#hftdm

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—

i might do a half face rev. later anyway

It was catchy, slightly edgy, and translated to “Lion Boys,” which was what you thought Jinu resembled the first time you met him. You’d also assigned each member a carefully crafted idol persona, based on classic K-pop archetypes you knew by heart.

Now, with the group name finalized and their personas set, you were all gathered around a broken table in what was generously being called the Saja Boys’ training room (it was really just a rebranded storage dungeon), brainstorming something even more important—

“What if…” Romance leaned back dramatically, fingers laced behind his head, “…we call our first song ‘Demon Lord Explosion Dynamite.’”

“No,” you said immediately.

Abby jumped in next. “Okay, okay, hear me out… Demon Boys.”

“That’s literally just who you are,” you deadpanned.

Baby slaps his hands on the table. “Wait—what if—‘Demons.’ It’s simple and easy to remember.”

You inhaled slowly. “Do you guys not know any other words besides ‘Demon’?”

They all exchanged looks.

“…No?” Mystery offered.

You pinched the bridge of your nose and took a breath. Then another. This was fine. You were fine. You had trained for this. This was where your inner K-pop stan, human-era strategist, and demon-realm survivor came together.

“Okay,” you finally said, “how about trying one of the looks I sketched out before deciding on a title?”

You flipped open your sketchpad to a page filled with pastel-themed outfits, perfectly coordinated and soft on the eyes. You may or may not have added bunny ear options at the bottom. You glanced up. The boys were staring at the page… then at you… with identical “are you serious?” expressions.

“It’s called a cute concept,” you explained. “Just think finger hearts and aegyo. You reel the fans in with sweetness, then trap them forever. It’s basic K-pop science. I had spreadsheets on this when I was still alive. This will go viral overnight.”

Romance looked offended. “You want me to wear bright yellow?!”

“It brings out your hair,” you shot back.

Jinu raised a brow. “And you think this’ll work?”

You nodded—maybe a little too confidently, considering you were still scared he might bite your head off if you said otherwise.

He studied the sketches one last time, then snapped his fingers. There was a puff of pinkish smoke, and was that glitter? And when it cleared—

Your jaw dropped. Gone were the terrifying, edge-lord demon boys you’d been dealing with for the past few weeks. Standing before you now were five glowing, pastel-wrapped soft boy idols who looked like they belonged in a spring comeback teaser video.

Romance had hearts on the knees of his jeans. Baby wore a yellow beret that somehow made him look both adorable and dangerous. And is it just the demon magic or did he kinda look like Min Yoongi?

Well, now you know who’s your bias if they actually pull this off.

You stared—mouth parted, eyes wide—completely and utterly starstruck. Maybe Jinu wasn’t lying when he said the other guys were hot, too. 

For a moment, you forgot you were in the demon realm. You clutched your clipboard to your chest and whispered, “Oh my god. They’re so cute.”

Then, out of nowhere.

Baby turned and smacked Abby across the face with his beret. Mystery levitated mid-air while cradling a mic stand he summoned out of literal nowhere. Romance pulled out a mirror and started whispering compliments to himself that you were absolutely sure should be kept between him and his ego. Jinu adjusted his cuffs while you stared. And then, as if he could sense your gaze, he turned and winked at you.

You flipped him off without thinking.

Just like that, reality snapped back into place. You shook your head, cleared your throat, and tried to collect what was left of your dignity.

“R-Right. So, anyway—”

You flipped your notebook open and started talking again.

“What about a title like…” you scribbled quickly, “…Soda Pop?”

All their heads turned to you. Each with a different expression, clearly reacting confused to what you’d just said.

“Sowda Fap?” Mystery repeated, his brows furrowed.

“No, I think she said ‘So The Fuck,’” Baby chimed in, completely deadpan.

You side-eyed Baby. You couldn’t believe this was the same demon who, just earlier, reminded you of your bias wrecker. Suddenly, your train of thought was cut off by Jinu’s voice.

“Explain,” he said simply.

You cleared your throat. “First of all. It’s SODA POP. Like, you know...” You gestured like you’re holding a can and drinking from it.

They all just stared at you. At first, it was blank confusion—then came the smirks and they all started snickering.

You blinked, puzzled, until it hit you. Your eyes widened in horror as you blurted out, “No! It’s a drink! In a can! Take your minds out of the gutter!” You tried your best not to stutter, even though your cheeks were heating up fast.

These perverts. Ugh. No wonder they were sent to the demon realm.

“Anyway! We’ll talk about soda next time.” You quickly waved it off, trying to reel their attention back to what’s important. “Let’s focus on the song.”

You tapped your pen on the notebook, regaining your focus. “It’s catchy. It’s got this bubbly, effervescent vibe to it. Something that sounds sweet on the surface but has a deeper, unexpected edge underneath. Perfect for grabbing fans’ attention and holding it.”

As you said that, they started bumping shoulders and wiggling their eyebrows. You nearly rolled your eyes out of your skull.

Still, you pushed on. “We’ll build choreography that’s clean, simple—something with shoulder movements and little signature gestures that fans can mimic. We’ll talk about that part later. For now, I want to focus on maximizing your visuals and crafting lyrics that get stuck in fans’ heads like a curse.”

You paused, tapping the pen once more. You looked at them, waiting for their thoughts. They were all silent now, actually thinking it through.

Then Abby whispered, “It sounds fine…”

Romance nodded and added, “Soda Pop... kinda hot.”

You looked at them with a small smile tugging at your lips. This was progress, they weren’t the easiest demons to work with but still! This was progress.

Jinu finally chimed in, smirking as usual. “So The Fuck it is.”

“It’s Soda Pop! You know it’s Soda Pop—quit messing with me!”

—

As more days passed, maybe you judged them a little too harshly.

Yeah, you were still terrified they might one day turn you into demon soup if this whole plan—all of you had been training for over a month—didn’t work, and they decided it was your fault. Especially since Jinu based this entire soul-devouring strategy on the sketches you made—the ones he confessed to finding after being asked to deliver your reports to the Third Circle.

But hey! Maybe you were just overthinking again.

Speaking of Jinu, you actually hadn’t seen him all day.

The last time you spoke to him was when you asked if he could search the realm for someone with a working printer. Since then, only the other boys had been bothering you—and always for the most unnecessary reasons.

Though, to be fair… some of those moments almost made you wish Gwi Ma would just eat you and get it over with.

For instance, the time Abby decided it was a great idea to dye his hair while Jinu left you in charge with very specific instructions: “Don’t let them do anything funny.”

“What did you do?!”

You screamed from the bathroom door as Abby turned to face you, his hair now split down the middle. Its color is half lime green, half bubblegum pink.

“The fans are gonna love it.”

You stared at him like he just slapped you with a stick. What fans?! You hadn’t even debuted yet.

“You’re not allowed to improvise! We had a concept!”

He spun to admire himself in the mirror, then winked at you.

“You said cute, right? Green and pink are cute, no?”

You tried not to roll your eyes before marching over to him. “Come with me.”

He raised a brow and leaned against the sink dramatically.

“Woah, just like that? I mean, you always stare at me, so it was about time—”

“Shut up and just follow me before Jinu gets back.”

An hour later, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor while you dried his now-normal hair with an old towel.

He exhaled,  then mumbled, “Hey… thanks for not ratting me out to Jinu.”

You just hummed in response and kept drying his hair. He just lets you.

After that day, he didn’t try to sit on you as much as he used to.

Guess that was progress.

There was also the time you saw Mystery just sitting on the ground outside the building.

He was just… watching. Watching what? His hair? You didn’t actually know. You could see him staring upward, but his bangs covered his eyes so completely it was hard to tell.

You hesitated a little before quietly sitting beside him and offering him a soda pop.

He stared at the can, then looked up at you.

“None of you knew what a soda pop was, so… figured I could give you one of mine,” you mumbled. “The delivery guy sent me an extra dozen! It’s not because I—whatever.”

You placed it beside him and ran off before he could say anything.

The next day, when you came back to that same spot, there was another can of soda pop beside the empty one you’d given him.

You looked at it, then picked it up with a small smile. Ever since then, you’d always find a new one waiting for you.

You never saw him leave it.

Yet it was always chilled.

Another one was Romance bothering you for the eighth time that same day.

"Manager~" Romance croons as he drapes himself dramatically across your table. "Do you think the fans will cry if I announce I have a girlfriend?"

You don’t even look up from your clipboard. "I don’t care."

"You’re no fun."

"I’m your manager, not your life coach."

He pauses, then acts like he’s deep in thought. “Yeah, but still…”

You glare at him. "Romance, go to rehearsal and quit bothering me."

He pouts at your words and sulks all the way to the door. Though not even fifteen minutes later, you see an iced espresso floating over to you. You lean forward and spot a heart drawn on the lid with sharpie.

So that’s where your sharpie went.

Inside the heart is your name. Wow, his handwriting is really awful.

You take the cup and sip. 

Hmm, so he does pay attention.

The most recent incident was with Baby. You were handing out the concept sheets, each detailing their assigned K-pop boy archetype. As you were about to explain it, you caught him chewing on the corner of the paper.

"WHY—why are you like this—"

"I'm hungry."

"You don’t even need food!"

Baby shrugs. "Still hungry."

He then finishes the entire paper in one go. He smirks at you while you glare at him.

The two of you just stare at each other until you’re the first to break and start your speech.

Later, while Baby was heading to his room, he opened the door and spotted a bag filled with spicy chips and soda pop. He just stared at it for a moment, then opened the chips and started eating without a word.

The next day, while you were sitting in the training room, Baby suddenly plopped down on your left shoulder, startling you.

“I’m sleepy. Braid my hair.”

You stare at him, confused. “Huh?”

He didn’t respond—his eyes were already closed.

You just started braiding, even though you didn’t have a rubber band.

—

Jinu is walking down the dim hallway of the building, a neat stack of freshly printed Saja Boys posters tucked under his right arm. He had just come back from the human realm—because apparently, all the printers in the demon realm were broken. Like, why even have printers at all?

He’s kind of annoyed. The trip took longer than expected, and when he finally got to the human realm, he got swarmed by a group of girls asking for his “number.” What does that even mean? He’ll have to ask you about it later.

As he walks, he takes one of the glossy posters and smirks. His plan is finally coming together. After this, after the debut—and if it becomes a success—he and the boys won’t need you anymore. He can take it from there. Oh, and your concept book too, of course. You could return to your simple, boring, underpaid demon office life.

He stops mid-way down the hall, pausing at a faded door with a paper heart taped to it. “Manager”—written in pink glitter pen (courtesy of Romance and your pen collection).

Adjusting the stack of posters in front of him, he pushes the door open without knocking.

“Manager, I got the post—”

(Cue dramatic slow-mo as "Everytime" by CHEN & Punch begins playing out of literally nowhere.)

His words get caught in his throat as he sees what’s inside.

There you were—standing in the side of your office, softly lit by string lights and bathed in wind from the broken window. The dusty mirror in front of you caught your reflection as you held a pair of yellow circular glasses in one hand, debating whether they looked better on your head or off.

And for the first time… Jinu saw you in your human form.

Your eyes are clearer, no oversized robe swallowing your figure, your cracked fang is gone, and you’re standing upright, hands fussing with your hair.

You looked…

Adorable.

You're wearing a fitted pastel-pink shirt and a pair of jeans. Perched on top of your head are round, yellow glasses. You’re focused on your reflection, debating whether to wear the glasses or not—putting them on, taking them off, again and again—until the sound of the door interrupts you.

Jinu is staring directly at you.

Your eyes met his, confusion flickering in your gaze. “…What did you say?”

He doesn’t reply—he just keeps on looking at you, which makes you furrow your brows.

“The posters?” you repeat softly, tilting your head.

Jinu finally snaps back to reality, stammering slightly as he tries to reply. “Y-Yeah. The posters. I… got them.”

You smile faintly. “Oh! Good job. Just divide them later between everyone. I’ll tell you where we’ll be handing them out in the human realm.”

He nods at what you said, yet he’s still standing in the doorway.

You tilt your head again. “...Is there anything else?”

You look at him, waiting for a reply. He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. Your face scrunches in confusion. What is he? A fish?

“…Nope.”

He drags the “P” with a pop, then bumps his shoulder against the doorframe while trying to walk away—almost dropping the posters before catching himself with the wall to stay steady.

Without even closing the door, he just leaves.

You shrug it off and look back at yourself in the mirror.

Yeah… it’s definitely cuter with the glasses.

next part

—

There was a time when you were showing different sketches of possible new outfit designs for each Saja Boy. While looking at the files, you then pointed to Baby.

“You’ll wear denim.” Then you continued checking, pointing at Romance. “You’ll go with mesh.”

Then you pointed to Abby, “Green cargo…” and then you pointed to Jinu.

“And Mystery—you’ll wear the—wait, no, not you.” You frantically started pointing with your index finger out, thinking what his name was again.

“Uhhh…” you say.

“Jinu?” Abby says, unsure.

“YES—Jinu, you’ll wear denim, while the other Mystery—wait, no, there’s only one Mystery—then, Jinu—wait, HUH—” You were stuttering and tripping over your own words, not sure what you were even saying anymore as everyone just stared at you.

Then, from pure embarrassment, you slammed your folder shut and frantically ran to your room.

“So… what am I going to wear?” Mystery asks.

Another time was when you were walking through the hallway, and then you saw Mystery turn into the same hallway you were walking in—which made you walk faster.

Your head was now down, and you were looking at your phone, scrolling on… well, nothing.

Wow, your gallery is full of pictures!

Then, you didn’t even notice that the door in front of you was closed, which caused you to crash directly into it. Your phone slammed against your chest, and the impact made you fall backward.

The smack was so loud, you were sure it was going to bruise your stomach. You groaned from the impact.

“Owww…” you said, as your eyes started watering.

Why did you even have doors in the demon realm?!

“Are you… okay?” a voice behind you asked, which made you turn around and freeze.

Mystery was right behind you, looking down with his head tilted as he watched the whole thing. He then put his hand out slowly, gesturing for you to take it so he could help you up.

You slowly took it. “Thanks,” you muttered, your cheeks now burning from the situation.

As you were being pulled up, you accidentally slipped on your own foot, which caused you to fall again—but this time, you pulled Mystery down as well. Both of you yelped, your back hitting the floor again while he landed arm first.

“Fuck…” Mystery muttered, trying to steady himself.

Are you kidding me right now?!

The last one just happened this morning, when you were walking outside again and saw the can of Soda Pop Mystery always leaves at the front.

You walked towards it and stared at it for a few minutes before picking it up and sitting down. You couldn’t believe that even after how you snapped at him, he still kept leaving these here. As you exhaled and were about to open it, you heard footsteps behind you—which made you stop what you were doing.

Turning around slowly, you saw Mystery. The both of you looked at each other for a moment, before he broke eye contact and started walking towards where you were sitting.

Your eyes widened. 

Panicking, you stood up abruptly while staring at him.

“Uhhh… I was just about to leave. You can sit here now!” you said quickly, not even waiting for a response as you breezed past him and headed back inside.

In your rush, you forgot to take the Soda Pop with you.

You groaned in your head. 

Now you’d have to take one from your stock.

—

Yes! You can finally rest now.

After the whole week, Jinu said that all of you were going to have a few days off since he had some business to take care of again in the human realm. Seriously, that man had been going back and forth so much, you were starting to assume he was dating a human or something.

As you finally get to your room, it’s already nighttime, and you’re beyond sleepy. You were planning to take your well-deserved rest first, then wake up tomorrow and finally do everything you’ve been missing out on since taking care of the boys.

You close your eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

“I think… I’ll… tomorrow…” you mutter under your breath before officially knocking out.

You’re snoring softly now. The room is completely dark.

Only the sound of your sighs, the breeze, and heavy breathing from somewhere to the side of your room could be heard.

It was peaceful.

…

Your eyes immediately snap open. The very first thing you see is a dark figure now looming on your left, breathing heavily as it stares down at you.

“AH!” you scream, sitting up abruptly, heart racing.

You and the figure are just staring at each other.

You clutch your blanket tightly, like it would somehow protect you from whatever this was.

Suddenly, you’re interrupted by loud banging on your door.

“Can you stop?! We get it, your lame idols can do a hip thrust…” Baby groans, clearly annoyed, his voice thick with sleep. He yawns dramatically, then walks away, his footsteps slowly fading down the hall.

You blink, staring at the door from Baby’s outburst, confused.

“What… is he talking about? You weren’t even watching anything…”

A low voice cuts in from your side.

You whip your head around, the haze of sleep quickly clearing from your mind as you finally register who the shadowy figure is.

“...Mystery?”

The figure hums in confirmation. Yup. That’s Mystery—just standing there, hands clasped in front of him, staring at you.

You stare back at him, wide-eyed, trying to process what exactly is happening right now.

“What are you— Have you been watching me sleep?”

He just stares at you before slowly nodding. “You looked peaceful… I wanted to talk to you but… I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Then… why not just talk to me about it tomorrow?” Confusion laced your voice.

He stares at you again before glancing down, his expression glum for a second, then looks right back at you.

“I’ve tried,” Mystery says, continuing, “You always leave right before I…”

You’re looking at him, the words sinking into you as he trails off, not finishing his sentence.

“Oh…” you say, not knowing what else to reply.

Because…

He was right.

You do always leave every time he comes near you. It wasn’t because you didn’t like him or anything. You were just… embarrassed and didn’t know how to talk to him properly anymore. You’ve also noticed that, out of everyone… you haven’t actually been spending time with him as much.

“Did I… do something wrong?” Mystery asks, which makes you look at him.

He then glances down slightly, continuing, “Do you… hate me now?”

What he says makes you scrunch your forehead in confusion. Hate him? Why would you ever hate him?

“What? No! Absolutely not, why would you even think that?” you say in a hurry, not believing he actually thinks you hate him.

He looks at you before taking out a Soda Pop from seemingly nowhere. He gestures it as if he’s giving it to you.

“You didn’t drink it…” he says, the Soda Pop still in front of you.

You look at it, then at him. The guilt creeps in slowly at first—tightening your chest, settling like lead in your stomach. You can feel it starting to bleed through your expression, no matter how hard you try to keep your face neutral. Your throat feels dry. Your gaze falters.

“Mystery, I… No! I just forgot it! Look!” you say, panic in your voice. Out of instinct, you take the Soda Pop, open it, and start drinking.

“See? I don’t hate you,” you say between sips, still looking at him, hoping he doesn’t feel as bad as you do right now.

He’s just looking at you, his expression unreadable—neutral, like he doesn’t know what to believe. Even with how late it is, you finish the Soda Pop, turning it around to show him that it’s empty.

“Look, I finished it,” you say, smiling now, not knowing what else to say.

He stares for a few more seconds before nodding his head and turning back around to leave your room. You don’t know what comes over you, but you know you don’t want him to leave yet.

“Wait!” you yell out of nowhere—not loud enough to be heard outside, but loud enough for him to stop in his tracks.

He stops, his back still facing you.

You’re standing now, fingers gripping the empty can in your hand. You’re looking at him, breathing in and breathing out, telling yourself to just say everything now.

Let him know that you don’t hate him.

“I’m sorry,” you say softly, but it’s enough for him to hear. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I’ve just been… stupid and… scared.” You exhale, the words tangling in your throat. “I guess I’ve been avoiding you, but that was mostly because I didn’t know how to face you.”

He turns to face you, slowly. His expression is calm, but his demeanor is hard to read.

“Then… why?” he asks.

You hesitate for a second. You weren’t ready for that question, but you knew you had to answer it now.

“I guess…” You start. “It’s easier to act like I didn’t mess anything up if I just… don’t deal with it,” you finish, looking down now, trying to avoid his stare.

You don’t notice it, but he steps closer. There’s barely any light in the room, just the glow from the broken glass window creeping through, signaling how it’s almost morning. Suddenly, you can feel his presence—he’s standing right in front of you now. Facing you. If you look up, you know you’ll be face to face with Mystery.

“You didn’t mess anything up,” he says, voice low. “I get your frustration… You’re the one who always takes care of us. Even when you’re tired… you still care.”

Your lip quivers before you can stop it. You tilt your head up, meeting his gaze directly now. “But I snapped! I… I ignored you, and… I ran away every time I saw you. That’s not what someone who cares—”

He interrupts you by leaning in, his hands coming up to gently cradle both your cheeks as he kisses you—softly—at the corner of your lips. You freeze, eyes widening slightly as he lingers there. He’s just barely missing your lips, off by a centimeter.

Before you can react, he pulls back slightly—just enough to softly lick the corner of your mouth where he kissed you, then he fully pulls back.

He’s looking down at you now, hands still holding your face as you try to steady yourself, your heart racing, trying not to lose balance from the way the whole atmosphere between you two had suddenly changed.

“You… had Soda Pop…” Mystery says first, thumb brushing your left cheek gently, his voice barely above a whisper.

You swallow, the weight of his touch grounding you in place, and yet your knees feel like they’re on the verge of giving out.

“I… I did?” you whisper, looking up at him.

He nods before whispering something to change the topic, “You care… I care for you too…” caressing your cheeks as he looks at you.

“Even if you don’t care for me…” he says, his voice softer now, carrying a more pleading tone. “I’d still care for you…” he finishes.

Your breath catches.

Holy crap.

He doesn’t look away. He doesn’t even try to mask his actual feelings behind sarcasm like the others sometimes do. Mystery is just there, standing in the dim, broken light with all his thoughts fully exposed to you. You hadn’t known it, but Mystery had already given you his non-beating heart from the very first time he saw you. He never believed in love at first sight—but if he did, others would’ve caught his attention long before you.

No.

He had known he wanted to stay by your side. He hadn’t cared if it was for love or as your idol. But if you ever gave him your heart… he would give you everything—even his soul, if he still had one.

“I never said I didn’t care,” you reply, voice shaky. “I didn’t know how to say it… not after what happened.”

His brows draw in just slightly, a crease forming on his forehead. “You… didn’t ruin anything…”

You could never ruin anything.

“But I made you doubt it,” you say, eyes stinging. “And that’s on me.”

He tilts his head gently, thumbs still brushing your skin. “It’s okay…” he murmurs. “It was my fault for even doubting you… my fault for thinking you didn’t care…”

“I do,” you say immediately, voice breaking as you step closer. “I always have, and I always will.”

The silence that follows is warm. 

For the first time, probably ever, you see Mystery smile a little at you…

Then he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a firm hug. You smiled slowly in return, hugging him back. Your arms circled his neck, while his settled around your waist. His breath grew steadier. If both of you had still been alive, you were sure you could’ve felt each other’s heartbeat.

“Thank you…,” he whispered, barely audible. “For taking care of… us.”

Especially me.

You nodded against him, your eyes closing, the tension in your shoulders finally beginning to ease.

“It’s no problem,” you said softly. “I’m beginning to like it.”

next part

—

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“Wait, where’s Mystery?” you asked, looking around for the mop-looking demon.

“He’s not here? I was sure he was just behind me,” Romance replied as he casually fixed his hair to stay in its perfect, dramatic shape while looking at a mirror.

“Well, we can’t start without him. We’ll go back,” Abby said.

You nodded and stood up, getting ready to go with them, when suddenly Jinu threw his arm out in front of you like a stop sign.

“Stop.” Jinu said, his palm basically in your face. “You. Stay here.”

You stared at him, completely confused. “What? Why?”

“Everyone doesn’t need to come. It’ll be fast,” Jinu explained. “Besides, you’re too heavy when teleporting. I get REALLY exhausted.” He added, dramatically placing a hand on his heart like he can’t breathe properly.

“Excuse me?” you said, slightly offended.

“Well… maybe you’re just having a hard time teleporting because…” you tried to find the words. “Your… butt is so big!”

As soon as that left your mouth, the entire space fell into silence.

Jinu looked at you with one brow raised.

“Manager… are you a butt gal?” Romance asked out of nowhere, his attention now fully on you. The mirror in his hand was completely forgotten.

“You know… it makes sense, because I’ve noticed every time we practice, she’s never in front,” Abby added. “Always looking at our backs.” He nodded sagely, then crossed his arms.

“Manager is totally objectioning us,” Baby chimed in, a slur in his voice as he said totally.

You furrowed your brows at Baby. Did he mean objectifying?

Suddenly, Jinu opened his mouth. “Wow, I mean, I already know you like me, but… I’m not really comfortable with you checking out my body,” he said seriously—though the smirk tugging at his lips gave him away.

You narrowed your eyes, glaring hard at him. Then, without thinking, you lunged forward in his direction.

But before you could even touch him, Jinu snapped his fingers—vanishing instantly into thin air, along with the other boys.

Your punch met nothing but air. And worse—your balance tipped forward and you tripped straight onto the pavement, face-first.

There was a long pause as you lay there, planted on the cold, hard stone floor.

“Stupid, stupid demon boys.”

—

You’re now handing out the Saja Boys posters that that stupid Jinu forgot to distribute between them, even though you specifically told him to when all of you were still in the demon realm.

Honestly, the guy has been so much more annoying ever since that day. 

What’s his problem?

“Hi! Please check out the performance of Saja Boys later here today. I’m their manager and it’s their first performance. We would really appreciate your presence and support!” you tell another passerby, smiling while handing them the poster.

In your head, you’re stabbing Jinu with your pen, while the other guys get cooked in Gwi Ma’s fire.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city is HUNTR/X getting out from the clinic through the back door. Rumi is holding a box of tonics for her voice, while Zoey and Mira are beside her.

“We got the tonics! We got the tonics! Whoo~” Zoey hums like a song, as she holds onto Rumi’s side. Mira is on the other side of Rumi.

Zoey then says, “We can finally get back to the important stuff… like the fans!”

Rumi smiles at her enthusiasm as they all walk through the hidden alleyway.

But then, as they’re walking, they see four shadows from the left side walking towards where they are.

Zoey gasps in shock. “Fans!”

Which causes Rumi and Mira to panic as well.

“We can’t let them see us. Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

All three of them panic. Suddenly hiding behind Rumi—who’s wearing a big hoodie—then they pull Rumi’s hoodie over her and she crouches like a turtle with the box hiding her face.

As they try to walk normally, the four shadows finally turn—and it’s revealed to be the four boys you’ve been cursing for the past few hours for being so late. Mira and Zoey both peek their heads out to look at them. It’s like everything slows down.

“Huh…” they both sigh.

The four boys are revealed to be Baby, Romance, Abby, and Mystery, who are all talking with each other and laughing at whatever dumb joke was just said.

“Woah…” Zoey and Mira exclaim while staring.

Abby then starts stretching, which makes his top ride up. Zoey gasps at the sight of his abs. He stretches more and more until the button of his top flies off. Zoey internally screams, her brain now lagging.

“So… hot…” Mira breathes, suddenly munching popcorn out of nowhere while still staring at them.

Rumi side-eyes them in disgust. “You guys are so gro—”

She trails off as she notices another figure walking behind them.

Trailing a few steps behind is none other than Jinu, who’s looking down before slowly glancing upward. Rumi’s jaw drops as her eyes widen slightly. A strange light flares as Jinu tilts his head slightly, and a random gust of wind blows her hoodie right off her head.

As she continues looking at him, she doesn’t even notice that they’re about to bump shoulders—causing her to suddenly lose her balance as the box flies out of her hands along with the tonics. Jinu slowly turns around in her direction just as she’s falling down in what feels like slow motion.

When she finally hits the ground—along with the scattered tonics—she glances up slightly and notices the stranger extending a hand. She slowly reaches for it, thinking he’s going to help her up.

That is, until his face scrunches in disgust and the hand moves… to brush off his shoulder where she accidentally bumped into him.

Rumi stares in confusion, still looking up at him. But he just keeps brushing off his shoulder like she left dirt on it.

“Ugh. Watch yourself,” he mutters, turning around as the other guys—who had all briefly stopped to look—go right back to their conversation as if nothing happened.

“I just know she’s furious~” Romance hums, glancing sideways at Mystery.

“Yeah, she’s gonna be so mad at you, Mystery,” Baby teases, sticking out his tongue while Mystery now crouches slightly, already pouty at the idea that you’re mad at him.

HUNTR/X hears the banter, but as the boys walk farther away, their voices fade into the distance.

As the Saja Boys finally got out of the alleyway, they all glanced toward where they left you.

You’re fixing the speakers that are going to play the music for their performance any moment now. They walk towards where you are seated. You glance up as you feel eyes on you and see the boys you’ve been mentally murdering since yesterday.

“You!” You get up from where you’re sitting, the speaker now abandoned. You march toward them in anger. Some of the passersby are watching now, probably from how loud your voice was.

“Do you have ANY idea how long I’ve been waiting?!” you say loudly, pointing a finger at all of them.

“Seventeen hours! Seventeen long hours, where I’ve already set up the technicals, gave out the posters, set up a guest appearance for all of you with the most popular variety sho—”

You’re then interrupted by Mystery, who steps in front of the boys so that he’s facing you first—making you halt mid-step.

You look at him before saying, “And you! Where were you? We said we were leaving at—”

He then reaches out and offers something between the two of you, which makes you glance at his hand.

It’s a Soda Pop.

“I… didn’t have any stock,” he mumbles slowly, eyes still on you.

He adds, “And I had to wait for the delivery guy…”

What he said makes you stop and just stare at him as his words simmer in your head.

Oh.

“It’s…” you start, “fine or whatever. Just don’t do that again! We worked so hard for this day and… we need everyone here on time.”

You say it, trying to keep your voice stern.

Holy shit?! Is this your main character moment?! You feel like one of those leads in those dramas.

In your head, you’re spiraling—but in your face, you’re trying not to react.

Mystery just nods, and you try to move away from him because he shouldn’t know he’s got you fangirling.

As you look at the other boys, you notice Abby’s shirt.

“Where did your buttons go?” you ask. Then, before he can say anything, you walk towards him and try to fix his shirt.

“Well… I don’t have any buttons, but I have a bobby pin that could… probably do the same thing,” you say as you start fiddling with his shirt.

Ugh, did he just get more buff?

You’re trying to fix his shirt while he stays completely silent, just letting you. You don’t even realize how close the two of you are.

Jinu, who’s nearby, looks at the scene between you and Abby. He snaps his fingers, and an unexpected poof of pink-ish smoke appears right in front of your face, causing you to cough.

As the smoke disappears, Abby’s shirt is now perfectly fixed—like the buttons were never missing.

“Oh! Nice, Abby!” you say with a thumbs up, momentarily forgetting they even had demon magic.

You then walk away to the other guys, not noticing Abby’s confused expression—but he just shrugs and follows you.

You then gather them all into formation and tell them immediately to get in place. After giving out instructions and reminding them not to act so tense—and definitely not to suddenly start floating out of nowhere—you return to double-checking the speaker, the sunlight angle, and your newly borrowed (stolen) phone where you’re contacting the team for that variety show later.

Yeah, you’re almost done. Just a few more seconds and—

“Manager, I’m scared…”

You hear a voice. You glance towards the direction it came from and see Romance.

“Huh?” you say, confused.

Romance ignores the expression on your face and continues, “I have social anxiety…” He sniffs dramatically, like he’s trying to fake-cry.

“What are you—” you begin. “You really expect me to believe that?”

His hands, which are covering his face, slightly part so he can peek at your unimpressed look. Then he quickly covers his face again. “Yes,” he insists, and starts “shivering” with fake stage fright. You don’t even have a stage!

You just stare at him and roll your eyes. You glance at the rest of the members, then at the time.

You can do this… just give him what he wants.

“What should we do then?” you ask, forcing a smile as you bite back a snarl.

He peeks through his hands again before saying—still hiding his face—

“Wish me luck.”

“No.”

He pulls his hands away and leans in toward you. “Aww, come on! You do wanna see me perform, right?” Romance says, getting just slightly too close for comfort.

You stare at him, before taking a deep breath and exhaling through your nose. It’s fine. Just imagine he’s your ultimate bias and not some pink-haired demon who will most likely eat your non-existent soul.

You then say, a little too excitedly, “Good luck out there, Romance-oppa! Fighting!” You finish it off with your fists raised near your chest.

He just stares at you. 

Okay, yeah… maybe that was kind of cringe, now that you think about it. Before you can say anything to save yourself—

“Of course! This performance of mine will be dedicated to you, my number one fan!” Romance declares. His earlier “social anxiety” completely vanishes as he winks at you and jogs back to the other guys, now finally in position.

Number one fan? You didn’t even say that.

Romance waves at you one last time, and you just give him a nod in return.

You turn to the cue button and start the countdown.

Okay.

Start in three… two… one.

—

“Jinu, don’t forget to announce that you and the boys will be on the variety show Play Games with Us tonight,” you say, holding the earpiece that’s connected to the boys’ in-ears.

You watch them closely, and finally, when they strike their final pose, you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Jinu brushing off his shoulder was… new, but honestly? You weren’t mad at it.

He then starts announcing their guest appearance on the variety show, his voice loud and confident over the screaming crowd.

“Saja Boys, love you!”

And as if perfectly timed to the last beat of the song—"My Little Soda Pop!"—they vanish in that signature pink-ish smoke.

You exhale another sigh of relief. They did it! The debut performance was a success! You’re practically giddy now, smiling wide. Maybe you wouldn’t be turned into demon soup after all.

As you start counting the leftover posters you hadn’t managed to hand out to the crowd, a realization hits you.

Those assholes left you again!

next part

—

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He flashes you a grin, completely unfazed by your confusion. Then it hits you—what he just said. Your eyes widen. Without even thinking, you smack the stack of posters right onto his face, catching him square on the nose.

“Ah! What the—” he yelps, throwing his hands up to guard himself.

“You—” smack “Really,” smack “Have,” smack “The,” smack “Audacity,” smack “To Pull,” and one final smack “This joke after you all left me earlier?!” you snap, each word punctuated with a hit of the posters.

“Well, I came back now, didn’t I?” he replies, his face scrunching in genuine confusion. Honestly, weren’t girls supposed to like this kind of thing? Back in his day, he would’ve had a girl blushing and stammering just because he made eye contact.

You let out an irritated huff. “Yeah, ’cause that totally makes up for the two times you all ditched me today.” You grumble as you shove the last of your things back into your bag, clearly over it.

You can’t believe that just when you thought you were finally warming up to them, they pull something like this. Ugh. Stupid, stupid self! What were you expecting? You’re all from the demon realm, get it together.

While mentally dragging yourself for being delusional, you start walking away—not knowing where to go next. Though now that you think about it… you’re kinda craving boba.

He watches you walk away, clearly still upset about earlier—when he and the others left you behind. 

Hey! It wasn’t his fault. It was Jinu’s idea to pull that stunt. He shouldn’t have been the one getting smacked in the face with those posters!

He follows you quickly, jogging to catch up. He then snatches the bag you were holding in your right hand and casually slings it over his left shoulder.

“Uh—hey! Give that back—” you say, turning toward him, trying to take it with your left hand. He effortlessly dodges your attempts, then places both hands on your shoulders. Before you can react, he moves you to his right side—placing himself on the side closer to the road.

The action makes you turn to him, eyebrows furrowing again at his behavior.

“What are you doing?”

He glances at you from the corner of his eye, then shrugs.

“What? You’re irrelevant to me,” he says nonchalantly, before looking back ahead. He wraps an arm around your shoulder briefly to steer you away from a lamp post, then drops it again, tucking his hand back into his pocket. The other still holds your bag.

Irrele— I’m what to him?

“I’m… irrelevant to you?” you repeat, still thrown off.

He chuckles, “Yeah, like you mean something to me. You’re still my manager, you know.” He finishes that sentence, but you catch him mumbling something else under his breath—you just couldn’t hear what.

You think about it for a second before asking, “Did you mean relevant?”

“Hm?”

“Well…” you begin, “you said I mean something to you. Irrelevant is like... the opposite of that,” you explain.

You watch as he thinks it over, still walking beside you, bag slung over his shoulder.

“So…” he starts slowly, “you’re… relevant to me?” he finishes, tone unsure.

You try not to smile at the exchange. You’ve noticed he always tries to use big words—but rarely uses them right. Honestly, it’s kind of endearing.

“Mhm,” is all you say in response, now facing forward again. With your hands clasped behind your back, you continue walking—still unsure where you’ll… the two of you will go.

“Will you be going with us to that variety show?” Baby says out of nowhere, interrupting the silence between you two.

You scrunch your nose, “Duh, I’m the one with the verification. They wouldn’t even let you near the backdoors if you all went without me,” you finish explaining.

Baby nods, then adds, “What are we gonna do exactly at a variety show?”

“Well, based on the title Play Games With Us… I think you’re gonna play,” you reply sarcastically before continuing, “But really, we decided for Saja Boys to play the Spice Challenge.” You giggle to yourself when you tell him.

“Aren’t the others really bad at handling spice?” he says, looking up as if thinking about it.

You giggle again, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I agreed to it.”

Ha! Serves them right for leaving you here. 

In your face, Jinu!

You can hear Baby hum at your response.

The two of you are still walking on the sidewalk. You look around and see different types of people passing by. A couple of students laughing. An elderly man with a stand selling street food. The sound of cars and people chatting all around. 

It looks and sounds alive… It’s like you never died at all.

You… missed this.

It was just like how you remembered before you…

Well, almost.

You clearly remember you didn’t have a conventionally hot, gorgeous, attractive guy beside you, holding your bag, guiding you by the shoulder from time to time so you wouldn’t bump into any inanimate objects, and DEFINITELY not holding both your shoulders and placing himself closer to the road while the two of you walked.

Fuck! 

It’s like you’re really living in a drama right now.

The only thing missing is probably some music, an umbrella, and him holding it above you so you wouldn’t get wet from the rain.

While you’re off in your fantasies, thinking about those romance scenes in dramas, you’re suddenly interrupted by something being placed on top of your head, almost covering your eyes.

“Hey, what are you doing?” You stop walking and touch what was just placed on your head.

Is that a… 

Before you can take it off, Baby puts his hand over yours and tugs it down further.

“It’s starting to rain…” he says, trailing off while looking at the sky. The sunset is just starting to fade.

“Let’s head back,” he says suddenly, still holding your hand—your hand still holding the thing he put on top of your head. 

Then, in a blink, you’re back again outside the building where you and the other boys currently reside.

You blink multiple times, slightly dazed from going from the human realm’s brightness to the demon realm’s dark sky and surroundings.

You look at Baby, who’s beside you, now fixing your bag that he’s still carrying.

“Wait… you could’ve teleported us the whole time?” you start.

He glances at you while brushing nonexistent dust off his sweater.

“Yup,” he says, then proceeds to walk inside the abandoned building.

“Then…” you say, “what was the purpose of walking?” Confusion laces your voice.

Damn. 

These boys just keep confusing you more and more.

He doesn’t reply—just like that time he asked you to braid his hair. He simply disappears inside with your bag.

You keep staring at the door he walked through. Scratching your head, you then realize you’re still wearing his yellow cap.

You hadn’t even noticed it properly until now, since you couldn’t see it clearly when he placed it on your head.

You sigh.

God… if you’re hearing this.

What the fuck.

—

The sound of cheering and clapping echoed all throughout the set as the audience hollered in excitement for Who Can Chug the Most Hot Sauce?—a chaotic game between the Saja Boys and one of the variety show’s co-hosts.

Watching from backstage, you giggled behind your clipboard as all of the boys—except Baby—looked seconds away from throwing up. 

Honestly, this was fun. Maybe you should start signing them up for more variety shows like this.

You then caught whispers coming from somewhere to your left. Curious, you walked over to investigate—only to find… three girls.

In leather?

They were whispering to each other when one of them, the one with long pink hair, noticed you and started nudging the girl beside her.

“Hey—hey!” the pink-haired one whispered sharply, trying to get the attention of the girl with purple-ish braided hair.

“What is it, Mira?!” the second girl hissed, not-so-quietly.

Mira gestured obviously in your direction. All three of them turned to look at you. You stared back, equally confused.

“She’s wearing that other guy’s hat!” the girl with short dark hair gasped, pointing at the top of your head.

Your eyes widened.

“Oh my god… she’s that little twerp’s girlfriend?” Mira exclaimed, mouth agape.

“What?! No! I-I’m their m-mana–ger!” you stammered, flustered and clearly caught off guard.

Desperate to steer the conversation elsewhere, you asked, “W–who are you guys? Why are you backstage? This area’s for crew only!”

You eyed their outfits suspiciously. 

Yeah, there was no way they were staff.

They exchanged glances, realizing something.

“The Saja Boys have a manager?” Zoey whispered to the others. “Does that mean she’s a demon too?”

“She can’t be,” Rumi countered. “She doesn’t even know who we are.”

“She could just be pretending not to recognize us,” Mira suggested, though she didn’t sound convinced either.

They turned back to you in unison. You were still standing there, watching them like they were the ones acting weird—because they were.

“Uhh… if you’re not part of the crew, you really shouldn’t be back here,” you said again, firmer this time. 

Then something clicked.

“Oh! Are you guys fans of Saja Boys?” you asked, suddenly chipper.

They all paused, glanced at each other, then nodded in awkward unison.

“Y–yes…” the girl with the braids began, “I’m Rumi, I’m a big fan of… their leader.”

You stare at her, holding back an eye-roll.

Jinu? Seriously? Ew.

But you forced a smile. “Oh, that’s nice! He’s a fantastic leader and vocalist.”

Fantastic my ass. Guy doesn’t even know how to use a phone.

You turned to the other two. They were still staring at each other.

“I’m Zoey,” the dark-haired one said finally. “My bias is, uhh… mhmm… probably… all?”

Mira jumped in quickly, “Y–yeah! Same! Just… can’t choose.”

You squinted a little, looking at them slightly suspicious.

They all start sweating on the inside, praying you didn’t catch on their lie.

You didn’t.

“Oh, I get that! I was totally an OT stan in most groups too. Believe me, I could not choose just one.”

You were already filled with the joy of finally getting to talk about something normal for once. But before you could gush about your past bias list, your phone started ringing.

You took it out of your pocket and glanced at the screen.

The bathhouse. 

The one the boys begged you to reserve for their “relaxation” after this oh-so-hectic day.

Yeah, right.

Try managing five full-grown actual demons who act like children—then we’ll talk about who’s having a “hectic” day.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this. Good luck getting pics with the guys!” you said quickly, flashing a fist pump. “Fighting!” you added in a whisper-shout before answering the call.

“Hi, yes, this is Saja Boys’ manager,” you said as you walked off, heading toward the exit to take the call in private—completely unaware of the confused and slight suspicious looks HUNTR/X were giving you as you walked out the door.

—

The call took longer than you expected.

You’re now walking back to the set, checking the time and realizing they’ve probably wrapped up the live show already. As you make your way down the hallway, your mind drifts back to the three girls you saw earlier.

Is it just you, or did they look weirdly familiar? Like you’d seen them somewhere before, but for the life of you, you can’t pinpoint where or when.

While you’re distracted, completely lost in thought, someone suddenly lifts you off the ground, and you shriek from the shock of being picked up.

The next thing you know, you’re slung over someone’s shoulder—your face pressed awkwardly against their back like a sack of potatoes.

“What the—Abby?!” you yell, clutching onto whatever fabric you can grab, because one wrong move and you’re absolutely going to eat pavement.

“Hey, Manager,” he says casually—while running.

“Why are you running?! What’s going on??” you shout, trying to steady your voice even as your head spins from the sheer velocity. Being carried like this is already bad enough, but this man is sprinting.

And holy shit, he’s carrying you like you weigh absolutely nothing.

“Long story short, the demon hunters were waiting for us backstage then followed us to the bathhouse,” you hear someone else say—somewhere ahead of you. “Now we’re running from them.”

You squint, trying to lift your head and see who the hell is talking, but yeah—no. You’re upside down and it’s not happening.

“Uhh… who—”

“Romance,” the voice says coolly, as if he wasn’t running as well.

“Romance! Uh, yeah…” you start to reply, but it’s kind of hard to keep a conversation going when your blood is rushing to your head and your life is flashing before your eyes.

Wait.

Did he just say demon hunters?

next part

—

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