Story outline idea: The Trickster as a villain in Kpop Demon Hunters
Spoilers ahead! Content warning for gore and death.
-Shortly after the first movies ends, a music producer by the name of Magnum Opus contacts HUNTR/X to see if they'd be interested in a collab with The Trickster, An idol singer that while still popular is beginning to slip in ratings. Bobby thinks this is a great idea, and the girls agree after seeing a video of The Trickster's knife throwing.
-The Trickster, aka Ji-Woon Hak arrives and Zoey is instantly smitten. Rumi welcomes Ji-Woon and shows him around their studio. The first introduction is great, the girls think this will work. They shake hands and part ways, but as Mira shakes Ji-Woon's hand she notices a bite mark. He leaves before she can ask about it.
-After the visit, the girls sit down to unwind and watch TV. Their show gets interrupted by a news broadcast about a recently discovered murder within their area. Details include how the body was found strung up in lights and mutilated by torture. The body belonged to a young woman named Emily who was last seen at a Kpop concert. An interview plays and the girls are heartbroken to discover that Emily had been a fan of theirs. They vow to make the killer pay, demon or not.
-Meanwhile with Ji-Woon, he's pretty pissed that he has to share the spotlight with others again, especially a group as beloved as them. While looking up empty places for rent, he thinks that at least it will only be for one song before going back on his own. Before he leaves though, he wants to leave his mark on them for thinking they can compare to a god like him.
-The next day, they start song writing and things go smoothly. Zoey shares notes with Ji-Woon and Mira practices steps with him. While that's going on, Magnum Opus talks with Bobby about their idols. She's surprised by how lax HUNTR/X is treated compared to The Trickster. Bobby proceeds to praise the girls, saying that they're amazing at what they do and he never needs to be harsh. Magnum Opus frowns at this. Throughout her whole life, she was taught that achieving success required sacrifice, especially in the music industry. She also becomes jealous at how good Bobby's relationship with his idols is. Ever since The Trickster started producing his own music, her faith in him diminished. Well, that and a sneaking suspicion she has about what Ji-Woon does in his free time.
-Time passes and and the new song is completed. Ji-Woon for the most part has behaved with occasional bits of showboating here and there. The working relationship changes between the group during this time when Ji-Woon shows them the music he made for the song. The girls listen and are creeped out when a symphony of distorted screams fill the air. The girls decide not to use the track to which Bobby and Magnum Opus agrees. Ji-Woon is pissed that they didn't like his music. Couldn't they hear how genuine it was? He's about to leave when he hears a yelp. Bobby had gotten a prop dropped on his foot and HUNTR/X went to see if he was ok. An idea popped into his head. Maybe it's time for Bobby to get involved with the music making process.
-After work, Mira decides to listen to The Trickster's songs some more to see if the music he played for them was a one off thing. It wasn't, and some tracks were more disturbing then the one she heard. She's about to quit listening when during the music video, a familiar light display is shown. She couldn't unsee it, the body on the news hung from those same lights. Mira gets a bad feeling that she shouldn't trust her collab partner.
-Mira shares her discovery with the others and they agree that something fishy is going on, but one light display was circumstantial at best. They decide to investigate before and after the show.
-Rumi is approached by Magnum Opus, who gives her her card with the hope of working together in the future. Rumi turns it down, happy with where she's at and asks why the music producer approached her. Magnum Opus hesitates, before walking off. Rumi follows and asks about The Trickster. All she says is that he hadn't been the same since NOSPIN before leaving the building.
-The girls learn about NOSPIN and their tragic demise. A popular boy band that had their career cut short due to a fire. The only surviving member was Ji-Woon, The Trickster. The girls create theories before getting ready for their show.
-Meanwhile, Ji-Woon contacts Bobby. He wants to meet alone to discuss the new song. Bobby heads to the meeting place, outside of the building in an alleyway. He isn't sure why he wants to meet in a place like this but figures it's a privacy thing. A few minutes later a hand with a rag covers his mouth and nose. Bobby panics and starts struggling but he's quickly knocked out. Ji-Woon smiles as he drags Bobby to the car.
-Soon, the girls are ready to perform but are concerned when Bobby doesn't show up. Magnum Opus takes over in his stead and all four idols perform. The show is a hit and everyone starts cheering. Zoey hears Ji-Woon mutter something to himself: "Good. Keep screaming." It reminds her of the investigation and she decides to talk to Ji-Woon after the show. Ji-Woon doesn't give her any helpful answers but he does tell her that the next song he makes will be dedicated to them. "I bet it will even remind you of someone you know." He leaves, leaving Zoey with a uneasy feeling.
-Bobby wakes up in an abandoned warehouse. He finds he's tied to a pole by his wrists and ankles. To say Bobby was scared was an understatement. He screams for help and is relieved to see the Trickster walk up. The relief is short lived when Ji-Woon approaches with a bat and a smile. The Trickster reveals what he's going to do to Bobby and how he'll get to be a part of something wonderful.
"You'll be immortalized in my music forever! I can't think of a greater honor than that!"
Bobby's in shock. This was so much worse than he could have predicted. His pleas fall on deaf ears as Ji-Woon hits the record button.
-Bobby still hadn't returned and the girls are worried now. They decide to check out Ji-Woon's guest room since he hadn't returned and figured they should check it out before he leaves. It's unassuming at first until they find a notebook. It contained song lyrics and plans on which notes to get from Bobby. Before they could ponder what that meant, Magnum Opus enters the room. She asks what they're doing. Caught red handed, they confess that something sinister is going on and Bobby might be caught up in it. They show her the notebook and she pales.
"I think…I know what this means." She says.
-Magnum Opus leads the girls to her office where she shows them her laptop. On it is articles on dozens of murders throughout the years, and a show schedule for The Trickster. They coincide with one another. She also plays The Trickster's music with recordings of a girl squealing in delight. It was the same. The Trickster was responsible for everything.
-Mira isn't satisfied yet and asks why she didn't say anything if she knew about The Trickster's secret. She confesses that she didn't know at first but it became harder to ignore. However, admitting to creating a serial killer would make her lose everything she had worked for, so she came up with excuses as to why it wasn't that serious.
-HUNTR/X is furious! They call her out on her selfishness, saying people's lives are more important than a career. They leave to find out where The Trickster took Bobby but Magnum Opus stops them. She reveals that she does care about others despite her selfishness. She blames herself for NOSPIN's demise and not stopping it. She had also come to like Bobby in their time working together and doesn't want him killed. So she will give them something to help the girls find Bobby. She gives them the passcode to The Trickster's laptop before leaving.
-The girls use the passcode to discover that The Trickster rented an abandoned warehouse for tonight. They debate on calling the police for this but decide to save Bobby first, then police if The Trickster is subdued. They hurry to the warehouse, dread filling their every step. When they arrive, they decide to sneak in to not raise unwanted attention. Zoey expresses concern about being too late but Mira tells her to worry about it when it happens. The warehouse is bigger than they thought so they split up to search for Bobby.
-Zoey finds him first. She encounters a room with a lock on it. Behind the door, she hears a voice. It heavily muffled with Zoey only making out "The fun's just started!" before a loud scream fills the air. Zoey breaks the lock and enters. What she sees is horrifying: The Trickster shoving a blade into Bobby's stomach. Not wasting a second, Zoey charges at The Trickster, who dodges. He is very surprised to see her here and gets upset that he's been found out. Zoey doesn't let up and lunges at him again.
-They have a knife battle, with Zoey on the offensive. The Trickster holds his own decently but he's more used to carving people while they're down, so he mostly resorts to dirty tactics throughout the fight while Zoey has become fixated on tearing him down. Zoey struggles because The Trickster constantly puts Bobby in the line of fire.
-Just when Zoey loses energy, Rumi and Mira arrive! Rumi takes on Trickster while Mira unites Bobby. With no more fear of collateral damage, Rumi quickly overpowers The Trickster and knocks him to the ground.
-Rumi hears a cry of pain. It's Bobby! She goes to check on him and finally sees the extent of his injuries. Rumi takes off her jacket and holds it to the stomach wound. The girls are devastated seeing Bobby in pain. Zoey calls an ambulance while Rumi and Mira console Bobby.
-The Trickster decides to taunt the girls, telling them about all the wonderful sounds of pain he made and how they should give it a listen. Rumi sees the phone still recording and promptly destroys it ten times over. This angers The Trickster and he rants about how they don't understand the value of his music while the room grows foggy.
-Rumi's had enough, human or not, she's killing him. She raises her blade to finish him when the fog engulfs him. Her blade hits the floor, with no body to be found. Confused, Rumi starts to follow the fog when a whimper of pain reminds her of what's more important. Everyone has a good cry before the ambulance shows up.
-Later, the girls wait for on Bobby's condition. The doctor says that they were lucky to get to him on time. The worst injury, his stomach wound, had gotten infected. But the doctor ensures them that he will fine, much to their relief. The girls take some time off while Bobby gets better.
-What happened became huge news. Everyone talked about what had happened, including who was responsible. Magnum Opus, aka Yun-Jin Lee had finally come clean about what The Trickster has been doing throughout his music career. The public reacts in horror and a lot of songs were deleted from people's playlists afterwards. Regarding the collab, HUNTR/X was fine because they saved Bobby's life and Yun-Jin made it clear that they didn't know about him. A follow up interview was planned but Yun-Jin Lee disappeared shortly after the fisrt one, with no one able to find her.
-The girls visit him a few days later and find his room filled with gifts and get well soon cards. Fans had sent their love to Bobby, which made him feel special. Rumi, Mira and Zoey also have their own gifts and are relieved to see that he's healing. They talk for a bit before Bobby suddenly quiet. The emotions of the last few days have finally caught up to him and he cries. He couldn't believe that he was almost killed! He's also extremely grateful that the girls saved him, with him making promises that he'll be in their corner forever and always. HUNTR/X are also moved to tears and the four of them cry it out and hug.
-Time passes, and things are back to normal. Bobby's back to his usual self, having gotten there with the girls' help. HUNTR/X create a new song as a tribute to Emily and every other person that was killed by The Trickster. All is well and life is good...but one question remains on the girls' mind: What happened to The Trickster? Ever since he vanished in the black fog, the killings have stopped. That's a good thing of course, but HUNTR/X can't help but wonder if he's still out there somewhere, killing again.
Hope you liked the outline! Its just a neat idea I had wanted to explore! Might do more stuff like this in the future!
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