#sata)

Made life worth handling, for some of them.

Today, however, it was pulled tight. Like a thread twisted one too many times around one's finger. Cutting off blood and straining uncomfortably.

The cause for this was their newest mission.

It had been fine at the beginning. Yet, with so many stakes, it was a slippery slope to high emotions and fatigue. So much fatigue.

The hunger already made sure there was a scarcity of their energy. So damn hungry all of the time…

The bond felt like a fraying, dying piece of flesh. Something that was pumping with life, struck with disease. Still stuck to each of them, still thrumming between them. Like a string being struck with a tune that waved in and out of the back of their minds; familiar and intuitive. Yet the tune was warped. The thrumming harsh with uneven pressure.

They were typically okay with working out the kinks in their bond. You don't spend so many years essentially withering away together without communicating at least a little.

Baby struggled with that, still.

However, Jinu was struggling the most. He wasn't the sole cause for the tension, but he was a major player in it. It was obvious in his body alone, how this mission weighed down on him.

He was more quiet. A little more preserved. His eyes lingered on shadows. His claws trilled idly at his bipa while his mind scattered to the winds. Carried back to places lost forever by time, but not by memory. When he became like that, like a music box stuck to play the same tune over and over even though it each turn of the cylinder fractured its comb, it was like he was even less than a demon. Truly a ghost. Something easy to miss when you walked by. Something painfully transparent when you took a moment.

He was running himself haggard. Pushing the group hard, pushing himself harder. He took care of everything. Made sure the group was well taken care of. That the routine they had spent decades on was maintained above all else, that their bond and each member of it never felt neglected.

He took care of the music. The live shows. Their dances, their interviews, their public image and their branding. Everything. He was the spokesperson of the group. He was the idea and the instigator. He was the one keeping Gwi-Ma up to date and happy. He knew how to run the show and damn he was going to have a piece of himself lodged in every step of the way. The rest of the group had little to say, but this was not their area of expertise by any stretch of the imagination.

He was running himself thin. More and more he resembled that shadowy creature that looked at stars and strung strings.

Damn that, if they had a thing to say about it.

"Jinu darling, we've been thinking," Romance started, rubbing at Jinu's shoulders.

His long fingers glided over patterned skin, feeling the way muscle tightened in minute patches scattered about. Romance pinched his lips.

"Dangerous," Jinu murmured, his head rolling back.

"Har-har," Baby said beside him, poking him in the rib. "Shut up and listen to what he has to say."

"Gentle, now, dearest," Romance shushed.

"We see how much work you've been putting into this, Jinu. You've gotten us further than anyone could've possibly imagined."

"We're proud of you, dude," Abby said, from the other side, swallowing Jinu's hand in both of his.

Jinu cracked a wry smile, but said nothing.

"Mmm, yes very proud. No one could ask for a better leader. However…we also see that your efforts are taking quite the toll. You must feel the bond Jinu. We know and we see exactly what this is doing to you."

Jinu's eyes glittered up at him. The usual clear gold of the younger demon was fogged over. From wariness or another, more tiring emotion, Romance didn't dare decide.

"You know what that deal means for me," he murmured, so quiet it was more like a passing breathe than spoken words.

Romance stared deep into his eyes, seeing the pain. The misery. The time that he has felt and the time he will feel, but never the healing. Demons did not heal with time. It was an infection, their grief and shame. Only festering more and more. Taking over, until the mind oozed with a destructive darkness there was no escape from. He had seen it again and again and, as much as he would like otherwise, he knew he would see again. Not in his bonded, however. Not in any of them.

"We do, more than anything. You will get what you are promised, my love," he whispered, like a prayer, a promise.

Jinu's eyes glittered.

"We were thinking of getting a manager," Abby said, after a minute.

"A human one," Mystery murmured, over Baby's shoulder.

He was clutching at the smaller man, his arms wrapped tight with white knuckles peeking around taut fabric. Romance knew that disturbances to the bond affected Mystery's senses the most. He was so connected to his emotions, to his spirit. Seeing him in such need of comfort added more cracks to his broken heart.

"A human manager?" Jinu scoffed.

"Like any of the idiots down there would be of any help," Baby said, rolling his eye. "They don't know anything about the human world to start and I…we don't trust them."

"We would step up, Jinu, of course we would. Be that as it may, we are running on a deadline. We need smooth sailing from here on out," Romance added. "A human would know more and be more efficient."

"We would have to be even more careful and in private," Jinu stressed.

"Which we have already talked about. We're willing to put in the work," Abby added, grinning.

Jinu frowned, his eyes flickering from one demon to the next.

"C'mon. It's a win win. We get a tasty snack later down the line," Baby said, like a shark smelling blood in the water, "and our bond won't stink anymore."

Jinu sighed. There was no argument against a in reach snack and the poor state of their neglected bond.

"Okay," he breathed. "Let's try it."

Romance brushed his lips across Jinu's forehead, smiling at the faint blush dusting the man's cheeks.

"Thank you, love."

You had an interview today.

Your fingers shook as you brushed down your jacket, pressing out the stubborn wrinkles. You haven’t had an interview in quite a while so you were getting pretty desperate. You clutched your hands together, trying to soothe the shakes. It was just an interview with the Saja Boys…nothing to be nervous about. Just an interview with the newest, most popular pop group on this side of the world. Just an interview with one of the members. The one with the dark hair and dreamy eyes…Not to mention that jawline…

You had to stop walking and take a breathe for a minute. Stay professional.

He asked to meet up in a small, in a corner cafe. Somewhere public, but not too public. He said over the phone that they wouldn’t be bothered by fans or any press. You were glad of it. Your nerves were already shot.

Before you knew it and to your dread, you turned the corner and there it was. It really was a tiny cafe, tucked tightly between two department stores. Cute, though. It had big windows, but there were so many hanging and large potted plants leaning against them that the interior appeared shadowy. It looked quiet, like a personal garden tucked away from all the worries and noise of the city.

The inside was a little closed in because of the plants, you noted, as you walked in. The bell of the door jingled behind you. It was cool, however, and dark. Sunlight filtered through the plants, creating a warm golden glow that blanketed everything like a sparkling dust. There were a few people already inside, though most of them didn’t even look up at you. One did, you noticed, tucked away in the far corner. You made out a pale face framed by dark hair. Your stomach jumped.

Even so, you went to the counter and ordered a tea. You weren’t even planning on drinking it, but something to wrap your hands around sounded good at that moment. You could still feel him staring, eyes latched onto the side of your face. When the man behind the counter told you your total, you didn’t hear. Just smiled, gave him some cash and accepted whatever change he gave you.

Okay, no more putting it off.

The pop star was still staring at you when you turned. Even from there, you could feel how intense it was. Getting closer made it worse. It was like he was already doing the interview with you; trying to seep into your skull and look into your thoughts. His eyes felt like drills. Overwhelming. Overpowering, really. Just a sharp point with the sole purpose of finding out just what made you tick.

"H-hello," you said, your smile feeling more like a grimace. "Jinu, right?"

The man blinked. The piercing points of his stare soothed out. His eyes brightened in the gloom as his brows soothed out. You hadn't noticed how tense his shoulders were until he dropped them. His head lifted and his sleek, dark hair parted around his face like they were getting paid for it. Immediately, he looked quite small and disarming. Like a cat, all charm and cuteness. You wondered if maybe he was just as nervous about this interview as you were. The thought was like a balm to your fraying nerves. You breathed in, your ribs feeling like an open cage all of a sudden.

"Oh, yeah, that's me," he said with a boyish grin. "Please, have a sit, L/N."

You sat. Your hands came around your cup on the table, loosely cupping it.

"I hope you don't mind, but another one of my group members insisted on joining our interview today. He'll be back any second now," Jinu sighed.

Your hands clenched around the cup.

"Oh! That's alright. Who was it that will be joining-?" You asked, just as a man came up beside you.

You nearly jumped out your skin. Your neck twinged from how fast you turned to look.

He was the pinkest man you had ever seen.

Long, pink hair was coming down around his face, framing it in a way that looked effortless. You knew otherwise. The longer piece in the back accentuated his narrow neck and jaw, while his ends of his sides led the eye to his plus lips. He looked like some pretty guy you would find in the covers of a bookstore's romance section.

Wait a second.

"Romance?" You asked timidly.

His face brightened. It was like the sun had taken residence under his skin, causing a pleasant pop of colour in his cheeks and making his eyes shine.

"I see that no introductions are needed. Splendid," he purred. "I do hope that I won't be intruding."

"Oh, no, not at all," you said, even though every cell in your body screamed out otherwise.

The man flashed a delightfully pretty smile. He slid into the booth beside Jinu like water pouring from a spout; all smooth motions and an impossible grace that made it feel more like art than simply sitting. He propped his arm on the booth behind Jinu and Romance's hand landed on his shoulder. That hand did not move from its perch the entire time.

When you peeled your hands away from your drink, your knuckles ached.

From there, it was a normal interview.

Well.

Relatively normal anyhow.

They asked you the typical questions and you answered as you would, typically. It was clear from the get go that they did not have a lot of experience with management positions and agencies. It turns out that, to your horror, Jinu was the man handling everything for this group so far. Romance cooed about it, praising him for "being such a hard worker and taking such of good care of us". Jinu's face had flushed a deep pink (that went well with his dark hair, you thought) and told him to keep quiet. Which he did. Romance was almost completely quiet throughout the whole thing. Just staring and winking when the moment called for it. His hand on Jinu's shoulder idly made patterns and pinched at his collar. You got distracted a few times, watching that hand.

It was kind of strange to have someone just sort of being there for a job interview, but you figured that Jinu wanted a second opinion or just generally support from a fellow member. You already knew that he must've had a good head on his shoulders to be handling the group as he was, but this helped make it more concrete to you. You couldn't believe how much Jinu was already doing for the group. No agency and no manager of any kind. Particular stuff.

At one point, Jinu asked you about your previous experience. More precisely, your previous experience with Huntr/x.

"We admire them a great deal," Jinu said, with a curl to his mouth. "Having someone around with their experience would be an honor."

"Oh! Well, it was really only an apprenticeship," you said. "I worked under their current manager as more of an assistant than anything else."

"But you worked directly with Huntr/x, right?" Jinu asked.

"Ah, not as such, really," you said, rubbing at your neck. "I worked with them occasionally and helped out where Bobby, their-uh-manager, couldn't, but otherwise it was a very digital work relationship. We only saw each other in person for shows and after interviews…"

You trailed off as you saw Romance and Jinu's faces fall. You squirmed, feeling their obvious disappointment curl low in your stomach. It would be crazy to assume they only asked for your interview because of the connection to the other idol group, but you could tell they had been looking forward to it. You wish you could say something different, but what you said was the truth. Your work relationship with the three women had been very distant. Your personal relationship with them, strictly outside of work and off record, was a bit closer. You got along with them, cracked jokes, and hung out with them on rare occasions. You knew that wasn't what the men in front of you wanted, however, so you kept it to yourself. No use bleeding your interpersonal relations into your work life now.

The interview continued and the disappointment faded from their eyes like a distant memory.

Romance leaned in the first chance there was a lull in the conversation.

"And do you have current commitments, dear?" Romance said, a soft twinkle in his eye. "How soon would you be able to start?"

Jinu and you both stared at Romance with some shock. You felt like the interview was going well, but that well? They didn't have a manager currently, true, but you couldn't be the only (or the best) that they were looking at. Right?

Jinu then looked back at you and raised his brow slowly. Well. It seemed he was more than okay with this.

You felt your cheeks warm under the sudden intensity. Also. Romance calling you dear? Some of his fans would easily eliminate you for the chance. It did not have a zero effect on you.

"As soon as you'd like," you said. "I have no other, uh, commitments at the moment."

Romance's lip curled like a tail of a well fed cat. He and Jinu looked at each other and it seemed like a silent conversation was zapping through their line of sight. Jinu's brows had dug into his face again, but after a moment of nothing but Romance rubbing at his shoulder, his face went lax again. You wondered at the relationship, trying not to oogle that hand again. Clearly they knew each other very well. There was a quiet confidence in the way they interacted with each other. Romance teased and Jinu shrugged it off. Jinu wanted to dig deep into a line of questions and Romance took away his shovel. The was no uncertainty and no grudges. That hand, as well, and the way Jinu leaned into it. Just two people respecting each other and taking comfort in their physical closeness.

You wondered what that was like.

You jumped as the two men suddenly stood up. They bowed perpendicular to the table, their hair flowing like curtains to hide their faces from you. Romance's almost grazed the table.

You stood up as well, your chair clacking precariously behind you in your haste to get up. The sudden show of such respect was both deeply disconcerting and, a little bit, kind of attractive. Both bad things to be feeling right now.

"Please become our manager!" Jinu said.

You looked around. While some guests were staring, most had their heads down still. Not a care in the world for the country famous pop idols currently making a big show out of…hiring you, you presumed?

"I have done my best to face all of these new challenges and I will continue to do so," Jinu said, the determination rising with his voice like an unstoppable wave. "But I can admit to my own limits. I need your help."

"Our team needs your help," Romance said.

Jinu looked up. His dark eyes dug into yours. They were like wells with no ends; deep and always coming hand and hand with a temptation to fall in. You felt like your feet lingered on their edge, just waiting for the first slip into that never ending drop. Clearly this was more than just an interview for a measly management job. This was also a man, two in fact, asking for guidance. Asking for someone to both help them and the people that relied on them. You wouldn't just be a manager, you were sure. You would be someone they also relied on and a learning experience. Whether that experience left a sour taste or a charming nostalgia would be seen. They would have to put forth their own effort into the experience, but you knew it was truly up to you. Starting with this yes or no.

Well.

"Okay," you said, that single word feeling like it carried all the air from your lungs. "When can I start?"

Jinu's eyes shine a deep gold under his lashes from the light, all glitter and no longer dark.

"Next week. You can start next week."

The sun was lying low on their way back, washing the city in blood red light.

Silence stretched between them, just the sounds of their feet along pavement and their minds moving like trains. Unstoppable once they've started and roaring down a clear, preordained path. The track led to one conclusion. Somehow a crash would've felt better.

Yet…the feeling of their bond glowing was beyond words.

It felt stronger than it had in years. The line of it was still pulled tight, but it felt like it was the one pulling now. The one pulling them all together. Using its own strength and instincts to seek what it felt was right, what made it complete.

Romance and Jinu both felt it, the moment you looked at them.

They knew the others felt it.

The bond was a net and you were the newest catch in their collection.

"This is not a good idea," Jinu murmured.

Romance hummed. It felt awkward in his mouth, catching in his throat and sticking there uncomfortably.

"I mean-a human? A mortal?" Jinu sighed. "We shouldn't go through with this."

"And what do you propose, dear? We just pretend we never felt that and carry on with some other, lesser, human?" Romance scoffed. "Even if I could agree to that inane idea, the others most certainly won't."

Jinu sighed. Then sighed a little slower, quieter. Longingly.

Oh, how did Romance understand. How he wanted to turn back. To run and see you again. Feel the way the bond bloomed around him and you. To feel the way the bond waved through you and Jinu. Oh, what a sight that had been. You and Jinu, his two newly bonded, right before his eyes. His heart swelled with the memory, pumping thickly through his veins.

"Mortal or not," Romance said, deadly quiet. "I would not let them go. You know I wouldn't. Not again."

Jinu looked at him. He saw an understanding in Jinu's eyes that was hard to put to words. Like a simple glance was all it took to make him bare to the very bone. Like his insides were out, ready to be studied and seen for what they were. Never judged. no. Just understood. A sense of understanding and sharing the same grief.

Romance figured it was the same way Jinu felt when Romance caught him in those quiet, wispy moments.

"We need to to tell the others," Jinu said.

There was still a layer of uncertainty clouding Jinu's tone. The man's usual clear, distinct voice was like a murky lake. Hard to see through, even harder to tell where the bottom was.

This was just like last time the bond attached to a new person. That one had worked out in the end, but the tribulations had been been a threat to the rest of the bond. Romance refused to give in when it came to his opinion of the bond. Jinu knew that more than anyone. Romance was sure Jinu was also thinking of that time. Maybe wondering if this time would be any different, for better or for worst.

Romance reached out for Jinu's hand. The bond bloomed in bright, cool colours around them as Jinu grabbed at him. Their fingers clenched, yearning to feel warmth and skin. Yearning to feel how their spirits connected though their touch.

In the back of his mind, Romance could hear sound of a bipab being played. It played distantly, like across a room. He wondered at what Jinu could feel from him, for a moment. What he could hear or see, even.

He wondered what he would sense from you.

He looked forward to finding out.