God's least favorite

One of Rumi's biggest fears is you being scared of her and rejecting her after learning about demons and her being half demon.

She does everything she can to keep her patterns from you. She doesn't change in front of you, when you spend the night, she wears sweatpants and a hoodie. When makes out start to get heated, Rumi always stops it right before things get physical.

You never really minded any of this. Sure you would wounder why your girlfriend wore long sleeves and pants even on hot summer days, why she pulled away like your touched burned her when things got heated and you could have swore that you saw purple patterns on her skin when she stretched. Not quite bruises, not quite birthmarks. It looked like something else.

You never asked her about these things. Maybe Rumi wasn't comforted showing off her skin. You couldn't blame her, being an idol means everyone is always studying you for any flaws. She probably didn't want to give them any more ammo for that. Maybe Rumi wasn't ready to have sex with you yet and you were fine with that. Rumi's comfort came first and if she wasn't ready, then she wasn't ready. If she never wanted to have sex, that's fine as well. You loved her and was content just being with her.

Rumi felt awful lying to you. Especially since you were so patient to her. Never got mind when she pulled away, always respecting the boundaries she set. She desperately wanted to tell you the truth. The weight of her lies was slowly crushing her. Deep down, she knew you wouldn't see her as a monster. Yeah you might be shocked and confused at first but in the end you were see how you always saw her: as your loving, goofy girlfriend. But each time she went to tell you the truth, the words died on her tongue. A little voice in her head told her that once you knew the truth you would hate her. Hate her for lying, for being half demon.

So Rumi bit her tongue, kept her secret to herself. Let her lies slowly crush her.

It all came ahead one night.

You took Rumi on a date to a public garden. She spent the whole date gushing about the various flowers and plants. She pointed out the ones she had herself, the ones she wish she had, and talked about the effort it took to take care of all the plants. Other then helping Rumi with her own garden occasionally, you knew nothing about plants. You just listen to her ramble and asked questions from time to time. You liked seeing her like this. Rumi was always stressed about something so it was nice to see her relaxed and nerding out.

After being the last couple to leave, you deiced to end the date with a nice late night walk before heading back home.

Rumi was talking about tips she got from one of the grander when you lead her down a small, quiet street. There were a bar, a couple small hole in the wall restaurants and a convenience store. Not many people were out, just a few drunks leaving the bar and students grabbing snacks.

You were happily listing to Rumi when a group of people interrupted.

"I'm so sorry to bother, but you wouldn't happen to be Rumi would you," a young man who broke away from the group asked. The others stayed back, waiting for a answer.

Rum gave you a apologetic smile before turning to the man. "Yes I am. Would

"Oh wonderful," the man said cutting your girlfriend off, his friends getting excited behind him at her answer. " I always wanted to meet one of the hunters, oops I mean Huntrix."

There was a shift in the air at the man's words. Gone was the silly and romantic mood left over from the date, it being replaced with tension and uneasy. Rumi slowly pushed you behind her, her body tense out of nowhere.

"I'm glad to hear that but I'm sorry. I'm a bit busy at the moment. I don't have time for pictures or autographs."

The man laughed and looked back at his friend. "I'm sure you can make time for us."

With that, the man went from looking like a normal guy in his 20s to what you can only thing of as monster. He grew taller, his skin became red, nails into claws and his eyes became yellow. He lunged at Rumi.

"Rumi," you called out her name, ready to pull her out of the way, when something strange happen.

As if reality was shifting, a sword suddenly appeared in Rumi's and she used it to deflect his attack.

"Run," was the only thing Rumi said before putting herself between you and the monster.

"I can't leave you here alone," you argued. The group of people that stayed back started to transform just like their friend. They slowly approached, fangs and claws at the ready.

"Please! Run and hide. Call Zoey or Mira so they can find you," Rumi pleads, keeping the sword pointed in front of her, muscles tense, ready to snap into motion.

"What? Why do I need to call-," you started to ask only to be cut off by Rumi.

"Run! Now!"

In all the time you knew and dated Rumi, she never raised her voice at you. You never seen her so tense or worried. It scared you.

So despite your fear and worry for Rumi, you did as you were asked: you ran as fast as you can. Behind you, you could hear the sound of multiple footsteps rushing forward and the sound of a sword slicing through the air. You don't dare look back.

You dart down an alleyway, leaving Rumi to fight off whatever those things were. Your heart pounded painfully in your chest, lungs burning from fear and the sudden running. Looking around desperately for some where to hide, the only thing you say was a dumpster. Seeing the lock on it that prevent you from hiding inside, you did the next best thing and hid behind it.

You waited a second, listening to see if you were followed. Nothing.

Hands shaking and numb with terror, you fumbled for you phone. The lock screen light up, a picture of Rumi you took in secret when you caught her napping greeted you. Ignoring the painful remind that you left her behind, you started to dial Mira's number.

Right as you were going to hit the call button, something landed on top of the dumpster you were hiding behind. "There you are. Thought we lost you."

Looking up, you saw a red thing with purple marks, horns, sharp teeth and yellow eyes staring down at you with a cruel smile. It reached down for you and it's claws barely missed you as you scrambled away.

"The hunter cares a lot for you," it said, voice deep and gravely. "It's going to be fun for her to find you after I tear you apart."

It let out a cruel laugh as it jumped down and slowly made it's way to you.

You slowly reached down and felt around on the ground for something, anything you could use to defend yourself. Your fingers found a old beer bottle. you picked up the bottle without looking away from the creature in front of you.

It looked at the bottle in your hand then back at you before laughing again.

"what are you go-"

You threw the bottle before it could finish talking.

The bottle broke against it's head, making it roar out in pain. You took off again, trying to put as much distance between you and the thing as you could.

You didn't get far before it was on you again, the bottle only seem to daze it for a bit.

Your right calf suddenly felt like it was on fire as the thing's claws wrapped around it. You hit the ground hard, shoulder already aching from the impact. The thing started to drag you closer to itself, hissing about enjoying eating the meat from your bones.

It's teeth was seconds away from ripping into when a voice roared out.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM!"

Seconds later, the thing was pulled off of you and thrown down the ally. It landed on a dumpster with a crash and howl of pain could be heard. You sat up and backed up until your back hit a wall.

It took a second to process that Rumi was standing before you. Or at least you think it's Rumi. Her parts of her hair was escaping from her braid. Her clothes were a mess, tore and covered with dirt a grime. Though the tears in her clothes, you could see something glowing. You could feel her anger radiating off of her.

You didn't have time to dwell on it because the creature pulled itself from the dumpster. It's eyes lock on Rumi. "I'm going to make you watch as I tear your loved one apart."

After making it's threat, it bolted towards you.

It didn't make it half way to you before Rumi stopped it. She tried to slash at it, but it pulled away at the last second. They traded blow after blow, each more vicious then the last.

Rumi finally got the upper hand, bring her sword down in a deadly arch. The monster disappeared, leaving you alone with Rumi breathing heavily that almost sounded like growling and the sound of dogs barks.

You could see Rumi shaking, from fear or exhaustion, you didn't know which. She was holding into her sword, ready to strike at anything else that might attack.

Once she sure nothing else was going to happen, Rumi let go of her sword and it disappeared before hitting the ground.

"I'm so so so sorry I didn't get here sooner," Rumi apologized, dropping to her knees next to you. Her hands were hovering over you calf. The cuts left by the monster weren't deep, but they were long, taking up almost your whole calf.

You wanted to reassure Rumi that you were fine, that all you needed to do was clean it and warp it up, but you couldn't bring yourself to say anything. Your fear and terror robbed you of your voice. Instead of talking, you chose to give her a smile, or least the best smile you could give her right now. You looked up at her and that's when you saw it.

Instead of the warm brown eyes you fallen in love with, you saw that Rumi's left eye was a burning yellow. The same yellow the monster that just attacked you had.

Fear sized your chest again as you moved away from Rumi. She gave you a questioning looking and went to stop you.

"Nae sarang, it's me. You're safe now," Rumi whispered, holding out her hand.

You didn't take her hand. Now that she wasn't moving around, you could finally see what was glowing though the tears in her clothes.

Deep purple, jagged patterns were all over her skin. Some of them were on her arms, others on her shoulders. Patterns just like those monsters.

"Stay away from me," you finally spit out. voice was small and weak.

Hurt flashed across Rumi's face. You so badly wanted to take your words back but you couldn't. Kneeing in front of you wasn't your girlfriend anymore, it was a monster.

"I get your sacred but please let me help you. I'll explain everything just let me take care of your cuts," Rumi keeps her voice soft like she was soothing a wild animal. She reached out for again.

"Stop! I said stay away from me," you yelled, getting to your feet, ignoring the pain from your calf. "You're one of them!"

Rumi went pale at your words. She looked down at herself and saw that the tears in her clothes showed off her patterns. She tired to cover them with her hands but it was useless. Her secret was already out.

"Please listen to me. I'm not one of them. Not fully at least," Rumi tried to explain. "I'm a demon hunter. Those things you saw are demons. My mom fell in love with one and had me."

"I don't care! You're still one of them," you screamed.

Holding her hand up in surround, Rumi got up and slowly walked to you. "Jagiya, please. It's me. I'm still Rumi. The same person you fel-."

"Don't call me that," you cut off her words. "If you're not one of them, why didn't you tell me sooner? You've been lying to me this whole time!"

"No! I mean yes I've been lying but please let me explain," Rumi pleads. "Just let me explain!"

Rumi's voice shifted on the last few words. It was deeper and made the ground rumble. You fall back to the ground, looking at what was once the person you loved most in the world, now you only see a stranger, a demon.

"Please don't hurt me," you begged, tear slowly starting to fall down your face.

She stopped in her track and looked down at you. Rumi looked horrified seeing you so scared of her. "Please, I swear it's me. You have to believe me.'

The demon standing in front of you looked so much like Rumi. Sounded so much like the girl you teased for being a dork and the girl you shared a bed with at night. It looked like the girl you just took out on a date. It looked like the girl you fell in love with. But it's not her.

That girl was never real.

It was just a demon.

Without saying anything, you got up and just ran. Ran from the ally. Ran from the girl you thought you knew.

"Please don't leave me! I'm still me, I swear! I love you! Please stay," Rumi begged like a sinner begging for forgiveness.

Before you left the ally you look back one last time.

Rumi was on her knees, sobbing. She kept pleading for you not to leave her, that she was sorry for lying. She was asking for you to let her fix this, she'll do anything to prove she's not a real demon. Promising she's never hurt you, that she would rather die than hurt you.

It was getting late after watching hours of trashy TV as you cuddled to Rumi in her bed. You were trying convince yourself to get out of her arms so you can go home when she suddenly says:

“Can I ask you something?”

“I mean that’s a question already, but if you want to ask another question go for it.”

Rumi rolled her eyes before she asked her question. “Why don’t you ever spend the night. Here. With me?”

Oh. You know that question was coming at some point after turning down Rumi so many times when she asked you to stay the night. You just didn’t know how to answer it without embarrassing yourself.

“You see, there’s a good reason for that. Um,” you cut yourself off, trying to find the right words.

Rumi’s shoulder slump as she listens to you try to come up with a reason. She pulls away from you as if having distance from you would make your answer hurt less, thinking she’s the issue. “It’s fine. You don’t need to tell me. I'll see you later."

“No,” you cried out. “It’s not you. I promise. It’s me. I know it’s a cliche to say that but it’s true. I'm the issue."

You let out a frustrated sigh, looking down at the floor as if you could find the right words on the rug. Rumi, being the sweetheart she is, puts a comforting hand on your shoulder and offers her support. “You know you can tell me anything,” she said, keeping her voice soft.

You nod and take a deep breath. It’s now or never. Time to swallow your pride.

“I’m scared of the dark,” you mumble.

There was a beat of silence then, “What?”

“I’m scared of the dark,” you repeat louder this time. Rumi doesn’t say anything for a while and brace yourself for her to laugh at you for being a child. You knew you should have kept this to yourself, come up with a different reason as to why you never spent the night.

Your embarrassment became unbearable when Rumi started to laugh. Feeling your face go red, you got up to leave, unable to take it anymore.

“Wait,” Rumi said, grabbing your hand to stop you from leaving. She pulled you back onto her bed and into her side. “I’m sorry I laughed but is that really the reason why you never wanted to spend the night? Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Well, it’s embarrassing. I’m an adult. I shouldn’t still be scared of the dark. Plus I didn't want to bother you with a nightlight or anything like that."

You don’t know why the fear still clings to you. Despite your best efforts to get over it, the idea of being in a dark room made you panic. Your brain would trick you into thinking there is someone, or something in the dark, just waiting to get you.

Rumi giggled a bit more and kissed your temple. “Aein, it’s ok to still be scared of the dark. It doesn’t make you less of an adult. And having a nightlight wouldn't be a bother for me. If it helps you sleep then I'm fine with it."

While her words were kind and reassuring , you still felt embarrassed. You hid your face into her shoulder, wanting to hide how red your face was. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to be sorry. I want you to feel comfortable staying here,” Rumi reassured. “If we left the TV on, do you think you could spend the night here? Or would it be better if we left the bathroom light on? But if you would still feel more comfortable sleep at your own apartment that's fine with me. No pressure,” she quickly adds.

You nodded again, mumble how the TV would be fine, and Rumi smiled. She got up from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes only to reappear with a new toothbrush for you. “Come on, time to get ready for bed.”

After finding some clothes you could borrow from Rumi to sleep in, you take turns taking showers. Being the gentleman she is, Rumi lets you go first.

Once Rumi had her turn in the shower, you found yourself standing at the bathroom sink to brush your teeth. Rumi joins and you 'accidentally' bump into her as you brush your teeth, starting a playfully shoving match with her.

Getting ready for bed with your girlfriend felt nice. Domestic. Perfect. It makes you wish you told her about your fear of the dark early on so you could have done this with her sooner. It makes you feel like a fool for not trusting Rumi sooner.

Freshly shower and in clean PJs, you were finally ready to go to bed. Leaving the TV on to a random channel, Rumi got into bed first and you followed her. She pulled you close to her and you rested your head on her chest, the sound of her heart beating soothing you.

"Goodnight, aegiya. Love you."

"Night Ru. Love you too."

Soon enough, Rumi fell asleep, her snores filling the room. Between the light from the TV and feeling safe in your girlfriend’s arms, you quickly fall asleep too.

After that night, a nightlight suddenly appeared in Rumi’s room. It was small but it was enough. She didn’t say anything about it nor did you. You did find yourself spending the night with her more often.

“I’m going to sue the weatherman for lying,” Mira threatened as she glared out the window at the rain that ruined the picnic date she planned. She spent a good amount of time this morning preparing food and drinks for the picnic, making sure she had your favorites carefully packed in the basket only for the date to take a literal rain check.

Seeing the dancer pout like a child who was told they couldn’t have any more cookies made you laugh. You walk up behind her, wrapping your arms around her, and kiss her shoulder. “We can just have the picnic here inside, Miss drama queen.”

Mira left out a huff before she relaxed into your arms. She could never stay upset for long when she was in your arms. “I guess that would work.”

With help from your girlfriend, you move some furniture around to make room so the blanket Mira brought could be spread out. You connect your phone to a speaker to play soft music as Mira set out all the food and drinks she packed. Soon enough the living room turned into the best indoor picnic you've ever seen. Or at least that was your humble and totally not bias opinion.

“See, this isn’t so bad,” you said, leaning into Mira’s side. “Plus we don’t have to worry about ants now.”

Mira mumbled under her breath about how she would have preferred to do it at the park like she wanted but you could see that she was still happy with the set up. Grabbing her arm, you put her to the blanket so the date could officially start.

The food Mira brought was tasty, clearly made with love. The blanket was soft underneath you and the music playing in the background only added to the cozy feeling of the date. Mira, the most important part of the date, was intently listening to you talk about an annoying coworker when it happened.

“And then he had the audacity to tell me I’m over thinking thing-” your story was cut off by a flash of lighting and the clap of thunder that followed. You jumped at the sound, hating how your heart hammered in your chest and the feeling of panic that began to fill in your stomach.

“Jesus,” Mira said after jumping herself at the sound. “I’m definitely suing the weatherman now. He didn’t say anything about a thunderstorm. Anyways go on about the coworker I’ll beat up later for being an ass to you.”

You tried to shake off the growing feeling of dread in your stomach and go on with your story when lighting once again lit up the sky followed by more thunder.

“Shit,” you hissed under your breath. You started to dig your nails into your palms, leaving half crests marks, hoping it would ground you. Your chest started to hurt due to the knot of fear that start to form there.

Mira, the ever observant person she is, noticed the shift in your mood immediately. “Whoa, are you ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” you let out a shaky laugh, not wanting to ruin the date even more with your stupid panic attack. “Just a bit jumpy is all."

Mira carefully took one of your hands into her own, rubbing the marks from your nails with her thumb. “Are you sure? It seems almost like you’re scared of the storm."

As if God himself wanted to make a fool of you, another round of lighting and thunder filled the air. You jumped again and dove into Mira’s arms, unable to keep back the pure panic you were feeling.

Your girlfriend immediately pulled you into her lap, hugging you close to her chest. She gently rocks back and forth, whispering that it’ll be ok and how nothing will happen to you with her around. The sound of her voice and the smell of her perfume slowly grounded you. The knot in your chest slowly gave away, replaced by the warm feeling of comfort given to you by Mira.

Slowly but surely, the storm moved on, leaving only the lingering smell of rain as proof of it being there.

“Sorry,” you whisper, pulling away from Mira. “Didn’t mean to ruin the date.”

Mira stopped you before you could fully get out of her lap. She took your face into her hand and gently wiped away tears from your cheeks. You didn’t even realize that you cried. Damnit, you’re acting like a child.

“Hey no. Don’t say that. You didn’t ruin anything,” Mira’s words were soft and full of love. “I get it. Storms are scary.”

You settled back into Mira’s lap and she leaned against the couch behind her. She started to run her fingers through your hair, humming a random song and the leftover feeling of panic slowly left your body.

“Can we stay like this for a bit longer,” you hesitantly ask, feeling safe wrapped up in Mira’s warmth.

“Of course, Jagiya ” Mira answered quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “We can stay like this for as long as you need.”

“Babe! Check this out,” Zoey called out, throwing herself next to you on the couch.

She holds out her hands to you like she was holding a bug. You scramble away from, back hitting the arm rest. “Zoey I swear to God, if you’re trying to hand me a bug, I’m breaking up with you. “

“I would never,” she gasped dramatically. "Just take it.”

She offers whatever she’s holding out to you again, eagerly waiting for you to take it. Giving her a suspicious look, you hold out your hands, ready to throw it back at your girlfriend if it does turn out to be a bug.

Instead of a bug, you find a lock being placed into your hands. It’s painted to look like a cartoon turtle. “Aww it’s cute. Did you paint it yourself? Are you going to use it as a gym lock or something?”

“Yes I painted it myself, no I’m not using it as a gym lock. Turn it over,” Zoey’s words came out so fast you could barely process them.

Doing as you’re told, you turn it over. On the other side, carefully painted in your favorite colors were your initials along with Zoey’s with a heart surrounding them. Your heart swelled with love for your girlfriend.

Pulling her into a hug, you give Zoey a kiss, one that she happily returns. “This is literally the cutest thing ever.”

“I’m glad you think so! I figured since we’ve been together a little over a year we could go put a lock up at Namsan Tower and take some cute pictures together,” Zoey asks hopefully.

At the mention of Namsan Tower, a pit formed in the bottom of your stomach. The idea of going up to the very top of the tower to place the lock tied your insides into knots. At the same time you didn’t want to disappoint Zoey or waste the hard work she put into the lock.

“I would love to do that,” you said, giving her the best smile you could, hoping it sounded and looked convincing.

Zoey cheered and pepper your face in quick kisses. “Thank you! Give me some time to get ready and we can head out to Namsan.”

With that, the idol hurried off to her room, muttering to herself about finding the perfect spot. Your smile disappeared as soon as Zoey went into her room. Hopefully by the time she’s done getting dressed, you’ll have found a way to get over your fears.

You did not get over your fear by the time Zoey got ready. Nor did you get over it as you head over to Namsan Tower. You especially didn’t get over it as you rode the cable car up to the top with Zoey by your side.

“Oh my god, look! You can see where we had our first concert” Zoey excitedly pointed out, dragging you to the window.

“Cool,” barely giving the window a glance. Between all the people in the cable car and the slow ride to the top, you could feel your chest tightening. ‘I’m doing this for Zoey. I’m doing this for Zoey,’ you repeat over and over to yourself.

“Hey. Are you good,” Zoey asks, concern written across her face. “You look a bit pale.”

“Me? I’m great. Fine. More than fine,” you said quickly, trying to put on a convincing smile.

Zoey studied your face. “Are you sure? You can tell me if you’re uncomfortable.”

Grabbing her hand, you give it a quick squeeze in an effort to both reassure her and to calm yourself down. “If I was, I would. Don’t worry about me.”

Zoey gave you one more look before seemingly letting it go. She went back to looking out the window of the cable car, but she still kept a close eye on you.

You’re doing this for Zoey.

After riding the cable car and then an elevator for what felt like hours, you were finally at the top of Namsan Tower. The second the elevator came to a stop, Zoey jumped off. She had one hand on her bucket hat to keep it from flying off, and the other was pulling you along so the hunt for the perfect spot for the lock could start.

As Zoey went on her hunt, you did your best to ignore how high up you were. It didn’t help that you could hear all the people around talking about how great the view was. All the comments slowly added to your growing panic. At some point, Zoey lost hold of you, making thing even worse.

You were trying to keep your breathing steady when Zoey turned to you to tell you about a spot she found.

“I found the perfect spot, let’s grab it before someone else- hey are you good,” Zoey asks when she saw that you were having trouble breathing.

At this point, there was no hiding it. Your chest hurts from trying to keep calm and you probably look like you were seconds away from passing out. “I’m not so great with heights,” you say through gritted teeth.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Here, get away from the edge,” Zoey tells you, guiding you to a nearby bench.

Not being able to see over the edge helped lessen the panic a bit. Your insides were still tied up in knots but it was a bit easier to get air into your lungs now. Zoey sat next to you, rubbing your back, giving you time to calm down.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” you finally admitted after some time passed. “I can tell you put so much time into the lock and I didn’t want you to waste it.”

“Oh lovebug. I care more about your comfort than putting up the lock. Next time tell me if something is bothering you,” Zoey lightly chastise you. “Do you think it would help if we went back down to the base of the tower?”

You nodded at her suggestion and with that, she went from your loving girlfriend to your guard dog. Never leaving your side, Zoey leads you to the elevator that would take you down. As it goes, she tells you all the random facts she can think as a distraction from the lingering effects of the panic attack.

Once back at the base of the tower, you’re parked at a bench again by your girlfriend. “I’m going to go find you something to drink. Stay here or else,” Zoey threatens. She gives you a quick kiss to your cheek before dashing off on her quest for a drink.

As you wait for Zoey to return, you start to watch the various people walking around. The crowd was a mix of families, tourists and couples. It was nice to see so many happy people around You’re watching a couple head up to the top when Zoey comes back with two drinks in hand.

“Sorry if I took too long. I had to take a couple of pictures with some fans,” she apologized, handing you a cup of water. You wave off her apology, not really caring about the wait.

Zoey sits next to you and takes your free hand into her, giving your knuckles a kiss. Now that you weren’t at the very top panicking, you could enjoy your time with Zoey.

“You know, there’s spots down here we could put the lock,” Zoey offered, breaking the peaceful silence. “If you’re up for it, that is.”

“I would love that,” you say with a warm smile.

You spent the next half hour helping Zoey find the perfect spot. Once found, the turtle lock was put into place with a satisfying 'click'.

With the lock in place, Zoey could finally take all the pictures she wanted. After getting a dozen photos of the lock itself, she pulls you into frame and takes another dozen photos with you.

One last picture is taken before leaving for home. It's of Zoey kissing your cheek with the turtle lock in the background. Seconds later, the picture is posted on her Instagram with a caption that says:

___________

As you stood in the threshold of your apartment looking at the mountain of gifts, you knew you had to talk to Zoey.

Your apartment looks like it got taken over by a gift shop. There were several bouquets made up of your favorite flowers, all of which were in your favorite colors. A small army of stuffed animals covered your couch. Sitting on the coffee table was a very expensive looking necklace along with a note:

Hey Turtle Dove, sorry I couldn’t be there when you got home. I got called in for an idol emergency. As soon as I’m done with it, I’ll come pick you up and I’ll take you out for dinner. I missed you sooooooo much while on tour. Hope you like your gifts. Love you! - Your favorite rapper, Zoey. 

The note had doodles of hearts and turtles. She even dotted all the i's with little hearts. She was too cute for her own good. You put down the note and looked at all the sea of gifts your girlfriend left you. Looking over all the gifts, you were willing to bet that if you added everything together, it could easily cover some people’s rent for a few months. The amount of money Zoey was spending on you was getting out of hand and you had to stop this somehow. 

As you started to gather all the stuffed animals in your arms to move them into your room, you started to think of ways to limit the amount of money your girlfriend spent on you.

A little over an hour later you heard the front door open. “Babe, I’m home! Where are you? I missed you and will die if I don’t kiss you right this second,” Zoey called out in a sing-songy voice. 

“Kitchen.”

The sound of edger footsteps could be heard and you barely had time to turn away from the flowers you were tending to before your arms were filled with Zoey.

She started to assault your face with kisses, saying ‘I missed you’ and ‘I love you’ between each one. Once she was sure she covered your face in enough kisses, Zoey gave you one last kiss on your lips. It was sweet and filled with the longing she felt for you during the seemingly endless tour. 

“Hey,” Zoey whispered, resting her forehead against yours after she broke the kiss.

“Hey yourself. Did you miss me,” you lightly teased, laughing when she gently shoved your shoulder. Zoey buried her face into her chest and you could feel the tension slowly leave her body. 

You stayed in the kitchen for a bit longer, holding Zoey close, gently swaying to nonexisting music before moving to the couch. Zoey was on you the second you were on the couch. She didn’t want even an inch of distance from you after being away from you for the past four months.

“So,” Zoey said, breaking the comfortable silence. “Did you like the gifts I got you? I got something from each city we did a concert in. Minus the flowers. I got them today. I couldn’t pick just one bouquet so I got them all.”

You sighed and shifted on the couch until you had Zoey sitting in front of you. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”

Zoey tensed up at your words, worried she messed up somehow. “I’m sorry. Do you not like them? I can take them back and get you something else. Like literary anything el-”

“Zoey, sweetheart, calm down,” you cut her off gently, taking her face in your hands so you could make her look at you. “I love all your gifts. They are wonderful and I appreciate them. However, you can’t keep dropping all this money on me.”

“Why not? I like spoiling you. I have the money to do it,” Zoey said, looking like a kicked puppy. It took all your willpower to keep going with your plan.

“True, but you should still be financially responsible. That is why I’m putting you on a spending limit. Plus people are starting to think I’m your sugar baby.”

It took a second for Zoey to process what you just said. She looked almost offended by your suggestion when it fully sank in for her. “So what? I like spending money on you. I like treating you like my sugar baby.”

“Zoey,” you lightly punch her in the arm for the sugar baby comment. “I’m being serious.”

“Me too. I don’t want to do a ‘spending limit’. Like I said,I have the money to do it and I want to use it on the person I love,” the world famous idol whined and pouted like a child.

You laugh and give Zoey a quick kiss, trying to soften her to the idea. “At least hear me out. Plus I think I picked a very fair number.”

Taking out your phone, you type in a number then show it to Zoey. You could see her thinking it over, before seemingly giving in. “Fine, I think I can work with that as a weekly limit.”

“No, Aein. That’s for a month.”

Her eyes went wide as she looked back down at the number on your phone. “No, that's not enough. Here, what about this,” Zoey asked as she typed in a new number on your phone.

For the next ten minutes, you were trying to negotiate a spending limit with Zoey. She tried to talk you out of it the whole time. She even used her puppy dog eyes on you, which almost made you drop the whole idea but you stayed firm on it. 

You iron out what should and shouldn't fall under the spend limit. Getting things such as snacks or picking up dinner at a cheap restaurant wouldn't count towards the limit since it a fairly normal expense for a relationship. Things that would count would be expensive jewelry, high class restaurants or renting out a whole place just for peace and quite.

“I still think it’s too low,” Zoey moped as she scooted away from you on the couch, trying to make you feel bad about the whole idea. 

You laughed and moved next to her. She tried to stay strong and act indifferent to you, but the second you started to give her little kisses on her cheek and shoulder, she melted into your touch. “Just trust me on this, babe.”

“Can I at least take you out to dinner like I wanted without it counting to the spending limit,” Zoey asked, busting out her puppy dog eyes once again.

“Sure.”

Zoey cheered, jumped up and pulled you off the couch. “Great! I’m going to make this count.” 

Zoey thought she knew what torture was after she trained with Celine to be both an idol and demon hunter. Not being able to spoil you was worse.

Was she being dramatic? Probably. But she couldn’t help herself. She loves to spoil you. Loves to buy you things she thinks you would like. Loves to gather gifts for you while on tour. She was rich. What was the point of having money if she couldn’t use it on you?

For the last two months, she tried to convince you to get rid of her spending limit, yet you never budged. To make things even worse, you somehow got Mira and Rumi to help keep an eye on Zoey. You kept them updated on where she was for her limit. If she so much as looks at something with the intent of buying it for you, Mira and Rumi had their phone out and at the ready so they could tell on her. They took a little bit too much pleasure in helping you with this. 

It wouldn’t even be that bad if it wasn’t for the  punishment Zoey got when she went over the limit. For every five dollars she went over the limit, that equaled an hour of no affection. No hugs, no kisses and no cuddles for a whole hour. She went over the limit exactly one time after she had to go six hours without showing any type of affection from you. It was like she was in her own personal hell during those six hours.

However, you made a fatal mistake one day that would lead to the downfall of the spending limit. Unfortunately for you, you didn’t notice. Fortunately for Zoey she did notice and knew how to turn it into her favor.  

You were running late coming home when you  made a stop at a bookstore after work.

“Sorry for being late, Jagiya. Didn’t think it would take that long,” you greeted, giving Zoey a quick kiss. You dropped the bag you were holding with a heavy thud. You dug into the bag and pulled out a signed special edition of one of your favorite books, the same one Zoey wanted to get for you but couldn’t because it would put her over the spending limit. “Oh I got you something too.” 

Reaching into the shopping bag again, you pulled out a thick hard cover book and handed it to Zoey. She carefully took it and started to flip through it. It was an art book from her favorite video game. The cover had an illustration of the opening forest scene. The pages themselves were high quality, glossy with fully colored illustrations made by several different artists. There were notes from the game developers about the making of the game. 

“Thank you.I love it,” Zoey said, carefully tracing one of the drawings.

“Great! I’m glad,” you smiled at her before learning to kiss her cheek. “I’m going to freshen up and change into comfy clothes. Be right back.”

Zoey hummed in acknowledgment as you walked off to the bedroom. The book was nice. Really nice. If she had to guess, it cost quite a bit just based on how well put together the book was. On top of that, it was an art book for one of the biggest game studios out there. 

Glancing at the bedroom to make sure you weren’t coming out yet, Zoey pulled out her phone to confirm her suspicion and yep, she was right. It wasn’t cheap. 

As she continued to flip through the art book, Zoey started to think about how it’s unfair you didn’t have a spending limit for her. Granted, you never went as crazy as she did when buying gifts, but the point still stands. 

That’s when an idea started to form in Zoey’s head. If you want to be unfair then fine. She was just going to have to find a way get rid of the limit altogether. Opening the notes app on her phone, she took note of the price of the art book.

“What are you doing,” the sound of your voice from behind her made Zoey jump and almost drop her phone. 

“Nothing! Just texting with Bobby. Uh just double checking an interview we have later this week,” Zoey said, hoping she didn’t sound too suspicious.

You watched her for a second, making her worry that you didn’t believe her lie before you shrugged it off. “Cool. Say hi to Bobby for me. How about I order food and you pick a movie?" 

“Sure, we can do that,” Zoey agreed. You happily hummed as you started to scroll on your phone to find a place to order from while she picked a movie. 

Doing her best to not seem like she was distracted, Zoey started to form a plan to finally get rid of the inhumane spending limit.

After that night with the gift of the art book, Zoey started to take note of anything and everything that could be used against the spending limit. You took her on a date to the aquarium, got tickets for a private tour? The price was added. The promise rings you got that made Zoey cry? Noted. The beach trip where she wasn’t allowed to spend a single cent?  Everything was totaled and added to her list.

She even included all the money you blew trying to win her a stuffed animal from a claw machine. Could that be seen as petty? Maybe. But Zoey needed as much evidence she could find before setting her plan into motion. 

Finally after a month, Zoey was ready. After gathering everything she needed and setting everything up, she sent you a text asking you to come over under the guise of binging a new show. 

“Babe! I got the snacks! Ready to binge ‘The uncanny Counter’,” you call out as you step off the elevator of the penthouse, arms heavy with bags of snacks and drinks. You walk into the living and stop dead in your tracks at the sight of your girlfriend standing in front of the TV. 

Zoey was wearing an ill fitting suit with massive shoulder pads, looking like a child playing lawyer with their dad's clothes. The tie was poorly knotted and was about to fall off and was she wearing….

“Are you wearing Mira’s glasses?”

Ignoring your question, Zoey pointed at the couch. “Please take a seat.” 

Setting the snack down on the coffee table, you did as she asked.

Clearing her voice and adjusting her  (Mira’s) glasses, Zoey jumped into whatever this was. “Thank you for coming here. I'm here to show how unfair the spending limit is since you are not following one yourself. It's a cruel and unusual punishment. Please turn your attention to the TV.” 

Suddenly, the TV came alive with a very colorful slideshow. The title ‘Please get rid of the spending limit I am begging you’ flashed across the screen. Everything about it just screamed Zoey from the silly transitions to the clip art pasted everywhere. 

“Since you clearly put time into this, I will hear you out,” you said, sitting back, ready to hear whatever she had to say. 

“Yes,” Zoey cheered before she could catch herself. Clearing her voice again, she went back to acting all serious, at least as serious as Zoey can be. “I mean thank you. Please turn your attention to exhibit A.” 

As it turns out exhibit A was the art book you got her last mount. Zoey went on to explain that since it was an expensive 'just because' it should be seen the same way as Zoey's 'just because gifts'.

"Oh come on, you know I got those tickets so we could have a private date," you argued when she brought up exhibit B, that being the aquarium date.

Zoey made a tisk tisk sound at your words. "If I have done it, you would have added it to the spending limit, saying it's too much."

Ok that's f

"Exhibit C, the promise rings," Zoey said flipping to the next slide, showing said promise rings. "Which do not get me wrong, I love very much and will wear it everyday until it can be relaced with a wedding ring, falls firmly under the 'expensive jewelry' category."

You wanted to argue that you got the rings before the spending limit was put into place but you knew Zoey still wouldn't let it slide.

"You really thought this out didn't you," you ask with a faint smile.

"Yes, now moving onto exhibit D: the beach date. Now this was tricky," Zoey confessed, clicking onto the next slide. It showed a cost breakdown that was actually well put together. "Since you threw out any receipts before I could see them. I did my best to replicate the cost by looking up everything online and this is my best guess."

"Damn, that is surprisingly spot on. I'm very impressed" you admitted.

Zoey puffed up her chest a bit at your praise. "Thank you. Last one I have. Now this might seem petty to add but if I did this you would have told me to stop, it's too much. Exhibit E: the stuffed cat you won for me at the claw machine. You blew quite a bit of money to win it for me."

Like a nail in a coffin, the picture of Zoey holding the stuffed cat after you won. And she did make a great point. If it was her trying to win, you would have told her to stop after losing the third time.

"So. What do you think about getting rid of my spending limit," Zoey asked hopefully after a beat of silence.

Maybe it was because Zoey looked so cute in her badly fitted suit with massive shoulder pads. Maybe it was because you could see all the effort she put into this presentation. Maybe it was because she made a good point about it being unfair since you're not following yourself. Maybe it was because you were truly impressed by her dedication. Whatever the reason was, you found yourself saying…

“Fine, we can get rid of the spending limit,” you said, getting up and walking over to Zoey. “But can you please self restraint? Just a little?”

In reply to your request, Zoey pulled you into a tight hug before she smothered your face in kisses. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret this,” she promised, continuing her affection assault.

"Stop please," you laugh as you try to pull away. "Go give Mira her glasses back before you break them or lose them."

"You got it boss," Zoey said, giving you a salute. She let go of you and started to make her way to Mira's room before turning back. " Also, get ready. I'm taking you out on a date and spoiling you rotten."

"Wait, what about us binge-watching that show," you protested, pointing at the snacks that were still on the coffee table.

"Forgot about it, I'm making up for lost time."

You chuckled at how eager Zoey was to get back to spoiling you. Honestly you should have expected something like this. When she wanted to do something, Zoey found a way to do it, come hell or high water.

“Mira, no, you can’t skip your meeting with Celine just so we can go on our lunch date.”

Mira let out a whine and hugged you closer to her. She buried her face into the side of your neck and placed small kisses on the skin, knowing that was one of your weaknesses. As she spoke, she slipped her hand under your shirt and lightly dragged her nails against your side in an effort to convince you to let her skip the meeting. It took all your willpower to not let it work. “Come on please? I don’t want to sit through a boring meeting with Celine when I could be out with you.”

“No,” you repeated in a firm tone, trying to get out of her hold, but that only caused her to hold you tighter. “I don’t want Celine to be mad at us and I want her to like me. Plus she scares me a bit."

“Trust me, jagiya, Celine already likes you. anyways if she would be mad at anyone it would be me."

You finally managed to get out of Mira’s arms, much to her disappointment, and held her at an arms length from you. “Well, I want to keep her liking me. Plus do you want her to give you extra practice with the lovergirl clause? I don’t know about you but I would rather sleep cuddled up with you tonight than sleep in an empty bed."

The reminder of the lovergirl clause is finally what got Mira to stop with the begging, much to your relief. You weren’t sure how much longer you could resist Mira. She could be very persuasive, especially when using affection. 

“Fine, be like that, “ Mira said, sounding like a child being denied her favorite toy. “Why don’t you stay in the green room? The meeting should be half an hour. Forty minutes tops. After that, you’re mine for the rest of the day.” 

Once you promised that you would stay put in the green room, Mira gave you a few more kisses before leaving, grumbling about how Celine could have sent an email instead of having a meeting. You settle on the couch and start to doom scroll.

Without meaning to, you ended up dozing off for a little bit. You’re not sure how long you were napping for, all you did know was that when you woke up, a woman was standing over you, impatiently tapping her foot. She looked vaguely familiar, you probably saw her in passing whenever you visited Mira while she was in the studio. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that and take up the whole couch. Let me uh let me get up,” you yawn, stretching, trying to clear the brain fog from the unintentional nap. The woman standing before you didn’t move as you scooted over to make room for her. She kept looking at you like you were a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe. 

You were about to offer the seat next to you when the woman said something that caught you off guard. “Well, it seems like they keep hiring dumber and lazier interns every day.”

You sat there frozen, not quite sure how to respond to that comment. While a good chunk of the people who work at Sunlight Entertainment knew that you were Mira’s partner thanks to her bragging about you, it wasn’t that unusual for you to be mistaken for an intern. What was unusual was how rude the woman was to you. She looked down at you like you weren’t even worthy to breathe the same air as her. You could already tell when this is going to end poorly.

“I’m sorry but I think you’re mistaken. I’m not a-,” you tried to gently correct her but she didn’t seem to want to listen to you.

“You better be sorry,” she cut you off with a harsh tone. “It’s very disrespectful to be sleeping on the job. You should be asking me what I need, running to get me water without being asked, things like that. I mean seriously, don’t you know who I am? I’m Hyun and I’m going to be a collab with Huntrix. Meaning I should be treated with respect.”

The woman,Hyun, finished her little rant with a smug smile, as if mentioning the collaboration with Huntrix was supposed to make you fall to your knees, begging for forgiveness for your perceived transgression. Poor Hyun didn’t know the mistake she was making at the moment.

Being the generous person you are, you tried to give the smug idol another change to back down and apologize before she made it worse for herself. You would really hate to see what would happen when Mira learned about this. “Listen, Hyun, I’m glad for collaboration with Huntrix but I’m trying to tell you that I’m not-."

Hyun once again cut you off and went on another rant about interns and how they needed to do better. Oh well. You tried. Sitting back, you nodded along and acted like you were listening to her. It was going to be fun telling Mira about this. 

“Celine, how much longer until I can go? I got a hot date waiting for me,” Mira whined as she signed yet another document. It's been almost an hour since the meeting started (much longer than she wanted it to go on for) and she was dying to get the date started and to get her hands on you.

Celine didn’t bother looking over to the idol as she took the document and filed it away. “ We’re almost done. You have only two more things to sign then you are free to go.”

Mira made grabby hands,eager to get the meeting over with and get back to you. She quickly signed the papers as her meteor explained what the documents were about, but she was only half listening. She just had to trust that she wasn’t signing away her soul. 

“Thank you, was that so hard,” Celine asked. 

“Yes, now can I go, please?” 

Letting out a sigh, Celine waved her hand, dismissing the idol from her torture. Nearly knocking over the chair she was sitting in, Mira jumped up and ran to the door. She was half way out when Celine called her name.

“Mira.”

“What?! I thought you said I could go. Let me go!”

“You can but do me a favor. Hyun should be coming in today. If you see her, please send her my way so I can welcome her and talk with her about the upcoming collaboration.” Mira gave a thumbs up before closing the door, not wanting to keep you waiting for her any more. 

She could feel the excitement for the date buzzing under her skin, already planning on where to eat lunch. Maybe after lunch she could take you for a walk and do some light windowshopping. And by light windowshopping she meant spoiling you rotten because she has money so she might as well use it on you. 

Mira was sure that she looked like a lovesick teenager to every person she passed as she made her way to the greenroom. Not that she cared. She’s been looking forward to this date for a long time. Dating one of the biggest idols who also moonlight as a demon hunter is not for the weak. Yet you handled it like a pro. You didn’t make her feel bad when she had to slip away for idol duties or when she had a demon to hunt. You would give her a kiss, tell her to stay safe and that you loved her. Mira promised herself that she would return that love tenfold whenever given the opportunity and she planned to do that today. 

By the time Mira reached the greenroom, she was ready to just grab you and carry you off but when she opened the door, those thoughts were thrown out the window at the scene before her. She found the idol Celine asked to keep an eye out for, but what she saw made her stop in her tracks.  

Hyn had her back towards Mira and was standing before you, pointing a finger at you as she was talking to you like some sort of caveperson that needed everything explained to them. And you just sat there, hands folded in the front of your lap. You nodded along to what Hyun was saying as if you were taking mental notes and storing them for later. Mira was trying to process what she was witnessing when Hyun’s next words snapped her out of it. 

“And you would think they would hire someone more competent than some lazy asshole who had the audacity to sleep on the job. Like seriously. Do better.” 

That’s when Mira heard enough. “Excuse me, but what is going on?”

Hyun jumped at the sound of Mira’s voice. Like a kid that got caught doing something they shouldn’t, she slowly turned to Mira. When she saw who it was, a look of relief washed over her face. “ Oh, Mira! It’s so good to see you again! How are you?” 

“What is going on,” Mira asked again, voice cold. It took everything in her to stay calm but that was hard when it comes to someone messing with her loved ones. Especially when it comes to you. 

“Nothing important is going on. I’m just telling this intern,” Hyun explained, gesturing behind herself to you. “That they need to do better at their job. I mean, I caught them sleeping on the couch. Can you believe it?"

Counting backwards from ten to calm herself, Mira ignored Hynu’s words. She pushed her way past the other idol to get to you. She took your face in her hands and looked you over. “Are you okay, aein” Mira asked softly.

Melting into Mira’s touch, you smiled and kissed her palm. “I’m fine, Mira. I think Hyun is just a little confused about who I am.”

“Yes, that seems to be the issue,” Mira agreed, turning back to see the look of shock on Hyun. “ I don’t think she knows that you’re my partner.” 

“Oh,” was the only thing Hynu said, the mistake she just made hitting her hard. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know wh-”

Mira put her hand up, stopping Hynu’s apology. The poor woman looked terrified as she waited for Mira to say something. 

All that needed to be said by Mira was ‘go’ and Hynu took off like a bullet from a gun, leaving so fast she nearly left a dust cloud in her wake. Sighing, the idol sat next to you on the couch. She looked over at you again, like she was worried you somehow got hurt during the few seconds she looked away. “Are you sure you’re okay? Hynu didn’t do anything?”

Laughing, you snuggled into Mira’s side, to which she gladly warped her arms around you and pulled you closer. “I’m fine. Promise. All she did was yell at me. Which if I’m not going to lie, is pretty impressive. She had no clue who I was and she still yelled at me. For all she knew I could have been someone important.”

“You are someone important though,” Mira argued, kissing your temple. “Can’t believe she did that. I’ll talk with Celine about canceling the collab with her. I don’t want to work with someone like her.” 

“Oh you don’t need to do something like that for little old me,” you said, knowing it would be a pain in the ass to back out. “Just do the song with her and be done with it.”

Mira scoffed, clearly still upset at how Hynu acted. “Honestly, it’s not even fully about you. I don’t like how she treated someone she thought was an intern. You can tell a lot about a person based on how they treat someone they think is lower than them. I don’t want someone like her to use Huntrix’s name to boast her own popularity.”

“Awww! You’re such a sweetheart. If only the world knew how much of a softie you were,” you teased lightly, making Mira blush. 

“What, it's only the truth! I’m sure Zoey and Rumi would agree with me.”

“I know, I know,” you relented in your teasing. Instead you started to press soft kisses along Mira’s jaw. She melted into your affection, a small smile taking over her face. “That’s what I love about you. You don’t let things like that slide.”

Mira turned her head so she could capture your lips in a slow, soft kiss. “I love you,” Mira whispered against your lips. 

“I love you, too.” 

Mira sat with you on the couch for a while longer, holding you close, just enjoying being with you. She nearly forgot the date until you wiggled out of her hold and stood up. 

“As nice as cuddling with you is, I got a date with a pretty girl who had to sit through a boring meeting to get to it,” you said, holding out your hand to her with a smile. She didn’t hesitant to take it. 

Letting you pull her up from the couch, Mira gave you one more kiss before pulling you out the door. It was about time for the date to start.

Later, Mira would talk with Rumi and Zoey along with Celine about canceling the song with Hynu, telling them how she treated you. She would tell them she doesn’t want to work with someone as rude as Hynu.