"Oh yeah? How badly? So badly it hurts? So much you feel like you can't breath without one?" Was she being a little shit? Oh, absolutely but he ate the last of her shrimp chips and that doesn't fly in the HUNTR/x household. The fight had been going on for the last two hours with neither party seemingly willing to give in. "That's how it feels when you're looking forward to something all day only to find it gone."

That is of course, until she pulled out the outfit — Choo-choo bears, hoodie and some worn out kicks — the same one she wore the first time they spoke alone. Who knew @jimseung would be the sentimental type? "Admit you ate my chips and I'll let you do more than kiss. Come ooon, don't you hate these bottoms? Wouldn't you rather see me take them off?"

"You want to kiss me?" she echoes, laughter already threading through her words. The hand lost into the blue pelt of the guardian spirit pauses, earning a deep grumble from the creature to her left.

"Ah ya ya, okay okay. Sorry —" her hand rubs at its side, another small laugh bubbling in her mouth. She continues, "you're not jealous of Horangi-nim are you?"

Because if @jimseung was, she would never let him live it down. It was too cute to pass up on teasing. Too sweet not to bring attention to it. She leans forward once more, pressing another kiss to the spirit's fuzzy little head.

"Oh wait, You said YOU wanted a kiss. Right right." She feigns ignorance, nodding as sagely as the 400 billion years he had over her. Grinning even as she leans over, Rumi begins the peppering of kisses across his cheeks and jaw, and nose until finally one lands on his lips. She lingers for a breath, smiling wide against his mouth as she speaks. "How's that? Is it everything you've been craving?"

"Nine months and she looks just like her stupid father," spoken in jest and with a slight air of exhaustion outlining her voice, Rumi fights the urge to laugh lest she wakes up their terribly fussy little demon.

"When you say it like that, it almost sounds like a back-handed compliment." For the most part, Minji was a lovely, well-behaved, and polite toddler. Eager to play and even more eager to join in, Rumi would have taken it as a compliment if it wasn't for their daughter's unending fussiness. Everything had to be juuuust her way. From what she wore, to what she ate, to how she played.

Polite but fiesty. Lovely but with an edge.

Whether it was because both her parents were demons in one way or another or Minji's natural adoption of Rumi's more stringent personality traits, the facts were the there. All of her father's looks and all of her mother's awkward charm.

Rumi reaches with the hand not laced in @jimseung's own to brush back a misplaced strand of hair from Minji's face and sighs. "She's definitely a handful. Maybe I should extend my hiatus just a little longer? I think knowing I'll be touring soon is getting to her."

She's fighting the urge to giggle (actually giggle) at the feel of @jimseung lips ghosting kisses across her fingers. One knuckle. Two knuckles. Each one gentler than the last, Rumi can't help but wonder what brought out the sweeter side of him all of a sudden.

Not that Jinu wasn't sweet but she'd liken him more to a dark chocolate than something as milky dulce as this.

"Jinu," tone balanced between a question and statement, she presses both pads of her thumbs and rubs a line from middle to corners, pulling his mouth up gently to force a smile. "Aren't you being rather cu-uuute. Practicing aegyo or something?"

Using those thoroughly kissed knuckles of hers, she gives both of his cheeks a pinch. "Don't you remember? I don't like to share, so you better not be giving these kisses out on your next fan meetup or there will be consequences."

"You should take a break," he murmured, his breath tickling her ear with every syllable. He then tucked his nose right behind her ear for a moment, taking in the lingering scent of her perfume.

"Please?" It was almost a whine that tapered into a kiss he pressed into the warmth of her neck. "Just for a little while." That was more of an exhale as a few more kisses followed suit, this time following the slope of her neck down to her shoulder.

Celine had asked her to narrow down the b-sides for the new comeback weeks ago, but between the Golden single, writing TAKEDOWN, and trying to figure out what the hell was happening to her voice, the request had been forgotten.

It was Honmoon sent that Mira and Zoey were being so accommodating while she had her quarter-life crisis but even Rumi knew their patience was wearing thin. Now she sat alone in the dim glow of her computer screen, surrounded by half-finished notes and stacks of cups in varying shapes, sizes, and levels of liquid.

Rumi dragged both hands down her face with a groan.

She's going to kill me.

Every track felt wrong or too soft or too aggressive. What was the point of having a secret digital vault to choose from when nothing it in felt current?

Maybe HUNTR/x had changed too much between the last two comebacks or maybe it was just her. Whatever the case she was in for a long night.

Just as she's about to call it quits on her whole idol/hunter career a familiar warmth settles behind her, grounding her before her thoughts could spiral any further.

“Jinu,” she inhaled softly. Her head tipped to the side on instinct, exposing more of her neck to @jimseung as his chin brushed her shoulder. Those five words had been the prettiest sounds she'd heard all night. "This isn't fair."

Leave it to a demon to play dirty. She needed to get these out to Celine by morning at latest so they could be approved by the company by end of day. She needed to be strong. Tell him to go for now. Tell him he was being difficult.

A kiss.

and needy.

Another.

super clingy.

and another.

The worst part was that she became no better around him.

"Your 'little while's usually last hours." Her voice came out softer than she intended, edged with tired amusement as her hands finally left the keyboard to then snake back around his neck. "— but If you promise to keep it to just kissing, I can give you fifteen minutes."

"I'm not fuss— wait, not that brush! Are you nuts? — Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay! Okay I'll sit down."

She plops on bed with a huff, butterfly pjs bunched at the knees so she can busy herself with putting on lotion and not the feeling of a brush combing through her hair. It wasn't as if @jimseung hadn't touched her hair before but for some strange reason, the braiding just felt more intimate than anything else they've done — above the sheets and under.

Maybe it was because of what the braid represented: the promise she'd made to her mother and the ones she's made to herself. "Make sure it's even down the middle a-and each bundle is the same thickness."

"I know how to make a braid, Gongjunim."

"I know you know. I'm just — particular." The understatement of the last 200 centuries. "I trust you." Less understated she turns her cheek enough to glance back at him. "Anytime I look at it today I'll be remind of you so... do a good job so I can show it off proudly."

Rumi loved animals.

She loved the fuzzy kind, the scaly kind, and even the ones in between. It was a cruel shame the same couldn’t be said vice versa. Didn't matter what kind of animal it was, as soon as Rumi was within a certain range whatever creature had caught her attention was either clawing for its life or cowering in fear.

Celine had said it was the demon in her that made them so wary — that once she was free of her patterns they wouldn't be afraid. It sucked but it only added to the fuel that kept her going.

Seal the Honmoon. Save the world. Pet a cat. In that order.

"It's so cute..." but for now she would just wistfully watch the penguins from waaaay above the enclosure. "Did you know they mate for life? They bond and that's it. That's the penguin for them, gender be damned."

She attempts to take a picture, zooming in to an extra cute pair with Zoey in mind only to quickly realize sending the photo would open a whole can of worms.

Why are you at the aquarium? Who are you with? Why didn't you take me with you? I'm heading over there now.

Cancel send.

She replaces the phone with @jimseung hand. "Okay. What next? Sharks? Whales? Seals?"

'How about a kiss?'

She puckers, not for a kiss but in spite of it. "Jinu, we're in public," and he was a tease. A stupidly handsome evil little tease that was leaning in for a kiss regardless. She gives in (naturally how could she not) but the pucker sticks even after he pulls away. "Fish it is then."

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you." Murmured between yawns, Rumi's eyes are already closed by the time @jimseung found a steady pace to cross Namsan Park with the hunter in tow. Their business meeting had gone far into the night, way past the point where business turned into pleasured company. Jinu was... refreshing, annoyingly smug, and surprisingly kind. He humored her questions just as easily as he teased her about them but at no point was he belittling. Although the plan was to get rid of her stupid, ugly, marks a part of her still wanted to know: Behind the shame and anger; what did it feel like to finally be powerful?

Pressing the bridge of her nose to the curve of his shoulder, Rumi takes a deep breath that fills her senses with his scent; some kind of shampoo and cologne and a subtle note of smokeyness. How does someone like Jinu get pushed to the brink of selling his soul? How does someone like her mother choose to love a demon?

She still had more questions but her eyes stung and her body ached. Between worrying about her voice, Gwi-Ma's flame nipping at the heels of humanity, and the GOLDEN promotions Rumi was surprise she was still standing.

That whole "sleep when I'm dead" motto of hers was starting to feel less like a motto and more like a goal.

"You don't have to be so gentle with me, I'm stronger than I look." Even half-asleep, she could tell how easily he carried her, like her weight didn't matter and his only goal at the moment was to keep her steady in the turbulence. There is was again, that surprising kindness she's grown to appreciate. As honeyed sweet as the color of his eyes. Rumi wanted to trust him so badly. If only he could switch sides... maybe then... then they could —

"I haven't been carried like this since — actually, I can't remember ever being carried. It's... not bad." She swears she feels the tension of a laugh being held back and smile tugs at her lips. "Don't let it get to your head pretty boy."