Chapter Text
Bobby sipped his tea, the familiar peppermint taste bringing comfort with it. Celine was seated opposite him, an aroma of coffee wafting from her cup. Somehow, she seemed a few years older than when he’d last met her, only a few days ago. Not simply due to the new strands of grey in her hair. She sat hunched. It was almost imperceptible, noticeable only if you knew her well. But in all their time working together, he’d never seen the barest hint of distress in her demeanour. Until now.
They were at the cafe across from the Sunlight Entertainment head office, at a table on the footpath. A regular meeting. They’d spent most of this one discussing how to handle the fallout of the disastrous Idol Awards three days ago, and whatever the hell had happened afterwards at Namsan Tower. But a concern lurked within Bobby’s thoughts, almost to the point of distraction. From what he’d seen on socials, only he, Rumi, Mira and Zoey seemed to remember the Saja Boys’ final performance. That realisation had crystallised years of suspicions into a horrifying picture. One he hoped he was wrong about.
“Bobby?”
Celine’s voice cut through the band manager’s thoughts. A faint note of concern ran through her next words.
“Are you alright? It’s unlike you to be distracted.”
Bobby sipped his tea again and paused. In the absence of information, speculation fills the void. He would rather work with the full facts. If his hunch was correct, Celine must know about it. She had trained Huntrix, after all.
“Just between us, no,” Bobby replied. He cleared his throat. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
Celine shifted in her chair.
“What-”
She broke off as an excited squeal sounded out. Running footsteps approached their table. Bobby glimpsed iridescent light at the end of Celine’s fingers before he turned. That same light he’d been glimpsing in the corners of his vision ever since that concert.
A young girl clad in a pastel purple Huntrix hoodie ran towards them. Several paces behind, a woman chased after her. The girl’s face and arms sported multiple dark patches. Bobby recognised it immediately. Vitiligo. Just like one of his squadmates during his military service. He smiled as the girl stopped beside their table. Her words gushed out, almost too fast for Bobby to understand.
“Excuse me, are you Bobby from Huntrix? I’ve seen you in the behind-the-scenes videos. Rumi, Zoey and Mira talk about you a lot, saying how you look after them.”
Bobby grinned, his eyes twinkling with genuine warmth. It wasn’t the first time a fan had recognised him. But each occasion was a pleasant surprise.
“Yes, that’s me. What’s your name?”
Before the girl could reply, the woman caught up. Her mother, going by the obvious resemblance.
“Seo-jun, stop!”
The girl turned, glee replaced by guilt. Her mother took her by the arm, then bowed to Bobby.
“My apologies, sir. My daughter was overcome with excitement.”
“That’s okay,” Bobby replied. He spoke to Seo-jun.
“It was nice to meet you. I’ll tell the girls you said hello.”
The fan’s face lit up again. Her cheeks flushed red, and she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. Her next words were hesitant, as if she couldn’t believe her luck.
“Could I, um, can you please tell Rumi her birthmarks are pretty and unique? She’s like me.”
She’d spoken with joy and hope in her voice. Bobby replied gently.
“I will. She’ll be happy to hear that.”
Seo-jun squealed again. Before she could say more, her mother led her away. Bobby watched them go. Even now, Rumi was still anxious about her markings. After the concert at Namsan Tower, she’d instinctively covered them with her hands whenever he looked at her. Perhaps this would help her. It wasn’t right that she felt like that.
Bobby turned back to Celine. The former idol was also watching the mother and daughter walk off. Something glistened in the corner of her eye.
“Pretty,” she whispered. It was the first word she’d said since being interrupted by the young fan. There’d been a tremble in her voice. Once again, Bobby found himself surprised. He discreetly cleared his throat. Celine blinked a couple of times and glanced across the road.
“I think we should speak somewhere more private.”
***
As usual, Celine’s office was sparse and tidy. Only a laptop and a neat stack of documents, mostly contracts, sat atop the desk. Two framed photos hung on the wall, flanking the pot plant on top of the filing cabinet. One was the Sunlight Sisters, taken at their last live performance. All three of them were grinning. An expression Bobby had never seen on Celine in person. The second picture was of Celine and Rumi on the red carpet at some award show or another. Both women bore professional public-relations smiles. The type that didn’t quite reach the eyes. Of course, Rumi was wearing long sleeves in the photo. To cover those strange birthmarks.
Bobby waited while Celine shut the door. Once she was seated, he took sat opposite her. She leaned forward, her expression neutral.
“What have you been wondering?” she said. Bobby leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers together. It was one thing to consider these suspicions. ‘Twas another to voice them. Perhaps it was simply his stressed mind seeing connections that weren’t there. After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, he finally spoke.
“These unplanned special effects at the concerts, this demon hunting theme the girls have going. It’s not just part of the show, is it?”
The question hung in the air for a few moments. Celine’s expression shifted. Her next words came as though she were reprimanding a child.
“Exactly what did they tell you?”
“Nothing directly,” Bobby replied firmly. “But I’ve suspected it for years. Been trying to cover for them as much as I can. It’s not that easy when you don’t know what you’re hiding.”
That last comment earned him a nod of acknowledgement from Celine. She leaned forward.
“What raised these suspicions?”
“The way they disappear when I’m turned around. All those little injuries they hide under makeup and clothes. They do a good job with that. But I’ve caught glimpses when they’re rehearsing. Zoey realised I’d noticed. Told me it was them ‘getting freaky’ in bed.”
“With each other?”
Bobby shrugged his shoulders.
“It wouldn’t surprise me. There’s also those so-called ‘special effects’. Nothing in the budget, and neither of the concert effects teams knows anything about them. I assumed it was some sort of trade secret, passed down from you.”
Celine’s lips twitched, a hint of a smile on them. Bobby understood a moment later. In a way, that statement was true. Just not the trade he’d been thinking of. He continued.
“There was the plane, too. The one they used on the last night of their How It’s Done tour. Police found it ripped in two in the water off Incheon. I pointed out the girls did arrive safely at their concert, so whatever happened must have been afterwards. But it did cause me to wonder. I mean, it wasn’t even a Boeing aircraft.”
“Rumi texted me about it,” Celine explained. “Demons replaced the flight crew. They fought them off before landing in the stadium.”
Bobby raised an eyebrow. That mostly made sense.
“But, that means…it must’ve continued another 30 kilometres or so before coming down.”
Celine spoke again, with a note of reverence in her voice.
“The Honmoon protects those who maintain it. I suspect it somehow kept that plane flying until it could crash safely.”
Bobby blinked. He’d heard that word, Honmoon, before. He’d have to come back to it.
“Things became clearer when they wrote Takedown,” Bobby continued. “Zoey had 23 notebooks of demon insults, ready to go. That’s-“
Celine sighed.
“Suspiciously specific.”
Bobby nodded.
“They called the Saja Boys demons, too. I thought they were speaking metaphorically. Until the Idol Awards happened.”
Celine didn’t reply for several moments. Another sigh escaped her. Neither of them spoke for a moment, then Bobby cleared his throat.
“You said this Honmoon thing kept that plane up. I’ve heard that word before. I guess it’s connected to the demon hunting?”
For the second time in the last few minutes, Celine’s expression darkened.
“Happy fans, happy Honmoon. Part of the girls’ pre-concert carb-loading ritual. They clink their ramyeon cups like champagne glasses,” Bobby explained. Despite Celine’s frown, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Then, all traces of mirth disappeared from his face and voice.
“I originally thought it was some sort of slang. But it reached out to me at Namsan Tower.”
Celine’s eyes widened.
“It reached out to you? I must admit, I do not know this new Honmoon that well. I felt it form that night, just as I felt the old one die.”
“It was there in my thoughts,” Bobby explained. He sang his next sentence.
“Oooh, this is what it sounds like, hey! It gave me that refrain, and the rest of the crowd picked it up. What is it exactly?”
“A shield, between the demon realm and ours,” Celine replied.
Bobby nodded. Something else stirred in his memories. Another thing he’d seen at Namsan Tower.
“The Saja boys, those demons. They had marks, didn’t they? Just like Rumi’s.”
“Yes,” she replied softly. “You already know half of it. I may as well tell you more.”
She then did so. Bobby listened intently, asking the occasional question here and there. Celine explained the history of the hunters, Rumi’s heritage and how Huntrix were the current generation, following the Sunlight Sisters. That fact brought a frown to Bobby’s brow. Celine stopped, ready to listen.
“That doesn’t add up. The Sunlight Sisters disbanded in 2001.”
He’d been 11 years old at the time. Huntrix hadn’t debuted until 2019, when he’d been old enough to be their manager. Surely there would have been other hunters back then, to fill in that 18-year gap. Bobby met Celine’s gaze. Her expression told him all he needed to know. Haunted, that was the only word for it.
“You carried on hunting on your own? While raising Rumi?”
“Yes.”
Bobby leaned backwards into his chair. He glanced out the window, this fresh information filtering through his thoughts. Several of the things he’d noticed over the years came back, illuminated in a new light. The way Celine seemed to flinch, almost imperceptibly, at the most innocuous sounds. That wariness in her manner when out in public. It wasn’t surprising, given what he’d just learned. Shouldering all that responsibility, for a child, for hunting demons, for maintaining the Honmoon, was not healthy. Especially for so long on one’s own. He leaned forward.
“Celine, you’re aware I’ve done my military service. Yet you’ve seen more combat than I ever did.”
Bobby cleared his throat, then continued.
“There’s a condition that’s been called many names over the years. Shell shock, battle fatigue, but these days it’s known as post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Were he anyone else, Bobby would’ve recoiled from the glare Celine shot him. But he’d worked with her long enough to know better.
“I don’t have that sort of baggage,” Celine said firmly.
“That light at the end of your fingers earlier was the Honmoon, wasn’t it? When that young fan ran up to us.”
Celine blinked.
“You can see it?”
“I think so? Flashes of rainbow on the edges of my vision. Only since the Namsan concert.”
Celine’s eyes narrowed.
“Just glimpses, then?” she asked. Bobby’s frown deepened. He knew what she was doing. Trying to change the subject.
“Celine, were you going to draw a Honmoon weapon on that girl at the cafe?”
Celine didn’t meet his gaze.
“It was in the corner of my eye. I thought she bore the marks. Just reflexes, that’s all.”
Bobby frowned. A hunter’s reflex, she’d told him, to kill anything with demon marks. Marks just like the ones Rumi had. With that realisation, one more thing clicked into place. Rumi’s shame over those so-called birthmarks. He parked that thought for now. Both Celine and Rumi needed help. Outrage would only get in the way.
“Our faults and fears must never be seen,” Bobby quoted, mostly managing to keep the distaste out of his voice. “When on duty, as idols. But as a hunter you’d never be off duty. Explains the girls vanishing half the time.”
Celine nodded.
“They feel terrible about it.”
While nice, that was beside the point. Bobby’s next words came gently, almost as if speaking to a frightened child.
“Celine, could you go off duty now if you wanted to? Do you know how to?”
Celine opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Her gaze drifted over to the photos flanking the pot plant. After several seconds, a single word escaped her.
“No.”
“But you don’t have baggage?”
Celine just glanced down. With a smooth motion, Bobby pulled out his phone. Among the various credit and bank cards tucked into the case, he found the business card he sought. A therapist he’d checked out a few years ago, should Rumi, Mira or Zoey need such a service. The card was slightly frayed around the edges, but that didn’t matter. He laid it on the desk in front of Celine.
“I vetted him myself. I think he could help you.”
She picked up the business card and read it.
“You had this ready to go?”
“Yes. In case the girls needed someone.”
That brought a smile to her lips.
“I’ve always admired your attention to detail, Bobby. On that note, there is one more thing you should know. Demons can teleport, among other things. I’ve seen Rumi do so. She may manifest more such abilities now.”
Bobby nodded. He’d have to watch out for that, so he could give Rumi the support she needed. Celine turned the card over in her hands, not quite looking at it. Fidgeting while making up her mind, a habit Bobby had noticed before. He hoped she would choose to get help.
“I’ll have to ask you to excuse me,” she said.
Bobby got to his feet and bowed. Relief flowed through him, but he kept a professional smile on his face. He adjusted the sleeves of his jacket.
“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked. Celine went to speak, then stopped. Bobby strode over to the door.
“Robert.”
It hadn’t been a command, nor a shout. Celine had almost sounded as though she were pleading. Bobby halted, his fingers on the doorknob. He turned. Celine sat slumped in the chair, her phone in her hand. She met his gaze. When she spoke, her voice trembled.
“I think Rumi and I need to talk. If she wants to. But not now. Not until we’ve both been able to put ourselves back together.”
Her next words were spoken in little more than a whisper. Bobby could barely make them out.
“When you see Rumi, please tell her I’m sorry. That I apologise unreservedly. To all of her. She’ll know what that means.”
Bobby nodded. The suspicion that he’d parked earlier came to mind.
“About her patterns?”
Celine sighed.
“I told her to cover them up, her whole life. It recently became clear that was a mistake.”
Bobby didn’t reply. Instead, he just waited for Celine to continue.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” she added weakly.
Now it was Bobby’s turn to frown. He pushed that anger aside; ‘twas not the moment for it. The road to misery is paved with good intentions. It seemed both Celine and Rumi had been down it.
“Hindsight is always clear,” Bobby said. “I think you should take some time off. You told me this new Honmoon is holding together. But you aren’t. I’ll look after the girls. You need to look after yourself.”
Celine met his gaze. She would be well within her rights to reprimand him, even to fire him. Celine was his boss, after all. But instead, relief filled her eyes.
“I think I needed to hear that,” she said. “Thank you.”
With that, she placed the business card on her desk, and pulled out her phone.
Bobby nodded, bade farewell and departed.
One elevator ride later, he strode out into the carpark. He sank into the driver’s seat of his car, his hands shaking. Only now did the events of the last hour catch up to him. He took several deep breaths to steady his nerves. Okay, demons were real. That wasn’t too surprising, he had suspected it. ‘Twas just a bit disturbing. The three girls he thought of as family hunted demons regularly, on top of their duties as idols. Alright, that explained a lot. Celine, a hunter herself, had raised a half-demon child solo. No wonder she always looked so stressed, despite her efforts to hide it.
But amongst this maelstrom of feelings, thoughts and worries, a sense of relief shone through. He knew what was going on now. Which meant he could properly look after Rumi, Mira and Zoey. They were still his girls, Honmoon and all. Given everything that had happened, they’d need his support. And he’d be there for them.
A wave of guilt followed that thought. Rumi was half-demon. That side of her might have dietary or comfort needs. Needs he’d been neglecting, because he hadn’t known about them. That would have to change.
With all that in mind, he picked up his phone and texted the Huntrix group chat.
“Hi girls, we need to discuss a few things. Is now a good time? I’ll pick up lunch on the way.”
Mira replied a few moments later.
“Thanks, Bobby. That would be great.”
Bobby couldn’t help smiling. Typical Mira. Concise and direct.
With one more sigh, Bobby started the car. The engine revved, and Golden blasted from the stereo. As he drove off, suspicion sprouted in his thoughts. The last time the girls had seen Celine was in Tokyo, after the first leg of their How It’s Done tour. A brief meeting before they jetted off to Melbourne. It had gone well. Yet Celine must have met Rumi again. He didn’t know when, or why. But something must’ve happened between them. He’d have to keep an eye on that, for both their sakes. Right now, though, he had a message to deliver.
***
Bobby strode out of the lift into the Huntrix penthouse. Two bags dangled from his hands. One held ramyeon, which he’d bought from their favourite hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The other contained several rolls of gimbap.
“Hi girls!” he called.
“Hi Bobby,” came a singular reply from the couch. A familiar purple braid shot up, with a grinning idol beneath it. Rumi wore only a t-shirt and light cotton shorts, leaving her patterns exposed. Her hands went halfway to her arms before she stopped herself. That would be why her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Bobby hadn’t seen her dressed this lightly in years. It was good to see she wasn’t hiding.
“This new look suits you, Rumi,” he said. “I’ve already spoken to Chae-won in costuming. She’s come up with a few ideas about incorporating it.”
Rumi’s eyes twinkled, her grin wider and genuine. Bobby returned her smile. Some of her teeth looked just a little too sharp. Probably because of her demon heritage. He wouldn’t ask about that for now. Knowing Rumi, he would have to broach that subject gently. But it warmed his heart to see her genuinely happy. She must’ve been worried about how he’d take it. He’d not had much of a chance to talk to the girls in the chaotic aftermath of the Idol Awards.
“Thanks, Bobby,” Rumi said. “That means a lot.”
Bobby nodded.
“Of course. I know you’re on hiatus. But if you get any ideas, don’t hesitate to send them my way,” Bobby said. He glanced around the living room, finding it two idols short. Rumi pointed to the TV screen.
“They’re just finishing one of Zoey’s retro game streams.”
Bobby nodded. After leaving the food on the kitchen counter, he joined Rumi. The singer reclined into the couch cushions, almost swallowed up by them. Not wanting to intrude, Bobby perched on the end of it.
“This is for charity, isn’t it?”
Rumi nodded. When she spoke, there was a hint of pride in her words. Her patterns shifted colour. Where they’d been iridescent, they now faintly glowed a sky-blue shade. That was new. Another topic he would have to approach gently. It could probably wait until later. The girls had been through a lot.
“Yes, she’s donating double what the viewers contribute.”
Bobby nodded and turned his attention to the screen. One corner showed the view from the webcam. Zoey sat at her desk, mouse in hand. Mira sat behind her. The dancer leaned forward, resting her chin on the maknae’s shoulder. Her dry, semi-sarcastic commentary added a certain flavour to the proceedings. Going by the messages in the chat, the viewers were enjoying it. A desert battlefield filled the rest of the screen. Cartoonish soldiers and tanks moved across it, their allegiance shown by red or purple markings. Recognition dawned. For a moment, Bobby was a teenager again, playing this very game on his father’s computer. This mission was a particular favourite. It wasn’t until years later that he’d realised it contained a few references to Casablanca.
“This is Yuri’s Revenge, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes. I don’t quite get it, but Zoey found the title amusing. For some reason,” Rumi replied rapidly.
“This takes me back. I used to play this all the time when I was a teenager,” Bobby reminisced. “You know, there’s this trick in this game, in the Hawaii mission for the Allies that lets you finish it extremely quickly-”
Bobby broke off, his fond trip down memory lane interrupted by a squeak from Rumi. Her cheeks blushed, the shade almost an exact match for Mira’s hair.
“When you were a teenager? Bobby, I didn’t mean to say retro. It’s not that retro, it was made this century. No, wait, I didn’t mean…”
Bobby smiled reassuringly. He was already aware he wasn’t as young as he used to be. No need for Rumi to worry about pointing it out, even accidentally. But before he could reassure her, the idol’s patterns flared fuchsia. With a soft pop, she disappeared. Only a cloud of reddish smoke filled the space where she’d been.
Bobby sprang to his feet. As the smoke faded, he found his heart racing. He poked the cushions, finding only fabric beneath his fingers. With a few deep breaths, he steadied his nerves. It wasn’t the first time a member of Huntrix had disappeared on him. But their exits weren’t usually so dramatic. It must be the teleportation Celine had mentioned. Of course, that raised the question of where Rumi had gone.
On the TV, Zoey’s army had engaged the enemy. Sound effects of tank cannons and gunfire rumbled from the subwoofer. It would be the same in Zoey’s room. She had a similar speaker setup in there. But a soft pop came through, just barely audible over the sounds of commanding and conquering. On the screen, Mira ceased her commentary. Her head snapped around, looking at something off-screen.
“Rumi?”
That one word energised the chat. Messages flew up, almost too fast to read. Most were greeting Rumi, who remained out of the camera’s view.
“Stay with me, chat,” Zoey said. “I’ve almost got this.”
“Sorry,” Rumi said. “I’ll, um, make sure to knock next time. Bobby’s here with lunch. Duck ramyeon.”
Bobby glanced over at the kitchen counter. He could barely smell the food from here. Yet Rumi had determined the flavour from across the room. Perhaps her demonic abilities included stronger senses. He rubbed his hand over his cheek and hoped his aftershave wasn’t too strong for her. He would have to check later. For now, he just sat down on the couch to wait. It was quite comfortable. That helped. Rumi was definitely on edge. He would have to deliver Celine's message soon. Hopefully, that would comfort her.