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“We see what you are.”
“You’re a demon.”
“A mistake.”
“You have been since the day you were born.”
“NO!”
The lights shattered above her. The fans in the audience were gasping and screaming, some were fleeing because they were scared there was some kind of attack or the building was breaking. The attention given to the lights and screen took people’s eyes off of Rumi. No one noticed the glowing patterns that covered her arms, neck and face. They didn’t notice Rumi, absolutely terrified, fleeing the stage while shaking and looking close to a complete breakdown.
In another world, Rumi went down stage right and took the stairs down towards Mira and Zoey.
In this world, she went left where there was still a staircase but no Mira or Zoey. No one else was around, they were all running around, trying to figure out what just happened and why the biggest kpop group in the world just broke up on stage. No one noticed Rumi’s shaking getting worse or her fleeing back to the dressing room. Inside the empty room, Rumi hide herself in the corner where she was partially concealed by the costume rack.
With shaking breaths, Rumi tried to keep herself calm and to think of something, anything that she could do that would make this situation better. Nothing came to mind. Instead, only the bad thoughts did. Everything she’d tried to repress came screaming to the surface now that Mira and Zoey hated her.
Mistake.
Monster.
Freak.
Should never have been born.
Useless.
Demon.
Rumi’s sob filled screams suffocated the room. She was so lost in her pain, in her panic, that she didn’t notice her patterns start to glow again.
———————————————
Bobby was in a bit of a hard spot.
How exactly was a manager supposed to feel when the band broke up on stage with no warning or even a hint that they were having problems? And what was a manager supposed to do when he couldn’t find any of the group members?! Bobby had looked all over backstage for Mira, Zoey or Rumi and hadn’t found a trace. A couple stage crew members claimed to have seen them but their directions were always useless.
Multiple times he tried to call and text the three but the calls all went to voicemail and the texts were left unread. Wherever they were, they didn’t have their phones which wasn’t entirely surprising now that he thought about it. They would have left them in the dressing room so that they didn’t get lost or stolen while they were performing.
As minutes continued to pass, reaching almost thirty minutes since Rumi fled the stage, Bobby’s panic was continuing to grow as his own thoughts became worse and worse with every passing second.
Did Mira and Zoey always feel this way? Why reveal it at the Idol Awards? Did Rumi say something? Do something? Why rip off her jacket? What were those marks on Rumi’s arms?
A thousand questions flew through his mind and he didn’t have anyone there to answer them. In the center of it all though was just a growing hatred for himself. That he wasn’t able to see this coming, to prevent this, to protect them, to keep them together. He failed them. He had failed his girls and now he didn’t even know where they were to help them through this. Bobby didn’t know who was to blame or if anyone was really to blame but he knew the girls needed him, someway somehow.
While scrolling his phone again, updating the news to see if anything was popping up, he noticed his texts to Rumi had changed. She didn’t respond but instead of simply being marked as delivered they were now marked as being read at 8:30.
“Rumi has her phone.” Bobby whispered.
And if Rumi had her phone then Bobby had at least an idea of where to look: the dressing room. A new destination in mind, he took off running to Huntrix’s room. There was no light on when he arrived but that didn’t mean he couldn’t check. He gave the door multiple knocks, signaling to the girls or just Rumi—whoever was inside—that he was there.
“Rumi? Mira? Zoey? It’s Bobby.” He called.
“Bobby?” The voice was faint but he heard it. Slowly he pushed the door open, not all the way but enough to hear the voice better.
“Hey. It’s just me.”
“Bobby!” Rumi! It was Rumi. She sounded…off but it was definitely her. Bobby pushed the door open and scanned the room for the idol. He couldn’t find a trace of her for a moment, a touch confused as to who called his name if no one was here, until his eyes landed on a tiny figure in the corner, “Bobby!” The figure moved, standing up and running to him.
Bobby suddenly found his leg hugged by a girl, maybe about 4 or 5, with Rumi’s exactly same purple hair—complete with the same braid—and child sized shirt, jacket and long pants. The girl’s jacket was short sleeved, revealing purple marks on her arm. Bobby also quickly realized that the same marks were on her face.
“Rumi?” Bobby whispered.
The little girl nodded, but also registered his shock and surprise, “Don’t know what happened.” Tears were falling down her face, “I-I just looked up and I was small. I don’t know what to do.”
“Rumi?”
How?
Just how?
How was it that one of the biggest singers in the world, definitely the biggest in Korea, who, last Bobby had checked, was 23, was now a child, barely 5, and clinging to his leg?
Rumi seemed to recognize Bobby’s confusion and his distrust that this child was her because panic overtook over face again and she grabbed his pant leg a little tighter. She looked up at him with an almost pleading expression to believe her.
“I am Rumi! I….I hate spicy food! I once tripped over my boots during a performance and almost broke a tooth! Zoey pranked you last year with a fake spider and you fell down….and…I am Rumi, Bobby! I swear I am! I don’t know why I’m a kid or what’s going on. I just…I just…” The tears continued to stream down Rumi’s face. She gripped her jacket tightly, struggling to keep her thoughts straight.
That seemed to be what finally broke Bobby free from his trance. He didn’t know if this was really Rumi or what was going on but this kid was clearly upset and needed someone to believe her. Bobby knelt down to be at Rumi’s eye level. He didn’t get a second to talk before Rumi wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
“Shhh, shhh. It’s okay. I got you.” Thank god for his brother being a parent. That was the only reason he knew how to comfort a kid, “You don’t know how this happened at all?” Bobby asked.
“No. I-I think it’s because of these.” Rumi held out her arm, revealing purple patterns that had not been there a few hours ago. Or…maybe they had. Bobby narrowed his eyes at the marks. Rumi did always wear long sleeves. He assumed it had been a personal choice but was it to hide her marks.
“Can I…?” Bobby held out a hand, allowing Rumi to rest her arm in it, “What are these?”
“They’re…demon patterns.” Rumi whispered.
“Demon patterns.”
Okay that certainly wasn’t the response he was expecting. They didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen before but he wouldn’t have ever said they were demon patterns.
“I’m a demon.” A fresh wave of tears filled Rumi’s eyes when she uttered those words.
“Oh, no, no, Rumi, you’re not a demon.” Bobby whispered.
“I am!” She insisted, sniffing as she fought back her tears. Bobby bit back a response. Was she actually a demon or was she just calling herself that? Well, demon or not, she clearly was upset and in need of some kind of comfort. Bobby just really, really didn’t know what to do about her suddenly going from 23 to 4.
Oh!
“Why don’t we go find Mira or Zoey? Maybe they-“
“No! No! Please don’t get them! Please! They’ll kill me!” Rumi buried her face in Bobby’s leg as she willed herself not to cry. The manager wanted to slap himself. Of course Rumi wouldn’t want to see them. They just broke up on stage. Why would she want to see them?
“Shh, shh. Rumi, it’s okay. We don’t have to get them but we do need to try and figure out what to do with you. Can I call Celine?” He asked, “Does she know about all of this?”
Rumi nodded, “Mmhmm. She knows. Do you think she’d know how to turn me back?” A small bit of hope entered her eyes.
“I don’t know but I think asking her couldn’t hurt.”
Bobby stretched out his hands, waiting for Rumi to move away. When she didn’t, he scooped her up and set her down on the couch with a large jacket to keep her warm while he pulled out his phone, looking for Celine’s contact. It was one of the few numbers in his emergency contact. He put it there after Mira had a panic attack upon seeing her parents at one of Huntrix’s first shows. Over the phone, Celine had informed security to remove her parents and talked him through how to safety handle a panic attack, especially a Mira panic attack. He was just about to click call when he heard a knock at the door.
Zoey poked her head in before Bobby or Rumi could respond.
Rumi saw Zoey before she saw her.
Mira’s face appeared seconds later; eyes landing on Rumi.
“Rumi?” Mira asked.
Now everyone was staring at the 4 year old.
With nowhere else to go, Rumi shot forward and grabbed Bobby’s leg, hiding behind it to protect herself from Mira and Zoey, who had both come into the room and closed the door behind them to make sure no one heard them.
“Girls, maybe it’s not the best time to be here. I know you’re mad at Rumi right now but we need to figure this out first.” Bobby said, trying to keep Mira and Zoey separate from Rumi.
“Mad?” Zoey asked, “Why would we be mad?”
“Whatever you feel, your performance on stage was more than enough message.” Bobby said.
“Performances on stage? What?” Their looks of pure confusion left Bobby and Rumi looking at one another. Why would Mira and Zoey pretend that they weren’t on stage when they literally were 10 minutes ago? Mira cleared her throat and stepped forward, “We haven’t been on stage since Golden.” She told him.
“I saw you two on stage. You were singing Takedown at Rumi and circling her and ripped off her jacket.” Bobby told them.
“That wasn’t you.” Rumi whispered. It wasn’t them! It was demons! The demons had taken their forms! Mira and Zoey weren’t actually mad and they didn’t hate her! Rumi began to move away from Bobby’s leg, getting closer to Mira and Zoey as pure joy filled her heart.
Then she saw them look at her and back away. The realization hit her before she could retreat back to safety behind Bobby’s legs. Her patterns were out. They might not have been the ones to rip off her jacket but they still didn’t know about her patterns before tonight.
“Rumi?” Zoey knelt down, “Why do you have patterns?”
“You know what these are?” Bobby asked, “She called them demon patterns.”
“She told you?” Mira asked.
“Told me what they are but not why she has them.” He clarified, “Look, this doesn’t matter right now. Rumi needs to get back to her proper age and that will happen faster if we all focus on—“
“Wait. How old have you had patterns?” Mira asked.
Rumi gripped her pants, unable to touch her demon patterns to hug herself, “Since I was born. My dad…I got them from him.” She said.
“You’ve had them for years and never told us?!” Zoey said, her voice coming out sharper than she intended.
Rumi bit her lip hard, forcing herself not to cry, “‘M sorry. They-they were supposed to disappear when we hit gold and then you-you—I was going to fix them. I was going to get rid of them and be normal and not be a demon and—and—“ Rumi’s sentences fell into incoherent sobs as her patterns began to glow again.
Zoey and Mira, both too stunned to move, remained in their spots but Bobby swung into action. He knelt down next to Rumi and whipped the tears from her eyes. He didn’t have much experience comforting children but he did have experience with his girls. He knew when Rumi cried the best thing to do was to give a moment before jumping in. Talking too quickly after she started crying had a tendency to make her feel pressured and overwhelmed.
“Did I ever tell you girls about the time I had to do an army physical?”
The other good thing to do with all the girls when they got upset? Provide them with funny stories to laugh at.
“No.” Rumi whispered.
“Well, when it was time for me to be conscripted, they had all of us lined up to do the intro physical so they could tell who should automatically go to a public service role. In just five minutes, I ended up falling face first into the mud. What was even more humbling about the experience was that I ended up tripping on one of the tires as I was leaving the training grounds and face planted right in front of my commanding officer.” Rumi hid her giggles behind her hand. For a 4 year old, she was doing a better job at hiding her laughter than Zoey and Mira, “Look, I clearly don’t know anything about this whole demon thing you guys are dealing with but do you honestly think Rumi had bad intentions in hiding this?” Bobby asked.
Zoey and Mira looked down at Rumi, who had retreated back to Bobby, and thought back to the performance on stage. Rumi’s jacket had been torn, she thought it was them but she never attacked. A demon would attack. Rumi did not.
Zoey spoke first, “No.”
Rumi’s eyes filled with hope.
“Good. Then let’s focus on getting her back to normal then we can all go for some Itaewon corn dogs.” Bobby suggested, “And we’ll deal with the media storm later.”
“And how exactly do we get her back to normal?” Mira asked.
“That is what I’m calling Celine about. Maybe she’ll know what to do.” Bobby reasoned.
When Bobby turned away to take the call, Rumi was left to stare up at Mira and Zoey. Unable to keep their look, she forced herself to look down and breathe. Every second she tried to remind herself that they didn’t hate her, they weren’t going to kill her or hurt her with Bobby right there. Even if she was a demon, she wasn’t the same as all the other demons they had fought and Mira and Zoey knew that.
She was so deep in her spiral that she didn’t notice Mira kneeling down next to her until she felt the dancer’s hand on her shoulder.
“Rumi?” Mira whispered, “You need to breathe, okay? You’re going to pass out.” Her voice was low. Mira didn’t really have a soft voice, but she had a low voice that she used with kids and whenever Rumi or Zoey was having a hard time. It was her way of showing that she cared and had patience.
“Breathe.” Rumi repeated, “I can do that.”
“Can you?” Mira offered her a light smile, “You’re not doing it right now. Can you try a breath in and out? The same kind you taught us to do before our first fan signing?” She asked.
Rumi nodded, “In….out.” Maybe saying it wasn’t necessary but it always helped Rumi to hear the words out loud, “In…out.”
“There you go.” Mira said, “So…demon patterns?”
“Not the best topic right now, Mi.” Zoey snickered and knelt down as well next to Rumi. She had to kneel down more than Mira so Zoey just opted to sit on the floor for comfort. Sensing an opportunity, Rumi shuffled a little closer to Zoey to see what the lyricists would do. Zoey seemed to understand Rumi’s shuffle and pulled her closer, “We can talk about something else right now. Like how cute Rumi is.”
“Zoey.” Rumi whined.
“You are.” Zoey laughed, “Is this why you never showed us baby pictures? We’d die of cuteness?”
Rumi’s cheeks turned red, “Not cute.” She grumbled.
“You are.” Mira snickered, “Let’s not pretend about that.”
Rumi was about to argue back when she froze, all of Huntrix did hearing Celine’s voice come through the phone. Bobby put the phone down so that Celine could get a clear view of Rumi, who awkwardly waved at her caretaker. Celine gave a sharp breath and bit at her nail. A sign the girls and Bobby understood to mean something was serious and she was deep in thought about it.
"Celine?" Rumi whispered. Celine offered the girl a smile, "Do you know what this is?"
The mentor sucked in a breath, "I might, but---"
“What is it?” Bobby asked, "We have no ideas over here. Anything you know is better than what we have."
“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a demon defense.” Celine answered.
“Demon defense?” Mira asked.
“They developed it a few decades ago according to my mentor. If a demon is really scared or cornered then they have the ability to transform into a child. The ability stuck around because most hunters aren’t exactly going after demons disguised as little kids.” Celine explained, “I’m guessing that Rumi’s demon half was so panicked during Takedown that it activated the ability to protect her from Mira and Zoey.”
Both Mira and Zoey winced at that. True it hadn’t been them on stage but hearing that Rumi had been so terrified that they would hurt her struck a nerve.
“So, how do I change back?” Rumi asked.
“Usually demons can turn back on their own. Once the threat has passed, you should revert back.” Celine answered, “I’m sorry. My knowledge on demon defenses is not as good as it should be."
"So, I might be stuck like this?" Rumi asked.
Celine clearly noticed the fear in Rumi's eyes, "Aegi...We'll figure this out. I promise." She said, "I’m on my way over.” She ended the call before anyone could say a word.
"We can't wait for Celine." Mira said, "I'll take her at least an hour to get here."
“Can you change back?” Zoey asked, one arm still wrapped around Rumi.
“I don’t know. I’ve never turned into a kid before.” Rumi said.
“You’ve never been confronted by hunters before.” Mira added, a look of shame on her face.
“It wasn’t you.” Rumi whispered.
“Well, there’s no rush, right?” Bobby said, “Why won’t we all head back to the tower and relax and we’ll figure out a plan from there?”
“Actually, that’s the reason we came in here.” Zoey said, “The honmoon is coming apart.”
“What!?” Rumi cried.
“And a honmoon is…?”
“Magical barrier.” Mira answered.
Bobby blinked at the dancer, “Right. That makes about as much sense as everything else tonight. Magical barrier coming apart and I’m guessing…demons are coming?” Zoey nodded, “So we don’t have time to go back to the tower, huh?”
“No. Gwi-Ma will be here soon and when he comes he’ll kill hundreds of thousands of people if we don’t do something.”
Mira turned to explain but Bobby held up a hand, “I’ll figure out who all the characters are later. I think the hundreds of thousands of people dying part is more than enough explanation for now. Is there anything you girls can do?” He didn’t like the idea of his girls fighting some kind of demon king but if they were the only ones then at least he could support them as much as possible.
“That’s what we came here for. We came to get out suits to try and fight off Gwi-Ma and his demons as best we could before they take over but without Rumi’s voice and the honmoon breaking there’s not much we can do.” Zoey answered.
“So, what? People are just going to die?” Bobby asked.
“No.” Rumi said. In that moment she sounded more like her adult self then she had in the past hour, “That won’t happen. Where are the Saja Boys now?” Rumi asked.
“I think they said they were performing at Namsan tower.” Mira told her, “A special live performance.”
“A feast for Gwi-Ma.” Rumi corrected, “How long will it take us to drive over?”
“Twenty minutes.” Bobby answered without a moment of hesitation, “I’ll get the car right now.”
“Bobby–”
“And I will drive so no one sees Rumi.” He added.
Within minutes, the three were in the back of a Hyundai SUV heading straight for Namsan tower. The streets were unusually bare for 10 pm on a Friday, leaving an uncomfortable feeling in the four that something was wrong. That, along with the pink and red sky, made it clear something was very wrong. Rumi had unbuckled herself when they were halfway there, poking her head up and seeing the glow coming from the tower.
“Hey, it’ll be okay.” Zoey whispered.
“No, it won’t. Even if you two fight, even if I somehow manage to summon my weapon—-even if Celine arrived in time, we can’t stop Gwi-Ma if he gets all those souls. He’ll overpower us and there will be nothing we can do!”
“Rumi,” Mira’s deep voice cut through her panic, “breathe.”
“I can’t. I can’t because…because this is all my fault.” Rumi whispered.
“How is it your fault?” Zoey asked.
“I trusted Jinu. I told him my faults and fears and he used it against me. If I had been smarter, realized it was a trick then none of this would be happening. We have a code. We don’t trust demons, but I thought Jinu was different. I thought he might understand and help us and–and it’s going to get everyone killed.”
Only after the words came tumbling out did Rumi realize she had never actually told them she worked with Jinu. Her gaze was stuck on the floor of the car when she spoke and now she refused to look up. No doubt Zoey and Mira would now suspect her of working with Jinu. A demon helping another demon. Even if they trusted her before, admitting to helping the enemy wasn’t something she could just—
Zoey hugged her.
Not in a way to hold her down. Not in an attack. Not in a ‘about to kill you and showing you a small bit of comfort’ way. An actual hug. Rumi didn’t hesitate. She wrapped her arms around Zoey and felt Mira press against her back when she joined the hug.
“You didn’t cause this.” Mira whispered, “We’ll figure this out and, if we can’t, I can’t imagine a better end to Huntrix then going out together and killing some Saja Boys.” Not exactly the most comforting words but it did help to make Zoey and Rumi smile.
“If it makes you feel better, Rumi, you can be the one to attack Jinu.” Zoey offered, “Mira will hold him down and I’ll loan you my shin-kal blades. Probably better you use that than your sword.”
“Because I’m too small for my sword now?” Rumi asked. The smallest bit of laughter spilled out.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” Now that got real laughter from Rumi and Mira.
Suddenly, Rumi’s patterns began to glow. Mira and Zoey pulled away to see what was happening just as the patterns hit their brightest. Bobby, who was driving, narrowed his eyes to avoid the shining light in the backseat. It lasted only a few moments but the shine was bright enough to light up a whole room.
He quickly grabbed the rearview mirror and lowered it to see into the backseat, “Are you three—”
Rumi was back.
She was back to her proper age, staring down at her—she was somehow back in her Golden outfit minus the jacket—and letting out small bits of happy laughter.
“You’re back!” Zoey cried, “I guess your demon side felt like it was safe again.”
“Even with two hunters around.” Mira added.
Rumi pulled the two into another hug. She didn’t get the chance to respond because Bobby had stopped the car right in front of the Namsan tower entrance.
“Why don’t we talk about all of this after we deal with Gwi-Ma?” Rumi asked.
“That sounds like a good plan to me.” Mira grinned,
“Let’s do this.”
The three raced out of the car and were about halfway to the entrance when Bobby honked the horn, getting their attention, "Girls!" Bobby yelled, "...Be safe." The three gave him a final nod before racing into the tower.
The night ended in a new honmoon and a new debut for Huntrix with the demons finally vanished---at least for now. Bobby, who had entered the tower after finding a place to park, watched over the girls from his place with his hands over his heart.
"Rumi seems to be doing better." Celine said.
"She is." Bobby confirmed, "So....demon hunter, huh? You? All of the Sunlight Sisters?"
"There's a lot we need to catch you up on." Celine chuckled, "And a lot of NDAs you need to sign."
"Who am I going to tell?" Bobby asked, "The news? Am I going to go on an interview and say Huntrix is a group of demon hunters who are protecting the world through music?"
"Fair enough." Celine allowed, "But the whole demon hunter thing doesn't scare you? You don't want to quit?"
"QUIT!?! Are you kidding? You four have been keeping all the fun stuff hidden and now you think, just when I know it, I want to quit?" Bobby barked a laugh, "Sorry, Cece but you're stuck with me."
Celine lifted an eyebrow.
"Cece was too far, huh?" Bobby asked.
"Just a bit."
"Sorry, but I do think there's a lot you need to tell me."
"Agreed. How about you and I talk after we get the girls back to Huntrix tower so they can rest?"
"That sounds good to me. I'd say they've all more than earned it."
