Archive of Our Own ^beta

Zoey came back into the apartment she shared with Rumi and Mira. She was humming a catchy melody, "It's okay to be unreliable / The hand belongs to myself." She chuckled happily to herself and dancing around. She didn't notice Rumi and Mira there at first, until she looked over and saw them. She almost jumped back in shock. They were supposed to be somewhere else! They weren't supposed to be there!

"Uh, Zo, what are you humming and dancing to?" Mira asked. Rumi was wondering the same thing. Zoey huffed, then declared, "It's nothing! Mind your own business!" She extended her two middle fingers toward them and walked away. Mira was offended. Zoey slammed the bedroom door in her face, infuriating her even more. "You get back here and apologize!" she shouted. Rumi laughed at how silly it was. Maybe Zoey was playing around or something? She didn't know. Neither of them knew what was really going on. Back in her room, Zoey's face was completely flushed. She couldn't believe herself. Why had she done that? What was she doing?

Some time later, Zoey opened her door and came out to the fridge to get something to eat. Mira had gone back to her room. Rumi was sitting on the couch. "Zo, what was all about earlier?" She jumped back, caught off guard once again, and stumbled over her words. She didn't want to make the same mistake again. She couldn't let it get to her. She couldn't ruin their friendship. She came up with a seemingly valid excuse.

"It's nothing...I'm just...uh...tired...that's all." Rumi laughed. She didn't accept that. Even so, teasing her wouldn't be right. She was her number one fan. She was a dedicated friend to this dear rapper. As such, she was willing to let it slide, for now. "Okay, okay. Well, good night!" Zoey was surprised. Rumi seemed to accept her reasoning so easily. She happily smiled. She returned to her room and closed the door without incident.

After she scanned the area to make sure the coast was clear, Rumi knocked on Mira's door. She opened it, unsure who it could be. Rumi was standing right in front of the door. Coming close, she whispered to her friend. "Something is up with Zoey." Mira threw up her hands as she led her friend inside and shut the door behind her. She couldn't agree more. "There certainly is!" Rumi proposed something that she never would have expected. Something she never thought her friend would put forward. After all, Zoey was usually the most open and genuine of all three of them. "We need to follow her tomorrow," her friend proposed, matter-of-factly.

Mira was taken aback. Did she really want to spy on their closest friend? What if it created a schism and broke up Huntrix? While Rumi lying to Zoey and Mira had opened up a wound, it had been healed. What if that opened again? What if…? She shook her head. "I'm not so sure, Rumi. If we get on her bad side, it could mean the end of Huntrix…" Rumi knew that Mira had a valid point. She couldn't argue with her logic. She always seemed to be reasonable. Much more than her. "Okay, Mira. We'll do it your way. We'll ask her tomorrow morning, straight up." This seemed fine. Everything was set.

When the next morning came, Zoey came out of her room, like she always did. There was one thing she didn't expect to see: Mira and Rumi were sitting at the table. It was almost like they were waiting for her to arrive. On the surface, some saw her as oblivious, clumsy, cutesy, or something along those lines. In reality, she was far more observant than most people. She even had the ability to sense change. Mira and Rumi knew that about her. They knew she could read anyone like a book with just one look. She was a little restless, and wary, at the same time.

As she ate her breakfast bibimbap, Mira came up to her. She sat next to her. She turned her head, then spoke to her softly, and confidently. "Is there something you'd like to tell us? Are you overworking again...and stressed out?" Zoey shook her head. It wasn't that at all. Could she really tell them this? Could she tell them the truth? Or would they judge her? She was, at her core, insecure. The quack doctor had made that clear all that time ago. She knew he was right, although she had denied it. She remained grateful that the girls accepted her for who she was.

"I'm fine, Mir. It's just...there's something...I want tell you...and Rumi…" They were all ears. Even Rumi was curious. No ringing of a phone broke their concentration, nothing like that. They were hanging on Zoey's every word. She sheepishly chuckled. This wasn't like what she would usually do. "I...uh...met someone...this person really changed my life." Now, Mira was even more curious. Had Zoey begun dating or something? After their whole encounter with the demon boy band, she had vowed to be done with love and romance forever. They all made the same vow.

"What's he like?" Rumi said. After hearing this, Mira shook her head. How could she be so narrow-minded? Why was she assuming that Zoey was with a boy? That was a faulty assumption for so many reasons. Perhaps society's values had been imprinted on her more than she'd like to admit. Before she could interject, Zoey shrugged. "This person isn't...a boy...exactly." Rumi wasn't sure what that meant. Mira decided to interject before Rumi had any more wrong ideas. She hoped that she helped. "Zo is saying it's a girl." Rumi's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that. She stayed silent and let her friend explain it all.

"Mira's right...it's a girl...well...a young woman to be exact." Twirling her hair, she admitted, "I was going to introduce you to her but...I thought you might judge me for it...I didn't want to cause any issues for both of you." Rumi didn't know what the problem was. Why would they judge her? What was the issue? Why was she being so guarded about this? She had to reassure here that it was okay. She had to be there for her. "Why would we do that, Zo?...I mean you can date whoever you want…" Mira then added, "and we'll support you no matter what...that's who we are." Zoey smiled and hugged them both. "Thanks."

She pulled out her phone. She began furiously tapping away. She typed in the search engine "Togenashi Togeari" and tabbed over to the video feature. A certain song started playing. The beat was catchy and filled with emotion. The music was fast-paced. It slapped. Even so, it seemed a bit odd to them: the lyrics were not in Korean. There were in Japanese! What in the world? They did not expect that.

"Uh, Zo, what is this…? It isn't Korean...it's in...uh...another language." Mira shook her head. She knew what Rumi was trying to say. However, she wasn't saying it well. Her expressions could lead to further issues. "It's Japanese...what does this have to do with that...young woman who changed your life you mentioned earlier?" Zoey was almost proud of herself now. She almost felt like showing off. She giggled softly, shaking with laughter, rather than with desperation, or anything else. "Oh, she's the main vocalist in this band...and well, she's my girlfriend, you know...so, I could recognize her voice anywhere...even in a massive crowd." Rumi hugged Zoey and exclaimed, "you bagged such a good woman...to be dating another musician...that's wonderful."

Mira was worried. Where had Rumi heard of these phrases? What was happening? Was something going wrong? Was this a wrong world? "Hey don't say it like that, Rumi...so, uh Zo, do Celine or Bobby know about this?...if the fans knew you were dating a Japanese girl...it could be...bad." She waved her hands, almost like she was brushing it away. Mira was right to be concerned. Even so, this wasn't a big deal, right? She had been very careful. No one would know. She'd seen what had happened to other young popstars in Korea. She did not want what that to happen to her. She wouldn't let it.

Zoey, whose eyes were illuminated by the room's ambient lighting, became even more animated. She somehow pushed down her embarrassment. She wasn't sure how she is doing this, so effectively, as she could very easily turn as red as a ripe tomato. "Well...she's giving me so many ideas for our new album, you know." Rumi knew that Zoey had probably only learned about this girl by surfing the internet. She often searched online for staff and was a member of multiple fan communities under a pseudonym. She wanted to learn what fans thought about Huntrix and their in-jokes. She eagerly awaited action. She was the "sunshine" within their group. They appreciated that about her.

"Can we meet her?" Mira asked, trying to brush away how Rumi described with another woman. That would be another conversation for another day. She couldn't let her say those sorts of things openly. Staring at them with a huge, wide smile and innocent eyes, she chirped happily. Although she did not know how her girlfriend would respond, she guessed it would be fine. She sheepishly laughed. "Sure, sure. Oh, you will all love her...although she can be intense at times." She tapped in her phone. She sent a text to a woman she had named 'Rock Lady' in her contacts.

"Hey, sweetie. My friends wanna meet you. Is now a good time?" She knew that her girlfriend could be awkward and had been through a lot. She had tried her best to not pry into her personal life. Unlike some other people, she could be tactile and did not mind touching her. However, due to the fact they lived in different countries, their relationship was mostly a long-distance one. She hoped one day to convince her to come to Korea. For now, she took it one day at a time.

"Okay," her girlfriend typed back. Without warning, her phone buzzed. Her girlfriend was sending her a video call! This was unusual. At the same time, she knew how much her girlfriend adored her, and even Huntrix as a whole. Even so, she didn't like to admit it because she enjoyed rock music more than almost anything else. Zoey tapped a button. Her girlfriend's face appeared on screen. Her partner was polite and nice, using what her parents taught her, although there was still a lot of tension between her and her parents. "Hi, I'm Nina," she said, in Japanese. The words were translated at the bottom of the video into Korean. She had to stop herself from fangirling.

"Where'd you meet Zoey?" Rumi asked. The Japanese girl was a bit nervous. She didn't want to expose herself too much. Her face started to become reddened. "Uh, well, on social media." Again, her words were translated into Korean. Zoey, squealing with excitement, happily shared the rest. "You know how creative and lovely I am. One day, I was so impressed when I saw her video shared on social media. After that, I sent her a DM." Nina almost rolled her eyes. She breathed deeply. She didn't like explaining this. Since her girlfriend had started telling the story, she had to finish it. "That's where it all began, you know."

Zoey was proud of herself and became more and more excited. She certainly should be. She was an accomplished lyricist and a musician whose authenticity and emotions always shinned through. She had a wide smile. It only became wider. Seeing Nina gave her more energy, in a certain way. She felt a connection with her that she had with no one else. At first she had been cautious. It took time before they became romantically close. If only they could meet in person.

Nina sighed. She wanted to talk longer but she felt that such a privilege wasn't possible. She decided to end their call. "I'm sorry, Z-Star, I have to go. I'd really, really like to talk more but I have a show tomorrow and need to get ready before it gets too late." Although she wasn't telling them about it, she had crushed on one of her band members, and had been turned down. Zoey knew about it. She tried to comfort her every time she brought up that woman. She wanted to be there for her when she needed it. She always told her to be honest with herself. She reminded Nina that she'd always accept her, any version of her. They were a curious pair. One was eager to please, with a certain lightness, who brought a light to every performance of Huntrix. The other was a free-spirited girl who could do what she wanted. The two women couldn't be more different.

"Okay, Nina-chan. Hope you have a good show! Talk to you later. Love you!" The phone call ended. Mira and Rumi weren't sure what to make of her. It had been such a short call. They didn't know what to think. After she put down her phone proudly and placed it in her pocket, she turned toward them.

"So, what did you think? What do you think of Nina-chan?" she chirped immediately, her feelings aflutter. Her friends weren't sure what to tell her. Should they be honest or… should they make something up? Without warning, Mira decided to respond first. She came up with what she was going to say on the spot. "Uh, she's nice." How could you make an assessment of someone in such a short call like that? She hoped that Zoey wasn't getting into something bad. She hoped they had at least met in person a few times and not communicated over text the entire time.

Rumi shrugged. "I...don't know...I think it's great you are with her and all...but I don't get a sense of who she is or anything." After Rumi's comment, Zoey almost began to cry. She had often, and quietly feared, that she hadn't been "Korean enough" to be part of Huntrix. As a result, she compensated for this by being eager-to-please and high energy. She aimed to become, and remain, irreplaceable, even if she wasn't fully aware of these dynamics herself. She knew that Rumi had a point. She took a deep breath and sighed. "If you could see her in person...you'd know what I know about her..."

Her thought was cut off by her phone. It dinged. It was a text from Nina. This was something she hadn't expected. All it said was: "There's a show at 88 Lawn Yard tomorrow. You should go!" Zoey found this a little odd. Nina had never told her about a show in Seoul. She knew the venue very well. It was across town from Namsan Tower, the place where the infamous concert held by the Saja Boys had taken place. Mira and Zoey had been almost mind controlled, along with many others, and become enslaved to Gwi-Ma, as part of his invasion. Rumi had saved them. The outdoor venue was great for concerts during the warmer months. It had some standing sections and there were places to picnic.

The lawn had a lot of places for those who sold merch, drinks, food, and photos. It was a chill way to watch music, had good vibes, and it could even be used to livestream concerts. You could enjoy concerts there without having to go to big concert spaces. This was part of the reason it was so popular. Rumi, Zoey, and Mira had gone there in the past, but had never hosted any events there. Perhaps sometime in the future they could.

"Is...it a band I know?" she asked innocently in a text. Nina remained a bit cagey, only saying, "it will certainly be...just be there, for me, please?" Zoey couldn't say no when she asked it like that. She wanted to be nice, friendly, bubbly, and please her girlfriend. Everything could be fine and dandy. Since she was the "idea girl" of Huntrix, perhaps she could get some inspiration for their new album from the concert. That would make it all worth it. "Okay, I'll be there!" she shot back in a text. Nina replied with a smiley face. She kinda hated these weird emojis. Even so, she knew Zoey liked them.

Zoey put down her phone. Rumi and Mira were looking at her. They were puzzled. Why had she stopped speaking mid-sentence? Was it something important? They didn't know. "Zo, who was that?," Mira asked, clearly concerned. She responded almost instantaneously. "Just Nina. There's a concert tomorrow at 88 Lawn Yard." Rumi, without any prompting, added, "Maybe her band is coming to Korea."

Mira and Zoey looked at her and almost laughed. That seemed too absurd. It couldn't be right. She wouldn't do something like that, right? That seemed too far out there to be a possibility, at least to them. Nina always made excuses to stay in Japan. "Oh, Rumi, you don't know women...she is a real rebel...that would be too predictable." Mira would know. She pushed boundaries, serving as the band's lifeblood, and had a rebel spirit of her own. Zoey didn't say anything in response, apart from nodding along with what Mira said, supporting her.

Rumi pushed the thought out of her mind. She couldn't be right. Perhaps they had a point. "Okay, Mira, I suppose you are right." She came in and put her hand on her friend’s backs. "Let's all go." Zoey raised her arm happily. "Yeah! For the Honmoon!" "For the fans!" Mira exclaimed. They all danced around, excited for the next day, excited to find out who this mystery guest might be.

Through the night, Zoey muddled over what she was going to wear to the event. She decided on something casual. She wanted to partially disguise herself from fans, but also not wear something too fancy. Mira dressed similarly, as did Rumi. Each one of them had a unique outfit. Rumi no longer wanted to cover herself up. Even so, she knew that in this case, if she wore no sleeves, it could reveal her true identity. So, she chose an outfit with patterned, see-through, long-sleeved shirt, although without a sexy dress to go along with it. That would be for another time.

The next day could not come soon enough. Luckily it was a warm summer breeze, a nice day. Zoey learned that the concert was set to take place in mid-day. She, Rumi, nor Mira could find out any information about who was playing. All they knew was that the band was called "TT." Nothing more. As they sat down in the yard, chowing on their ramyeon, and a load of other comfort food, the stage lights flickered on. A fog obscured the musicians as they walked onto the stage, one by one. Zoey heard one voice echo and say loudly: "Hey Seoul! Great to be here. We are TT!"

As the smoke cleared, she heard five voices from five girls. All wore disguises of different kinds. One was the vocalist. Another was the guitarist. One was on drums. Two others were on keyboard and bass. The vocalist spoke first. "We have a special song we'd like to share with you today. It's from my favorite band ever, Huntrix." The music began to swell. Each one of them played their respective parts. The woman began to belt out the words. Her command language impressed Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. They'd never heard anything like it. To Zoey, something sounded familiar to her ears. She couldn't quite place it.

The vocalist was loud, honest, and had a flame in her eyes which never went out. She stepped forward, beginning the first verse. Her voice seemed to fit it so well. She even changed the lyrics a bit:

Nothing but the truth now /

Nothing but the proof of what I am /

The worst of what I came from, my past I'm ashamed of /

She sung the rest, her voice booming. Her words poured out, as she sang the lyrics about how there were things she didn't understand, how she tried to fix and fight herself, how her head became twisted, how her heart became divided, and how her lies were coming together. She wondered aloud about why she didn't trust those close to her to be there for her. The next part was same as in the original. She sang about how she was broken, how she saw saw beauty in those cracks, her scars, and that her voice was without any lies. She said that she should be truthful to herself. At that point, some other band members joined in:

We're shattering the silence, we're rising defiant /

Shouting in the quiet, you're not alone /

We listened to the demons, we let them get between us /

But none of us are out here on our own /

They sang that they were not cowards, but were liars, and survivors, instead. The girl's voices harmonized. They were tired but would by each other's side. Unlike in Huntrix did in the first performance of this song, they did not hug on stage. In place of that, they played once more. The vocalist sang the first verse again, this time with two other band members. They moved to the bridge. They were clearly enjoying themselves. The vocalist's range was strong as Rumi.

She sang the last verse, aiming it one person in particular, a person she thought, and hoped, had come there. She added one line that she came up with on her own. She voice belted out this passionate solo:

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like /

Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like /

Truth after all this time, my playful maknae alight /

The light of my life, for this I made a graceful flight /

When darkness meets the light, this is what it sounds like /

People were cheering. Zoey knew full well that maknae was a Korean word meaning the younger sister, the baby of a music group. Fans and journalists had used that word. She could think of only one other person who would use the same. It couldn't be her, right? That wouldn't make sense. She couldn't have come. She was deluding herself. Zoey, Rumi, and Mira soon left the concert's grounds and started walking back to Huntrix tower. They could unwind for the rest of the day. As their song came to a close, the vocalist told her band she had a special trip to make. They didn't mind this. It had been pre-arranged. The vocalist rushed into a bathroom stall and quickly changed. Before she knew it, Zoey saw a familiar face in front of her. "Z-Star!" the woman cried out. Zoey was flabbergasted. Was it really her? Was she dreaming? She rubbed her eyes.

"Nina-chan? You are here? How? Why?" Without any hesitation, she kissed Zoey on the cheek, resulting in her face turning beet-red. She hadn't expected this. She knew how to surprise people. This was something she had not guessed anything like this would happen. She was still in a state of shock. Her friends looked at her and chuckled. They clearly loved one another. "Yeah, I'm here, Z-Star. I flew in on a red-eye last night. I sung that song for you, my cute maknae." Zoey was completely embarrassed. She had come to Korea just for her? Really? Didn't she have a career in Japan? Rumi would have gloated, but she decided to push those feelings aside. She said something else instead.

"Okay, you two lovebirds," she began, trying to keep them together without any distractions, "let's go back to...the Tower." Nina agreed. The four girls made their way back to the tower, where they could relax together in their lush penthouse apartment. Nina was internally screaming. She had not been, admittedly, a big fan of Huntrix at first. After she listened to their music, understanding everything that went into it, her opinion changed. She didn't like to admit it in front of her other band members. So, she had come up with all sorts of reasons to travel to Korea and play "What It Sounds Like." Somehow she had succeeded.

The other band members had traveled back to Japan. They had no interest in paling around Korea. They weren't aware that Nina had a girlfriend. Momoka suspected something but had no solid proof. Nina was there alone with Zoey, Rumi, and Mira. She was a bit nervous. She had never seen them in person. She'd only seen them in videos and photos. Part of her felt like she was intruding too much and that she should leave. Those thoughts faded away when her girlfriend sensed her internal dilemma. Recently, she'd gotten better at understanding her friend's emotions, and those of others. She came close to Nina.

She whispered in her ear. "Are you okay? Would a kiss help?" She said this innocently, like it was normal conversation they would have every day. The last thing she wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable. Her girlfriend responded back  softly, and quietly, "Z-Star, I'm better now that I;m here with you. A kiss later...would be nice." A blush began on her cheeks, making her look like some teen who had been complimented on their superb science fair project. Rumi looked at them both. She smiled. She expressed how she felt about them, in a supportive way. "Aw, you both are so cute."

They looked at her like she had said the wrong thing, like she had deeply offended each one of them in different ways. In fact, they were just embarrassed. As the group left the elevator and walked toward the door of the penthouse apartment, Zoey and Nina said in unison, "no, we aren't cute!" They held up their middle fingers in a show of defiance. Mira could only shake her head. Someone must have never told them. Or maybe someone gave them the wrong information. "I'll...talk to you both later about what that gesture...means." As they got inside, Zoey became even more bubbly, once again.

"Hey, let's hang loose on the couch! And have some wonderful strawberry bingsu." Only a few seconds afterward, Mira started shouting. "Couch! couch! couch!" Zoey soon joined in. She began shouting the same words. Nina had no idea what was going on. Rumi had to clue her in. "Don't mind them. They just like relaxing...I like more..." Nina added in, "rebellion." Rumi nodded. Nina knew some Korean words, enough to converse, but not enough to carry on a full conversation. She was lucky that Rumi, Mira, and Zoey could speak English, because she had become more fluent.

Unlike usual, she was a bit exhausted, She stretched her arms over her head. Her hands didn't hurt but she wanted to loosen up just like Zoey and Mira. She liked to keep going all the time. That was who she was. Perhaps that is part of what drew her to Zoey or maybe it even brought them together. There were a bit of an unlikely pairing. They certainly acted differently when they were with each other, than if they were walking around Seoul on a date. 

She was tired. She wanted to curl up and sleep in a warm bed. Her heart wasn't rattling, nor was she agitated. Instead, she was excited to be there. To everyone's bewilderment, she said, "Z-Star, can I join you on the couch?" Her girlfriend looked at up with her. She had not expected to hear this from her. She wanted to unwind with her? Side by side? Zoey smiled happily, without any nervous chuckling or stress.

There was no obsessive cleaning or organizing of things. Instead, her wide eyes stared at her. She began to let down her hair. She responded excitedly. "Sure, you can join me and Mira." She stopped for a second, then added, "Rumi, get her a bathrobe and slippers." Nina looked at her like she was losing her mind. She stared at her like it was a betrayal. Zoey gave her a thumbs up and cooed, "can you please do it for me, Ni?...I'll do something for you later."

Nina folded like a house of cards. She wanted to make Z-Star happy. Who wouldn't? She had been originally drawn to Zoey's effortless rap, which she watched long before Zoey ever contacted her that fateful day. After they began talking she was soon drawn to more her being, whether her laughter, her voice, her humor, and everything about her. At this point, she couldn't live without her. "Okay, Z-Star."

Some time later, in no time at all, she came out dressed in a white bathrobe and slippers. Her face was entirely red. She felt uncomfortable. She would rather wear some punky outfit than this. She was willing to humor her, this time. "I don’t know about this Z-Star...I don't…" she started to say. Zoey burst out laughing. She snapped a photo with her phone and clapped excitedly. She loved teasing her.

"It's okay, Ni...I know this isn't really your thing...I'm going fulfill my promise from earlier." Nina was not prepared. She felt herself pulled closer to her girlfriend. She was face-to-face with Zoey. The rapper had pulled her in. Her soft, warm lips soon pressed against her own. Her face felt hot. Although the kiss soon ended, her head kept spinning. They both held each other's hands tightly, and tenderly. Neither one wanted to squirm away.

"What a surprise for a wild dog, a hurricane, to look like this...to be…" Nina interjected in her usual fashion. She snarled at Mira. "Tamed? Is that what you were going to say?" The girl almost recoiled back at this abrupt change in Nina's demeanor. Zoey was able to calm her down. Mira couldn't understand why they were together, or even the dynamic between them. Rumi easily dispersed this tension. She walked over toward the couch, with the strawberry bingsu, kimbap, and bubble tea in her hand. She placed the food on the couch between the girls.

"Mira," Rumi began, "don't tease Nina-chan. She's our guest." Rolling her eyes, Mira sighed. "Fine, Rumi. You are right." Nina was starting to pick up on realize the dynamics between them. She laughed heartily and shook her head. "You know, I'm not some delicate flower. Some say I destroy everyone and everything but... I can handle a relationship just like anyone else," she said, while pouting.

Mira put up her hands in an almost surrender. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary friction. She'd given up. They almost laughed about it. The atmosphere soon became much calmer. As they loosened up, they began chattering about their different musical styles. Nina said that they could just call her by her first name. They didn't need to use "chan" after it. Mira decided to tell them both the truth behind that hand gesture. "Just curious, Zo and Nina...do you know what raising a middle finger means?" Zoey shrugged. She'd defer to Nina. She decided to boast about it, like she knew what she was talking about.

"Oh, it means you are thanking someone for something...and uh showing your defiance? My friend Momoka, from that cool band, Diamond Dust, showed it to me. Their songs helped me get through some difficult times in my life...and Huntrix's music helped me even more. I listen to it every day." Mira couldn't help but laugh. Nina had it partially right, but wasn't telling the whole truth.

"It means you want someone to fuck off, to screw off…" Nina didn't mind that. Zoey was horrified. She'd already struggled after she began swearing more after spending time with Nina, often virtually, from their texting back and forth, and phone conversations. She'd slipped up a couple of times before, making Bobby, Mira, and Rumi a bit nervous. She had always come up with an excuse for why she used those words, saying she would do better.

"Ni...if I had known, I..." Zoey began. Nina tilted her head toward her girlfriend. She glared at her and grinning. While their relationship was tumultuous at first, this faded. She realized that Zoey respected her and saw her as a complete person despite the pain and frustration from the differences between them. "You would have what?" Nina asked, almost in an accusatory tone, like she knew what her girlfriend was going to say. She was so loud that Rumi and Mira turned to look at her. The strength and sound of her voice even shook her as it echoed across the apartment.

Zoey tried her best to lower the temperature. She didn't want any tension between them. She had worked hard to make sure that this relationship stayed together. She wanted to please her girlfriend while remaining honest at the same time. "I would have done it more! If I'd only raised my middle finger at those damn Saja Boys for disrespecting our girl and used it so many other times. So many frustrating people I have to deal with. I'd like to see them fuck off." Nina looked at her with utter astonishment. She had never thought she'd hear her partner say this. She knew that Zoey could be a rapper with a lot of fire, but she'd never seen that part of her until now. Mira was taken aback. In contrast, Rumi exclaimed, "you go girl!" She proceeded to raise her middle fingers too. Zoey and Nina soon joined her.

Mira shook her head. She was willing to indulge them for now. She had to make sure they only did this in the right places. "Okay, fine, Zo...you have a point...can we please not do this on stage?...the fans won't like that very much." Rumi and Zoey nodded. They continued to share their band experiences. Nina told them some wild stories of how she had swung a lamp at someone and recounted that she had been bullied in high school. She said that she still had tense relationship with her father. At one point, without any prompting, Rumi remarked, "it's not like I can put my middle fingers up and cause a demon to disappear...I mean, that's not gonna strengthen the Honmoon.”

Zoey and Mira looked at her liked she had made a mistake. At that moment, Rumi realized she had messed up. She wasn't supposed to reveal they were demon hunters. Not even Bobby knew about their true identities. Despite their rift with Celine, she'd said nothing to him about it. They had come up with excuses so far. One day they might tell him the truth. "What’s the Honmoon?" Nina asked. Mira put her hand over Rumi's mouth to stop her from saying something. What she didn't count on was Zoey saying something. She thought that she was on the same page.

"It's a barrier protecting the demon underworld from the humans on the surface." She took a deep breath. "And we are all demon hunters." Nina looked at her like she had a thousand heads. Was she telling the truth? Or was this some elaborate prank? She wasn't sure. She didn't have a chance to discern the truth when, out of nothing, Zoey summoned her weapon, her shin-kal. It was at that moment she knew it was real. Her girlfriend wasn't fooling her.

Nina wasn't sure what to say. There were actual demons? And her girlfriend fought them...and was a pop star? She leaned totally into it. She saw no reason to doubt her. After all, it made her even more badass than she thought she was. She started to like her even more. "Well, I'd just smash them with my electric guitar, you know?" Zoey shrugged. "I guess? I've only used these..." They had a good laugh about it. Mira, Zoey, and Rumi then revealed to her about the demon world and what happened with a demon boy band. Nina cursed out the Saja Boys and everything they had done, calling them "evil bastards."

An ache in her chest, feeling especially for Rumi, Nina asked, "was there no other way? Did Jinu really have to die? Did you have to suffer through being half-demon until you ended up hurting yourself...and hating yourself? Couldn't you have…" Rumi shook her head. She didn't like talking about this all that much. Even so, going to therapy, and helped by Mira and Zoey every day had helped. She could converse about it more than than she had in the past. "I mean...I thought Celine was helping me out...that everything would be solved...that I never needed to tell my friends...but I was wrong."

Nina nodded. She could understand what Rumi was going through, on a certain level. She had been through a lot of hurt, and trauma, in her own life. Sometimes she had confronted it in a healthy way. Other times she had not. Mira and Zoey hugged Rumi. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Nina didn't know what to say. She only uttered a few words: "I'm sorry you went through that." Rumi, her cheeks still wet from her tears, replied. "Thank you."

For the Japanese girl, the atmosphere became a bit awkward. She wasn't always good with expressing these sorts of emotions. Once it seemed that everything had calmed down, with everyone eating their snacks, she blurted out, "Z-Star, I like your voice so much. The way you sing, there's something I want...something I need...I feel proud that my girlfriend is so talented." Zoey almost spit out her food. Her face had turned as red as a velvet pillow.

Munching on her food, she said, between her bites, as the flush in her face faded, "never change anything about yourself, Ni...we don't see the world the same...I always appreciate how honest you are." Nina hadn't expected she'd say that. She knew that Zoey was skilled at saying the right words at the right moments. After all, she was the one with all the ideas behind Huntrix's songs, the one who knew how to surprise another person. With her girlfriend smiling brightly, it grew into something soft and sincere, in the truest way. It almost felt like the world would have collapsed around them, as Zoey stared into her blue eyes.

She could barely concentrate on anything, except the Korean-American girl looking right at her. She smirked, like the self-righteous idiot, as some of her band mates called her, she was. Her face lit up happily. At first they had begun as friends, gotten on each others nerves. It had developed, over time, into a romance, as they connected on a deep level. Although they'd never admit to anyone, but each other, they saw each other as cute. How couldn't they?

"I guess I am honest, Z-Star...that is only because you are so damn amazing, organized, and care about others even more than yourself. That's only some of the reasons I'm glad you accept me for everything I am, even through all the faults." Zoey smiled. She was glad Nina was there. She leaned in and gave her girlfriend a few pecks on the cheek, causing her to blush once more. She said in a soft voice, "you know I love you so much." Nina could only reply back, "I do too." Rumi saw this as cute. Mira was still getting used to this dynamic between them. As the night wore on, they kept talking with one another.

They had more in common than they expected, more than they had ever guessed, despite living in different places with history wrapped up in colonialism and exploitation. Surely, Zoey was perfectionist who drank black coffee. She could spend hours scrolling on her phone while lying on her bed. Nina wasn't like that. She was a bit of a wild girl. Zoey had not "tamed" her. Instead, she had shown her what it meant to be loved. For someone who had been through so much in her life, this mattered. She had to constantly remind her that she didn't have to be perfect around her, she didn't have to satisfy her, and she didn't have to always satisfy people.

Nina gave her the support she needed to get angry at the world, so she did not have to hold her emotions in. Of course, she wasn't always the best with expressing herself. Zoey helped her with that. They were both there for each other. As the night wore on, Rumi and Mira retired to their rooms. Nina followed Zoey into her room. Both decided, right then and there, to cuddle with one another for the night. She could worry about getting back to Japan the next day, or some other time. What mattered, in that moment, was for her to be with her girlfriend and for them to comfort one another.