laughed.
Sometimes, Rumi would wake her up in the middle of the night. Usually, it was nothing worth worrying about. Celine let her crawl into bed with her, and nothing ever came of it.
Sometimes, Rumi would wake her up with her patterns glowing. The first time this happened, Celine summoned her saingeom sword instinctively, and the glow illuminated Rumi's terrified face.
Celine immediately threw her sword aside, letting it dematerialize. "Sorry," she whispered. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. Are you all right?"
"Y-yeah." Rumi took a deep breath. Her patterns were a dark purple. "I-I had a nightmare."
"Okay, come on." She pulled aside the covers, and Rumi crawled into her arms. Celine pet her hair until she fell asleep.
Celine stayed awake a bit longer, watching Rumi's steady breathing. Her patterns stopped glowing, and lightened just a little. Celine had so many questions about Rumi's patterns. She would have liked to know what caused them to react like that, and what made them grow. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of any tests that would work. Trying to study them would just cause Rumi too much emotional stress.
Celine kissed Rumi on the top of the head and went to sleep.