#zobaby

The silence of the apartment was as good as the grave. 

Nothing but the sounds of their breaths indicating that anything was actually alive in the entire place. Watching intensely the kettle upon the stovetop as the heat gradually increases inside, the pressure building up and building up until-

A loud whistle pierced the air as the kettle whistled loudly, silenced just as fast when a hand just snatched it off the stovetop instantly. 

"RAMYEON ON!!" Perfectly manicured nails thrusted the terribly hot kettle with little regard for the heat it 

"RAMYEON ON!! RAMYEON ON!! RAMYEON ON!!" Three voices chanted as the kettle poured water out into three cup ramyeon as three faces watched eagerly. "And now we wait."

"Ugh! These are the longest three minutes EVER!! If it weren't for this soft couch-" Her back flopped back against the couch with a thud to emphasize her point."-the wait wouldn't be worth it."

"Zoey, relax. We're taking a long needed hiatus from the buzz feed. It's all chill, lax, and do whatever we want while not doing anything at all."

Rumi finally gave a raised brow to Mira placing the kettle aside on the coffee table. "That last part makes no sense, Mira."

"Yet it's so zen." Zoey added from where she splayed out like a ragdoll. 

It had been a while since..well the incident, but now it was time for the three of them to take a well deserved long awaited break. They deserved it after everything they've been through after all. Rumi flopped back between the other two, sighing in her fluffy robe and not caring if her mud mask would get messed up by the food she'd eat in three minutes.  It was pure bliss. Sofa time was definitely the best time. 

"Hey. Let's go to a spa after this." Mira piped up from no where. "I want massages."

"Oooh! And we can get manicures! And pedicures!"

Mira gave a small shove at Rumi. "And then take Rumi to a bathhouse again because we have WAY too much pamper time to make you catch up on."

"Hey. I already agreed to go now-"

"Then it's official!" Zoey fist pumped. "This month is Pamper Month! Nothing but relaxation and self care!! Then we crack down on our Platinum record!"

"We are definitely nailing the Idol Awards next time!"

Honestly, yeah. They would win next time. Fair and square with no cheating this time around. For now it was crucial to relax and destress. Bobby always said that their mental health was important to a successful career. The sounds of buzzing caught one of their attention to a phone on the table and a familiar face popping up on the screen.

"Hey! It's Bobby."

Footsteps were walking down his hallway when he decided to call the girls and make sure they were all ok after the whole 'almost ending the world and their careers in the process'. He just needed to make a few last minute loose end tie ups then he could go on a relaxing staycation himself. As usual the girls picked up with their usual chime of-

"Hey, Bobby!"

"Hi, Girls! I'm just calling to say that the last performance was amazing! Everyone's already talking about the surprise performance Huntrix made at the Saja Boys performance! Uh!" A hand pressed to his chest. "They're still talking about the special hologram effects! We are back!" He fist bumped no one but air as he did a little jump of glee. 

"Oh my gosh! That's great! What they won't know won't hurt them right?"

"What?"

"Nothing! Zoey's just still recovering from chugging down that bottle of sparkling water he snorted up." Rum quickly spoke up. "We're really happy everything worked out is what she meant."

"Heck yeah it did!" He turned down a hallway alone on the way to the employees only parking lot. "Kay look. I scheduled an interview for you girls on that podcast! Y'know it's like a tv talk show but on the Internet! And it's for next month so you'll have plenty of time to prepare for- AH!!" 

BLUE.

That's all he saw as he turned the corner and was met face to face with a giant pair of eyes. On instinct his body had jolted back, arms up, and a scream escaping his throat. But then true fear took ahold of his body as he just realized what it was. WHAT WAS A TIGER DOING IN THE STUDIOS?! 

"Bobby? Are you alright dude?"

He didn't answer the voice on the phone. Staring wide eyed at the...the..blue..tiger as it just sat there in the middle of the hallway staring at him with big eyes that seemed more like a cartoony frog's. They both continued to stare at each other for what must've been at least ten seconds before it's jaw opened making him jump back more. Was it going to attack-?! Something slid down it's tongue stopping on the end before falling to the floor at his feet with a flutter. His eyes followed it, and stared at the rectangle frame with a duck's face staring up at him.

"Um..Girls, did you order a tiger for a music video?" He looked up. "Because there's a-" Bobby blinked. The tiger was gone. His eyes blinked looking down the long hallway before and behind him for any signs of the beast that had been just in front of him. "Um, nevermind. I'm working too hard."

"Okay? Take a break too, Bobby. For real this time. You deserve it as much as we do. We can talk about the podcast next week after we've had some time to recoup."

"Uh, yeah. Ok. I'll definitely do that." Slowly he reached down to pick up the..card?? Making a face and noise of disgust at some slobber dripping off the side from where he pinched it between his pointer finger and thumb. "Ok. Girls, I'll call you back. I gotta see about a tiger loose in the studios. Love you."

Zoey looked at Rumi. "Did he just say there was a tiger loose in the studios?"

"Someone must be doing a photoshoot. Y'know how popular modeling with wild animals has been this year."

Bobby made a grimace looking at the slobber covered card, only evidence of the animal being there at all, before curiosity got the better of him and the cute duck was opened to reveal what was written on the inside. His eyes blinked as his eyes read the letters written there.

"Can we date the girls?" He spoke out loud to himself in confusion turning the card over in his hand, raising a brow further when spotting no forwarding or return address. "Ugh. That tiger must've been someone's prank! Ok haha!" His eyes glared in both directions. "Very funny. It's prank Bobby day! Whoever's behind this is gonna be in big trouble when I find out!"

No one answered making him huff, straightening his suit, and continuing his way to his car, the strange card being discarded in a passing trash can before Bobby finished his journey to the car and getting on his way home. There was some RnR and a tub of chocolate ice cream with his name on it back home. 

The first of the gifts arrived three days after getting into the relaxing part of the their staycation, and the received a phone call from Bobby right in the middle of watching a K Drama Zoey had INSISTED on them binging until Mira and Rumi gave in. Remote quickly pausing right in the middle of the 'ex crashes the wedding in the middle of the I object' part.

"Hi, Bobby," Mira answered first not bothering to get up from where she was face down on a fluffy pillow. 

"Girls! Oh my gosh thank you so much! I love it!"

"Your welcome!..But what are we your welcoming you for?"

"This giant, ultra, humongous gift basket!!" Bobby excitedly hovered around the giant whicker basket tied with a large green bow and topped with a giant name tag with his name scribbled across in fancy cursive writing. Eyes scanning everything inside with a grin. "It's got all these little meats and cheeses and my favorite snacks!" A hand pulled out one of the cheeses to sniff the really mouth watering swiss. "Oooh hoho! That smells delicious!! It even came with these cigars and a really expensive looking bottle of wine, and I don't even smoke or drink!"

The three of them looked at one another confusion written all over their faces. 

Zoey leaned over to whisper. "I didn't send him a gift basket. Did you?" Rumi shook her head before both looked at Mira whom held up her hands. 

"Don't look at me."

"Bobby, we didn't send you anything."

"You didn't? ..Then how did this get in my room?"

"Maybe it's a complimentary thing from the hotel or resort-"

"I'm at home." Again the three looked at one another in confusion. "I just got done with my breakfast and found it on my couch. You didn't send me anything?"

"We probably did but forgot with all the stuff that was happening," Zoey concluded quickly, "Or maybe it's from one of our sponsors for all the hard work you do for us! Don't worry about it. Just enjoy it and relax, Bobby. You totally deserve it."

"Hm. You're right! I'm overthinking this too much! I'll call you back once I'm done setting up the interview for the podcast mkay? Bye, Girls!"

"Bye, Bobby." Zoey took a moment staring at her phone in confusion. "That was weird."

"Don't worry about it." The remote was pointed back to the TV. "It's probably just from one of our sponsors or something like you said. Bobby deserves some appreciation for his hard work doesn't he?"

"You're probably right. Now let's get back to the hunk of husband trash talking the ex!!"

The second gift basket showed up again the next day, this time it was around evening instead of the morning. Someone constantly ringing his front door bell before he finally answers it. The doorbell camera showed no one, not even a delivery guy, but when he opened the door Bobby ended up finding another gift basket. Much smaller than the first one, but still filled with goodies. This one's theme being self care. Soaps, hair products, mud mask, a cute pair of gummy bear themed bath bombs that smelt like fruit- And his name on a tag in the same handwriting. Very confusing. The third one came a week later, the day before he was supposed to call and set up the time for their podcast interview with the famous Utuber. An envelope with his name written on the front in that same writing. Inside wasn't a letter, but another one of those cards with a cute duck on the front. Inside there was more words and a gift card to a real amazing clothing store-

'Go treat yourself. I heard that you liked Mens' Wears N Wares.'

No return address. No name. Just a gift card inside a greeting card shoved under his doorway. He spent a good twenty minutes staring at the small card wondering if it was a scam or if it was all just one big prank made by his staff or the girls. Was he being filmed for a prank show? Or was someone trying to butter him up for something? It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to bribe him or tried to get close to him due to his connection to the Huntrix. Did he have a stalker? That last mental question made him shiver. He hoped not. He hadn't been on any romantic quests in years. Bobby was hesitant to call you the girls and tell them anything. It was supposed to be their month of relaxation, and he didn't want to stress them out. 

He changed his mind when he had another knock on his door, but this time there was someone there to his surprise. A man in your standard delivery/mail man uniform, holding a large crystal vase full of flowers. Daffodils, calls lilies, and irises. 

"Nuh uh!! Mm hm!" He held up his hands as soon as he opened the door and saw the man. "No, no, no! I specifically said no fan mail or deliveries until Huntrix says so!" A finger pointed at gbs man whom blinked. "My girls need their alone time!"

"Uuuhh-" The man looked around before back to him confused. "I have a floral arrangement delivery for-" The man checked a small clipboard in one hand while supporting the vase. "A Mr. Bobby?" 

"Oh hey. That's me!" Hands reached out- "Wait!" Hands pulled back eyeing him suspiciously. "Who is this from?"

Again he checked the clipboard. "Kiki's Flowers and Things." He held out the clipboard. "Sign here please."

His eyes narrowed more. "Who ordered them?"

"You'll have to contact the store for that information, Sir. I'm only the delivery guy. Will you sign?"

That suspicious stare didn't leave as he signed, taking the vase from the man, and holding it outstretched from him. Like a bomb about to go off at any moment in a kaboom of petals and nice scents. The vase was placed on the kitchen table and there he stood, scrutinizing the pretty flowers that sat harmlessly in their vase. He however hummed, poking a lily and watching it sway until stilling again. Like a normal flower. The white and purple flowers making a pretty centerpiece. 

Ok. He would call under the condition of it being an emergency. A phone was whipped out and a number dialed as he continued to stare at the flowers. With just a few rings he heard someone pick up and Rumi's face appeared on the video call.

"Hi, Bobby," Rumi's voice answered from the other side. "Sorry I didn't call you back sooner about the podcast. Celine visited and...a-and we had a lot of family stuff to talk about. What's up?" 

"Ok. This is going to sound cra-cra!" He motioned with his arms as he spoke. "Have you girls been playing a prank on me? I have been getting swamped with everything from flowers to baskets to gift cards. I swear if I get one more basket I'M gonna be a basket case!" 

"Gift cards?" Rumi looked at Zoey. "Flowers?" Zoey looked at Mira. "Bobby?"

The three instantly leaned forward as Bobby nodded in concern. "Yeah. Take a look." The screen turned and they were met with a bouquet of flowers Zoey gushing about how pretty they looked. "I just literally got this! At my door!" His hand comically pointed at them from off camera. "And I have NO idea what's going on!"

"Bobby! Isn't it obvious!" Zoey grabbed her cheeks. "You've got a secret admirer!"

"Secret admirer?" "Bobby???"

His face appeared back on the screen. "Yeah. Well I wish this wasn't so secret! It's become scary and not in the fun scary way when I'm swarmed with thousands of your fans."

"Don't worry, Bobby! We'll get to the bottom of this!"

"But it's only been half of your month off! I can handle it!"

Rumi tilted her head. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! If I can handle your craziest fans, then I can handle me having at least one!"

"Well, if you're sure."

"Don't worry about me! You girls enjoy some privacy! Don't worry about me!"

"Ok, Bobby. Bye." Rumi hung up and the three looked at each other.

"Oh, we're totally going to investigate this aren't we?"

"Oh no. Absolutely we're not going to let this slide! This is Bobby! No one messes with Bobby and gets away with it!" 

Zoey fist pumped. "Yes! Justice for Bobby Operation is a go!!..But where do we start first?"

Rumi pointed at her phone. "From the beginning of course!" Abruptly she stood pointing at the doors. "To Bobby's! Every investigation starts with a scan of the crime scene."

The drive over there was a fairly quick one, it helped when they had access to any fast transport they wanted, and they had shown up on his doorstep. Bobby didn't look the least bit surprised when they just strolled in, determined to find out who could possibly be stalking their manager and stressing him out. He tried to get them to change their minds, but gave up once they starting prodding him to show them what he had first been given. The gift baskets remained mostly untouched with the exception of what he already ate from the first one, and the card and flowers were also mostly untouched. 

"No names," Mira muttered flipping around the greeting card in her hands, "But whoever's behind this is clearly rich."

"What makes you say that ?," Zoey was shuffling through the first basket stuffing her face with some of the snacks from it.

Mira blinked before bluntly gesturing to literally everything. "Isn't it obvious? Expensive hair products, a gift card to like the most expensive suit store ever, wine and cigars?? You've got to have a good job in order to afford that stuff."

"Well that's not much of a lead."

"No but it's all we got to go on so far." Rumi tapped her chin in thought. "No return address and no names means we have to go with what we know. Were all of these delivered."

"Yeah. Well except for the big basket that just showed up in my living room-"

Bobby jumped when the three suddenly grabbed him. "They broke into your house?!" "Are you ok?! Why didn't you call the police!?" "That's it! Until this is all resolved, you're staying with us!"

"Girls, you don't have to do that. Im fine!" They didn't listen to him as they pulled him away.

"Pack an overnight bag! It'll be fun! Like a big sleep over!"

Rumi started after them but paused, head turning back to the table. Eyes widening at the card Mira had been playing with, and the adorable little duck on the front. Her hand reached out to graze it before turning to the other gifts, mind thinking. Before something clicked. 

"A tiger?" Her face dropped in realization. "Oh no."

"How can it be the Saja Boys!? I thought we were cool now!" 

The three of them were already speed walking down the bust street passing others, and ignoring cars. It took a little bit of prodding after they safely settled Bobby up in a guest room and made him give them any info on the situation. Quickly putting two and two together after asking him about the weird studio tiger, and now they were on their way to this flower shop that was where the flowers were from. 

"No. We're cool with the whole 'they're not gonna try to eat anyone else or take over the world' stuff!," Mira clarified with that blunt expression she usually had, but she was slightly more irritated by this situation. "We're not cool in the sense that they're still our rivals and still pumping out music trying to steal our fans!"

"But it still doesn't make sense to why they'd be after Bobby? They haven't even done anything bad, just give him a bunch of stuff like Santa."

"And broke into his house and made him think he had a stalker! They're after Bobby because he's the best manager EVER! They know that we know if they can get Bobby to be their manager instead of ours, they'd put us at a disadvantage because Bobby handles all our stuff!"

"Let's not jump the gun on this yet." Rumi rubbed her head trying not to get a headache from this entire situation. "Let's just keep investigating and see what's really going on."

The florist shop was exactly what they expected when they eventually found it, tossing the door open and jingling the bell above the door. The older woman instantly turned to the sound of the bell and immediately froze before the unmistakable sounds of an excited fan went off on her face.

"Oh my goodness! It's Huntrix!," she gushed seeing the three of them there. "My daughter absolutely loves your music! Can you sign an autograph for her!?"

"Sure. But first we need to get some answers." A phone screen was held up to the woman showing the face of a man with black hair and eyes. "Did this guy order flowers from you yesterday?"

She looked at it before shaking her head. "Nope. He looks handsome though."

"Ok." Not Jinu. That gave her some relief. She slid to the next photo, two guys with pink hair except one wore a hat. "How about them?" She shook her head. Another picture with two other guys. "Do these guys look familiar?"

"I don't know who this young man is, but the one with the bangs over his eyes-"  She tapped the screen on the right side. "He was in here ordering a very big bouquet."

Rumi turned the phone back over staring at the unfortunately familiar purple hair. "Mystery. What was he doing here?"

"He was interested in flower meanings!" The florist answered mindlessly picking up a tiger lily from a nearby vase. "Every flower has a symbolic meaning y'know. Like how red roses mean love and passion. He wanted some flowers that represented respect, honor, loyalty- Things like that. Picked out a nice vase to put them all in."

"Loyalty! *Gasp* I KNEW it! They are trying to steal Bobby!" 

"We don't know that yet. Maybe they're trying to make it up to him too for the whole hypnotized thing."

"Either way, we need to keep a close eye on the situation until we know for certain what's going on! But first let's give you that autograph we promised!" 

By the time they got back, Bobby was still there smiling at them as they walked in. "Girls! Great news! They don't want to just do a podcast, but they want to interview you on a live steam with millions of fans who can send in their own questions for you! We can hold it at the studio next week! That is of course, after you three are done relaxing. Mental break are important!"

"No, no! Actually that sounds like a great idea! Let's go next week!" It'll help take Bobby's mind off the gift fiasco. 

"Ah! That's amazing! We can do that that after the dinner with the Saja Boys!" Just like that the mood immediately shifted as the three of them stared at him. 

"The what with who?"

"The Saja Boys!" He repeated tapping something on his phone. "Their manager reached out to me and they want to discuss a possible collaboration with you girls over dinner! They even invited me to help with coordinating the event!!" He smiled brightly at them. "This could be a big opportunity! Even bigger than the joint autograph signing!" 

"Is that right?" Rumi inhaled. "Then tell them we would LOVE to meet with them. Soon. Infact let's just have lunch tomorrow!"

Bobby lit up smiling! "Fantastic! I'm going to call them right now and set it up! Clear your schedules because this is gonna be great!"

The stuff smiles were lost on him as he turned. "We're going to kick their butts aren't we?"

"Oh absolutely." "Without a doubt "

So it was set. Lunch tomorrow at a high end restaurant in a private VIP room. Just them, Saja Boys, and Bobby. Why he was invited too would finally be revealed to them all, but they had to be prepared. Not a danger from demons, but as a play from a rival band to get the upper hand. The following day was a blur. Barely remembering what happened that morning, all just preparing for that evening when they all drove over to the restaurant for the promised lunch. A waiter showing them into the VIP lounge on the second floor and guess who was already there waiting for them?

"Huntrix." Oh they looked so fancy in those new threads. Oh so innocent. And Rumi was all but raising an unimpressed brow at Jinu in the middle of it all as they bowed in perfect sinc. "It's a pleasure to have you and Mr. Bobby for have lunch with us."

"Please. The pleasure is ours." Bobby happily spoke with a bow that they mimicked. "I heard this place has great reviews and a beautiful view of the city." He spoke breaking the ice. "You have excellent taste in restaurants." 

"Please. You're too kind. Feel free to pick out whatever you or the Huntrix wants." Jinu placed a hand on his chest. "I'll be personally paying for everyone today."

"How generous of you!"

The four of them sat down in front of the boys and were handed menus for the food. The three girls kept eyeing the boys suspiciously and all kept sneaking glances at Bobby just to be on the safe side. It'll be best to also keep an eye on him just in case. Once the menus were taken and orders placed, the nine of them just sat there in awkward silence for a few seconds before Bobby cleared his throat.

"So. You had a collaboration idea huh?"

This time Abby bothered to smile, leaning back on his chair. "That's right. We thought maybe we could play into this 'shipping' idea our fans seem to like. At least on a professional level. They like us together so we should perform some songs together."

"Yes! I like that idea! What did you have in mind?"

"Romance is pretty popular this year around." He winked at Mira whoms eyelid twitched. "I'm sure love songs would be a hit."

Bobby nodded. "Oh. We did something like that for their first concert. Didn't we girls."

"Waning Love was our first hit." Mira spoke staring him down. "It's about the feeling of falling out of love. Y'know when you get tired of somebody. Or their stupid pranks-"

"But we could totally work something out for you guys!" Bobby smoked nervously at the look on their faces. "We can start meeting at the studios after the girls' Livestream interview!"

"We can schedule something later. I would like to now how to you enjoyed our gifts to you, Mr. Bobby?"

All at once the girls tensed up and Bobby lit up in realization. "That was you guys?!"

"We wanted to show our absolute respect for the manager for the Huntrix. After all any collaboration of theirs is also one of yours. We apologize if we didn't exactly tell you first hand. We were hoping to get your full consent for this."

"Oh my gosh. That's so nice of you guys! This is going to be the cross over of the century!' Bobby held up his hands. "I can already picture the signings and remixes! Oh! We can totally reboot Waning Love and add new lyrics for you to sing! Waning Love ft Saja Boys! What do you think girls??"

"Oh. I already have some lyrics in mind especially for them!" Zoey fake plastered a happy smile. "We can do a p.o.v with the boy who the girls fell out of love with!"

He snapped his fingers pointing at her. "I love this creative thinking! I can call the studios and get everything we need within a week-"

"Do it!" Bobby jumped as Rumi grabbed his shoulders with a large grin. "I can't wait to reboot Waning Love with them! Why don't you go make the call to the studio, Bobby? We wanna ask the Saja Boys some more questions about our big debut."

Bobby rose a brow looking carefully at each girl before looking at the Saja Boys as if questioning what would be the most appropriate thing to do in this situation when Romance shooed a hand at him.

"It's alright, Mr. Bobby. We wanted to talk with them a second anyways."

"Um. Ok." He slowly stood up. "I'm gonna go call for the arranged lightning-" he pointed at the trio. "-you three be nice. We don't need a restaurant fight on any gossip sites. Despite the saying there IS such a thing as bad publicity."

Mutters of reassurances were uttered as Bobby excused himself to go place the call, no sooner was he out of sight did the three of them snap around with glares at the boys just sitting there with smiles on their faces. 

"What do you think you're doing?!," Mira demanded immediately.

"What do you-?"

Mira's fist hit the table jiggling silverware silencing them as she pointed at them. "You know exactly what we're talking about! Don't pretend that we don't know your tricks!"

In a rare look of confusion, Abby tilted his head at her. "Tricks?"

"Don't play dumb!" Zoey added shooting her own accusing glare. "You've been bothering Bobby and scaring him into thinking he's got a stalker! So spill! What's your angle!? Are you trying to send a message!? Scare him into quitting!? Butter him up into becoming your manager!?" 

The boys were quiet, all five of them. Confusion riddled faces and glances between each other. Until someone eventually broke the silence. "Did we skip a step?"

"Skip a step?! So you DID plan this?!"

Mystery hummed uncomfortably scratching his cheek. "Well..yes. Maybe we should've had the bird be the messanger instead."

"Hey. Tiger can do just a good a job. Besides, he's too small. What if he got away with the wind or a cat got him?"

"I think we're getting off topic. Jinu." Rumi started him dead in the eyes. "What were you guys planning on doing exactly? I'm not quite understanding."

"You don't? Wait. Is this like that mix up where you asked me on a date but didn't know? Because it feels like this is what's happening with us asking you guys and you're not getting it."

"First of all! The 'date' on that card meant a date as in a time and place scheduled. Not a romantic thing. Secondly, quite beating around the bush and just tell us what's going on!"

"I just did."

"No you didn't! You just said-"

"We're asking you out." Jinu replied bluntly.

Silence was their only answer as they all stared at one another unblinking. "What?"

"Asking you out? Courting? Wanna go on a date? Whichever way you want to put it."

"What does any of this have to do with Bobby!?"

"It's customary for someone to someone to first ask permission from the girl's most important male figure." Jinu spoke as if it was obvious. "The gifts were all a part of the process. We each pitched in. The baskets were theirs-" He nodded to Romance and Abby to the left. "-and the others were their ideas. The meal was the last step and my gift."

Again there was silence as they gawked before Rumi face planted the table and Mira groaned loud enough for everyone to hear. "You couldn't just ask us out to the movies like normal people!?" 

"Oh?~ So you're saying yes to a date?"

"We didn't say that!" 

"YES!!"

Mira glared at Zoey. "Don't agree with them!"

"Wanna go to the movies, Mira?"

"I still didn't say yes!"

"You just did!"

"I said yes as in I was telling you that I didn't say yes! Not yes as in yes I'll go with you-"

"Yes, you'll go with us? Perfect!!"

"THIS IS WHY WE HAVE A NO DATING RIVALS POLICY!!"