Chapter Text
Did you know that a weapon crafted from the Honmoon's light could not kill a demon with a soul as it could any other?
A moment to explain before we find out how that question was answered. For a demon to have a soul, they have to have regained their humanity, or otherwise embraced humanity fully if they had not been human before. Those who simply stole souls could not keep them. The soul would eventually fade, either 'digested' or simply left behind, or would be drawn by the demonic rites into Gwi-Ma's flames. No, a demon could not force themselves to have a soul or try to substitute one from a human. They had to have truly freed themselves from what made them demons; abandon shame, reject cruelty, fight despair. Have courage and hope and love. Be selfless.
The soul had power. For a demon to have one was a power unlike any other. The will of humanity, the force of the supernatural. It's a potent combination. Only a hunter could match a demon with a soul.
Beom-seok is a demon. He once traded his own soul in an effort to save those he loved, and Gwi-Ma had twisted that deal as he always did, left Beom-seok another wretch in the underworld. But that was before. This is now. Beom-seok is a demon with a soul. He remembers explicitly when he gained his soul.
The hospital. Mi-yeong, resting on her bed, recovering from having their child. Celine and Hyuna and the Sister's mentor, Seul-gi, were gone for the night, giving Beom-seok the chance to sneak in. When he held little Ryu Rumi without his glamour, the baby not even a day old and impossibly small in the demon's arms, and swore on his life and a hundred other lifetimes that he would do anything to protect her and make sure she lived her life without fear or shame. And in that moment of selflessness, in that moment when Beom-seok truly chose humanity and his selfless wish to be everything Mi-yeong believed he could be, it came back to him.
His soul, warm and fulfilling, resonating in his very heart. The Honmoon rippled pleasantly, embracing him at last. Beom-seok couldn't begin to describe how it truly felt to have his own self again. Never again would he hear Gwi-Ma's voice. Now, he hears the pleasant whispers of life, true life, and the faint breaths of his precious daughter.
Mi-yeong had watched him regain his humanity with that small tired smile. Like she'd always known. She had gently held Beom-seok's hand as he whispered to her, tears falling from his eyes, telling her all the things he would do for Rumi. Fatherly things, things no demon had ever thought to think of. He wanted to help her learn to ride a bicycle, because honestly he liked bicycles and cycled everywhere whenever he didn't need to teleport. He wanted to have those silly little tea parties with her, because only little Ryu Rumi could have a demon wearing a flower crown and sip fake tea surrounded by dolls. He wanted to look any man, or woman, who even thought to try and take Ryu Rumi on a date quake before his amber eyes and see who had the spine to choose his daughter's happiness over their fear of him.
Mi-yeong's soft laughs, her indulgent whispers, every loving response to Beom-seok's rambles, made his soul sing. Little Rumi rested in his arms, then hers, never once squirming or whining. Such a tiny little thing. Small and wrinkly, the faintest trace of purple on her head. Beom-seok looked Mi-yeong in the eyes and promised her he would never leave Ryu Rumi alone. She would always have her father with her. And she had smiled that faint crooked smile that had made his heart stutter with or without a soul and thanked him.
Mi-yeong died three months later.
They never found out why. Sickness? Complications from childbirth? Simply a tired soul? Beom-seok's soul felt tired when he learned the truth, saw it in Hyuna's eyes, one of exactly three times he'd met the third Sunlight Sister. His soul had felt sick. She didn't blame him, oddly enough. She'd actually held Beom-seok when he broke apart and sobbed until his soul itself was wretching. She simply told him that Mi-yeong had made her promise to ensure Rumi's father kept his word. She told Beom-seok that, no matter what, he had lived and do well by his daughter. Even if he might not have Rumi himself, for Celine was her godmother, then he should still be in her life and do all he could to guide and protect her.
Hyuna left him only when the tears had dried and he vowed to uphold that promise, albeit warning him not to show his face until after Celine had gone through the five stages. She and Hyuna had loved Mi-yeong too, as much as Beom-seok had, maybe more. Beom-seok stayed in his office for a long time, curled up, heartbroken. He watches the funeral from afar, a public affair for that Sunlight Sister, so beloved, so inspiring, so scandalous in her refusal to ever confirm who fathered Ryu Rumi. He watches from afar when Seul-gi, Celine and Hyuna bury Mi-yeong under the tree in the hunter's sanctuary. Little Rumi was there, nestled snugly in a pram overlooking the grave, and Beom-seok was sorely tempted to go to his daughter, but he couldn't.
The Honmoon rippled in grief. Seul-gi holds her girls close as they cry. Rumi babbles in her pram, unaware of grief but perhaps distressed by it, that odd way babies seem to tell when peopl were upset. Beom-seok wanted to go to her. He wanted to hold his daughter close and hope the warmth of his soul could comfort her. He can't. At least Hyuna comforts her until they return inside, leaving the grave alone under the tree.
Beom-seok goes to her when he's sure the hunters aren't looking. He kneels before her grave. Simple text, simple form, honouring a life well lived and mourning a mother who'd never see her daughter grow. Beom-seok lets his glamour fall. He's learned to be who he really is, to never hide when it truly mattered and his soul must be bared to all. Mi-yeong taught him that. He claws the freshly dug earth as if briefly mad he could dig her back up and see her smile again, before pressing his dead to the dirt and sobbing. Beom-seok cries until there's no tears left, and all he can do is beg Mi-yeong's forgiveness and assure her, again and again, that he would uphold his promise.
Later, still knelt by Mi-yeong's grave, he hears an argument, raised voices, then sees Hyuna storming away from the estate. Celine ran after her, screaming herself hoarse, before giving up and staggering back, tears falling from her cheeks, Seul-gi there to catch her and hold her close. Beom-seok thought for a moment their mentor truly cared. Alas, only an hour later, Celine leaves, sobbing, holding Rumi tightly as Seul-gi's shouts thunder after her.
Later, he'd learn Hyuna moved away, still intent on singing and fighting demons while Celine took the burden of Rumi, but cutting the mantle of a Sunlight Sister from her life. He'd seen her again one day.
Which brings us at last to the question. How did Beom-seok know a weapon crafted from the Honmoon's light could not kill a demon with a soul as it could any other?
When he arrived on Celine's doorstep, several weeks after the death of Mi-yeong, after Hyuna had left the Sunlight Sisters in her anger and despair. A simple and lonely house, humble and modest, a place to learn how to raise a baby before they would go to the estate. When he gently explained to the tired and red-eyed woman who he was and why he was here. When he'd glimpsed a flash of light and then felt more than saw one of her blades embedded in his abdomen.
"Ow."
Any other demon would be reduced to ash, destroyed completely and their remains banished to the underworld. A demon with a soul? That kind of power did not fade easily. He remained, the resonance within him forcing the blade away, and it was fortunate that Celine was too shocked by the blue light in his chest to try stabbing somewhere more vital.
It hurt like HELL though. Beom-seok still has the scar, neat and tidy between his abdominal muscles and though the small of his back.
Beom-seok kept at least five feet between them for the rest of the conversation. Celine had been willing to hear him out, though only if he stayed outside and didn't even think to try and see little Rumi. Seeing a demon not combust instantly on her sword, seeing a demon with a soul, at least put enough curiosity in a grieving and resentful mind to let Beom-seok speak. She didn't seem too surprised at Mi-yeong having laid with a demon in itself, and when he asked why, Beom-seok flinched when she coldly hissed that poor little Rumi had patterns. Just one, a purple stripe on her shoulder, but enough to condemn her.
Rather, in Celine's eyes it condemned her. Her father had condemned her, and so in Celine's eyes Beom-seok was nothing more than another cancer to cut away. But Beom-seok, with more steel than he's ever mustered before in his life, stood his ground in defiance.
"It doesn't work like that, patterns themselves don't let Gwi-Ma in-"
"They let him in you, didn't they?"
"Don't phrase it like that. Gwi-Ma was in my head before because I was ashamed! Shame is what he feeds on, not the patterns themselves. Mi-yeong broke that shame and freed me, so I promised Rumi would never live in shame even if-"
"Then leave and spare her the shame of looking the man who killed her mother in the eye. Spare her the shame of having to live knowing Mi-yeong would still be here if it was anyone but you!"
"So you can keep her and make her live the shame of never being her mother in your eyes?! Make her live the shame of only being the patterns, the demon, not Mi-yeong's daughter, not even your daughter?!"
"Don't you dare-"
This conversation was not going well. Beom-seok had known Celine would never trust him- she had just stabbed him- and there was reason Mi-yeong had only confided the truth to Hyuna before her passing. But he had hoped maybe seeing his soul, maybe understanding what Mi-yeong had seen in him and what he promised for little Rumi, might at least make her willing to hear him out. But no. Here Beom-seok is, a horrible burning cut in his abdomen, shouting himself hoarse at a poor woman whose greatest love was dead and had no idea what to do with a baby fathered by a demon.
He must look awful, Beom-seok thinks. His glamour left somewhere during the argument, leaving him with the glowing amber eyes, the pallid bluish skin, jagged patterns, fangs, claws. A monster shrieking at Celine. She certainly think he looks awful, staring hatefully at Beom-seok, seething and trembling. The Honmoon ripples uneasily beneath them. Beom-seok takes a deep breath, raking his claws down his own face- the tears immediately knit themselves back together, another benefit to this soul, and the pain helps him to focus- and tries again.
"Celine, I promised. I won't leave Rumi without a father. Mi-yeong gave me my soul back, my life, and I would sooner live a thousand lives in Gwi-Ma's hell then break my promise to her. I'd take that sword and kill myself here and now before I even thought of leaving Rumi without her father."
Celine glowers at him, but there's something stricken in her eyes, something conflicted. Beom-seok suspects Mi-yeong had her promise something too. Would it be enough?
The moment passes and her expression is steel.
"No father is better than a father like you."
"Oh for fu-"
Both freeze when a cry rings out. They hear the baby crying. Beom-seok is struck by an instinct no demon has ever felt before. His soul thrums, resonating the urge to go to his little Rumi and comfort her. He steps forward without thinking, eyes wide as if he could look past Celine, through the house, and find little Rumi. But that glowing sword is back, pointing right at him, and Beom-seok's pain is fresh enough he freezes before Celine's vicious gaze.
"You will never come near her. Leave. NOW."
"She's my daughter. I literally helped make her!"
Celine laughs then, shockingly callous, a horrible nasty laugh that makes him flinch.
"Five seconds of disappointment, an hour of excuses, then nine months of watching Mi-yeong struggle is NOT helping."
Beom-seok stares at her for a moment. Rumi is still crying, and Celine is halfway turned, her unwillingness to put her back to him the only thing halting her from rushing to the baby. Then he laughs himself. It's actually sincere. Good-natured. Has that edge of 'touche' when one's been thoroughly put down but actually finds humour in it.
"Two minutes. She didn't make fun of me, but she said she'd kill me if I didn't improve. What's the point of laying a demon if he can't back it up?"
Celine stares at him, too flabbergasted to be outraged. Audacity seems to have stilled her anger. Rumi's cry rings out again, and she looks back, biting her lip. Celine's eyes go back to him, and Beom-seok thinks he has just one chance left.
"Celine. Please. She's my daughter. I have to make things right by her. I know you hate me, and you're right to, but I promised Mi-yeong I would make sure Rumi never lived in shame. I'd rip out my soul and put that sword through my heart myself if I let either of them down. I can live with you hating me, I can live with every last thing in this world thinking I'm a monster, but if you think I would ever live in breaking a promise to Mi-yeong, that I would ever live without making sure my daughter knows her father loves her, then you truly don't know what a soul entails."
Celine was still. Her sword still points at him, but the glow is dull. There's tears in her eyes and a pain streaked across her face. She looks back again as Rumi cries out. Beom-seok gazes at her, pleading, imploring, the damaged demon on her doorstep.
Finally, Celine's sword fades away and she takes a step back. Breathing heavily, she gives a mutter so low he has to strain to hear it.
"If it's a mess, you're changing her."
Beom-seok will take what he can get. Not even bothering with the glamour, he follows Celine inside. Five feet apart, of course. The nursey was hastily cobbled together, a spare room Celine had used for indoor gardening or something. Little Rumi is squirming in her coat, whining, shaking her little fists as best a four-month-old can. Celine has a bottle on hand, quickly checking its warmth before she moves and... and she pauses. Celine looks at Beom-seok, considering. He keeps his distance, trying to respect her boundaries, but clearly antsy to reach his child. A low breath, and she tilts her head. A silent affirmation.
"Thank you."
Beom-seok carefully steps forward and reaches for his daughter. Rumi's wrapped up snugly in a cocoon of blankets, making it easy to secure the legs and ease a hand behind her head. Beom-seok lifts his daughter into his arms with all the care and reverence of handling something sacred. He's spent these weeks studying every parental guide he can find, speaking to every parent in his company, watching every video and reference and dossier he can find. Support the neck. Mind the arms. Slight slant, keep them closer to upright. Hold by the chest, lean back slightly.
Rumi stops crying. She gurgles, almost sounding grumpy, but she's no longer shrieking as brown eyes vapidly glance around the room. She looks up on seeing an amber glint, peering into the eyes of a demon. The eyes of Beom-seok.
His soul hums with a resonance that quivers the Honmoon itself. Beom-seok marvels at the strange wonder of holding his daughter for the first time since Mi-yeong's death. Little Rumi, his little Rumi, Mi-yeong's treasure and soul, impossibly light and warm in his arms. Beom-seok's mind rings with the amazements of finally reuniting with his daughter. She smells oddly sweet. Celine must have give her a bath. Probably had a lot of bubbles, and honestly it feels like bubbles were made of tougher stuff than his baby. He's not thinking right. Too happy? Regretful, even, for making her wait even this long? Sweets and bubbles, like those sodas he likes and always has an extra pack under his desk.
Beom-seok weakly chuckles, staring with awe at the incomprehensible fortune of holding his own daughter again.
"She's... like a soda pop. Gods, she's a little soda pop."
Celine says nothing. She's still watching him, her other hand flexing. One wrong move and a sword goes through his head. But maybe Beom-seok caught the flicker of a smile? Carefully, he sits on the lone chair, never breaking eye contact with Rumi, and Celine holds the bottle to him. She seems surprised how well he handles the baby, carefully leaning her up and letting her drink. Rumi blinks a few times, peering at the bottle as if bemused, giving those cute little baby hums, and drinks vigorously. She looks back up to her father and stares into the amber gleam, not the least bit uncertain or afraid of a man who really should be a stranger. More than that, if she could know he wasn't even really human.
Something twists in Celine. Guilt? Disbelief? She can't tell. This is so much more than she ever expected. The demon who Mi-yeong had- The demon who had killed her. It must be him, it had to have been him. Something about their union poisoned Mi-yeong and rotted her from within. It had to be. Beom-seok had took her Mi-yeong from her, from everyone, and no soul could change that. That was the gist of what Seul-gi had said, boiling with disgust at the pattern on the baby's shoulder, moments before she declared that if Celine was keeping Rumi, then she could consider herself unwelcome from ever seeing her again.
The demon had destroyed everything the Sunlight Sisters had. Mi-yeong was dead. Hyuna was gone. Seul-gi had all but disowned her and turned her back on Rumi. And now Beom-seok had cursed his own child. He was a monster, and Celine didn't even have the spine now to cut him down and pay him back for all he's taken from her.
But his soul is glowing. The Honmoon ripples, caressing it. Could Celine honestly tell herself Beom-seok was responsible for Mi-yeong's death if the Honmoon did not expel him? Could she honestly call him a monster when he'd risked his own life before her blades, swore he would rot in the darkest depths, all to see his daughter? She'd seen it in his eyes. Not even a demon could lie so well.
Celine hates this. She hates how conflicted her mind is. She had really thought... had Celine and Hyuna not been enough? What had Beom-seok had that they didn't? But looking at Rumi, gazing at her father as if she'd never once doubted he would come- so much as you could figure a baby could think that- happily drinking her milk in his arms and not even squirming or whining as she did for Celine sometimes. Mi-yeong had always seen more than they had. Something in Beom-seok Celine couldn't fathom. It had paid off, hadn't it?
Kneeling beside the chair, gently reaching to caress the wispy purple hairs, Celine spoke softly, pointedly ignoring Beom-seok's gentle expression.
"The Honmoon chose her. We saw it, after Mi-yeong was buried. It reached to her soul and held her close. A hunter, like her mother, even with a pattern. Seul-gi wouldn't believe it. Hyuna tried to convince her, but... we had nothing else. I had to take her. I, I don't think Seul-gi would have ever... but she wouldn't have let us keep her. I promised Mi-yeong I would protect what she left behind. I couldn't leave Rumi."
Beom-seok is gazing at her, soft and understanding. She can't meet his gaze Celine hates that she's crying again, crying in front of a demon. She hates he would even sympathise with her, understand her, when she'd almost killed him. But Beom-seok says and does nothing to make light of her pain. He just feeds his daughter, looks into the tiny brown eyes that stare at him. Something's working in his mind, going through her words. Celine wipes the tears away with one hand, finding comfort in the soft brushes of Rumi's hair, the sweet smell of the innocent baby. A low breath before Beom-seok replies.
"Celine. I can't ever thank you enough."
She blinks, bewildered. Had she heard that right? Celine still sees the wound in his abdomen.
"What?"
Rumi huffs, spitting out some milk. Beom-seok sets the bottle aside and hefts the baby upright, one hand around the front while the other starts carefully patting her back. As Rumi stares blankly with that befuddled look only babies could do, Beom-seok returns his attention to Celine and speaks slowly, every word heartfelt.
"For choosing her. For choosing Mi-yeong. Whatever you thought I was, whatever you thought Rumi could be, you still chose her. You promised to take care of her, even if it meant standing up to Seul-gi, even if it meant going against everything you were taught. I am indebted to you for that. And I promise you, Celine, you won't be alone in this. I made promises too. Rumi won't ever live in shame. I won't ever let her believe even for a minute her father does not love her."
Rumi burps.
Beom-seok chuckles, and Celine can't help but laugh too. Levity was appreciable. Patting her again, making sure all the air was up, Beom-seok gently rests his daughter in the crook of his arm before, tentatively, holding a hand to Celine. She stares at the pallid bluish skin, the claws, and something tenses in her as she observes the jagged patterns around his wrist. But then, carefully, she places her hand in his and looks at Beom-seok, eyes wet with tears but sharp and prepared. Beom-seok smiles softly, no fangs, kind and assuring.
"You won't be alone, Celine. Whatever you think of me, however much you can hate me, just know I love Rumi. I loved Mi-yeong more than my own soul, and I will never stop doing all I can to protect Rumi. If the Honmoon has chosen her, so be it. I'll help any way I can, teach her all I know, make sure she lives for herself and not just what this duty expects. I'll love her as Mi-yeong would. Can you trust me to be her father, Celine?"
Celine is quiet for a while. She stares at him, then at Rumi, blinking against another flicker of tears. Beom-seok knows the feeling. He lets her think to herself as he holds Rumi, humming a tune Mi-yeong had always loved as the baby babbles quietly and waves her little arms around.
Finally, Celine squeezes Beom-seok's hand. She looks into the amber glow she's spent so much of her life loathing.
"Okay. I'll let her keep you."
His smile is bright. Like Mi-yeong's was. Are those tears in his eyes too? Celine breathes deeply and cuts off whatever response he has, speaking firmly.
"But I need time, Beom-seok. Time to... time to try and be her mother, as much as I can. To really understand this- what you- mean to Mi-yeong, the Honmoon, everything. Whatever details you have, wherever you've been, wherever you work, get them to me as soon as you can. We'll work something out. I can't... I can't truly trust you, however much she likes you. But I'll try."
"That's all I can ask. Thank you."
He squeezes her hand back. Rumi babbles again, and there's no mistaking the dimpling little smile on her face. Celine presses a kiss to her forehead. Beom-seok hugs his daughter tighter.
Hunter and demon, united in their love's memory, promising a future without shame, a future where a daughter would always know her father loved her.