A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next FIVE chapters are up on my Patreon for early access!

Best boy Bobby somehow being the only character POV so far aside from Rumi and Jinu lmao. Can't even explain how that happened to be honest.

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Bobby was starting to get worried about Celine. Well, technically he'd been worried about Celine for hours now. Pretty much ever since he'd confessed what he'd done to the girls and Rumi had said they were going to have to call Celine in to watch him while they went to the meeting in the park.

But there were different forms of worry. There was the 'oh no, what is Celine going to do to me' type of worry, and then there was the 'oh no, what is Celine doing to herself' type of worry.

The first thing Celine had done upon entering the penthouse was send the girls on their way with orders to capture Jinu and bring him back alive. Which, you know, Bobby figured that was at least better than telling them to kill him. Only, he's pretty sure that Rumi, Mira, and Zoey had all definitely noticed the heavy bags under Celine's eyes at the same time he did, but beyond a concerned glance from Rumi, none of them had spoken up.

The second thing Celine had done as soon as they were gone was go into the penthouse kitchen to start brewing herself a pot of coffee. This in and of itself was a bit of a cause for alarm, because Bobby was fairly confident that Celine was normally a tea drinker just like him. Coffee was… well, it was a much stronger stimulant and therefore only for the most dire of situations.

Apparently this counted as one of those situations because the girls had only been gone for an hour and Celine was already on her fourth cup of coffee. And Bobby was pretty sure that was just what she'd had since arriving. Because as he watches Celine pour over some truly ancient-looking texts and mutter frantically to herself, Bobby is starting to wonder how long it's been since she slept last. Days, maybe?

Normally it would not be his place to bring that sort of thing up. As CEO of Sunlight Entertainment, Celine is his boss, after all. But given it's just the two of them in the penthouse and the silence is killing him at this point, Bobby can't quite help himself. Besides, he really is worried about her.

"Celine…"

Of course, 'when did you last sleep?' winds up never leaving the tip of his tongue as Celine's head snaps up in his direction. Her eyes narrow like that of a hawk as she suddenly focuses on him, causing Bobby to audibly gulp. It was almost like she was waiting this entire time for him to make the first move.

"What exactly were you thinking Robert?"

Bobby cringes. Oof, full birthname huh? Celine hadn't called him that since his first interview when he'd thrown out a 'just call me Bobby' and she'd gone along with it without a word of complaint. If he didn't know he'd fucked up before, he certainly knew it now.

"… I was thinking I needed to get a proper handle on the situation before bringing in the girls. Just in case it wasn't what I thought was happening."

Celine scoffs and shakes her head, clearly not buying it for a second.

"Don't give me that horseshit. You knew before you traveled across the entirety of Seoul exactly what you were walking into. You knew the risk you were taking. If you had really believed you weren't sure, you would have come to me with your suspicions instead. I told you that we would talk as soon as I could make the time but instead of just waiting or even trying to get in contact with me, you decided to go off on your own like… like some sort of Yankee Cowboy!"

Grimacing, Bobby nods his head, acknowledging that he screwed up. But he still refuses to give in entirely.

"I'm just trying to look after the girls. That's what you hired me for, isn't it?"

"No."

Celine's one word answer hits him right in the heart, making him blanch.

"Wha-?"

"What did I tell you the day I first interviewed you, Robert? If I recall correctly, I was quite direct was I not? What exactly did I say I needed for the girls' manager?"

Bobby hesitates but the truth is, he remembers exactly what she said to him too. It was… well, it was brutally honest to say the least.

"… You said you needed a workaholic pushover who would bend to your girls' every whim and make sure they had everything they could possibly need to do their jobs."

In hindsight, Bobby sort of understands why Celine headhunted him now instead of a more classically trained manager. He hadn't had any experience in a role like this before, after all.

Instead, he was just another failed idol, the youngest member of a boy band that had fizzled out and died within a few years of their debut. They hadn't even been popular enough for their company to keep them around for the full seven year contract.

But that wasn't necessarily because of Bobby himself. Sure, maybe he wasn't the best singer, dancer, or writer, but damn if he hadn't put in the work. Every day, every hour, he'd been present and ready to put his nose to the grindstone. It was more than could be said for some of his bandmates (and Bobby was using that term rather loosely).

So yeah, he got why Celine had hired him. Because he was a people pleaser, a pushover, and never stopped working his ass off for those above him. To be fair though, it wasn't like he felt underappreciated or anything like that either.

In fact, when Celine had first said those blunt words to him in her office all those years ago, Bobby had initially been worried that the HUNTR/X girls would be total divas. But they weren't. They each had their own difficulties, sure, but they were all brilliant, bright, and amazing girls in their own right. Bobby was more than happy to be their 'pushover' of a manager.

He had always been glad to be able to do his work behind the scenes so that they could all shine as brightly as possible in the sunlight. Even if it wasn't a typical manager-idol relationship, he was content with their dynamic all the same.

"Perhaps I should have gone with a different manager after all. Someone who could be counted on not to get too close to the girls."

Bobby stiffens up at that, pulled out of his thoughts at Celine's latest barrage. And it really is a barrage, because this time her words truly hurt.

"Wha- Celine, I love those girls! I've put everything into helping them be the best idols they can be! And now that I know about the demons, I can help them be the best hunters as well! I just wanted to keep them safe! To protect them and-!"

"THEY AREN'T THE ONES WHO NEED PROTECTING ROBERT!"

Bobby freezes as Celine all but snarls at him from across the penthouse. Her eyes are bloodshot as she glares him down… before reaching out and blindly grabbing her current cup of coffee to drink the rest of it right there on the spot. Then, she goes and pours herself another.

While she's turned away from him, Celine continues in a softer, but still sharp tone that nevertheless manages to carry across the penthouse to where he's frozen sitting on the couch.

"Rumi, Mira, and Zoey can take care of themselves. I made sure of that. But they can't do their duty and worry about you at the same time. What would have happened if you'd died last night? Or today on your ill-advised 'reconnaissance' mission?"

Bobby blinks. He doesn't bother trying to convince Celine that Jinu would never hurt him. He's smart enough to realize that's a bad line to take right now. Still, what would have happened? Well… he would be dead, he supposed.

Celine huffs at his confused silence and turns to regard him with narrowed eyes and a freshly filled mug in her grasp.

"I'll tell you what would have happened Robert. It would have broken the girls. It would have torn them apart, especially if they only found out after the fact because your impersonator overplayed his hand in some way. And with Rumi's voice in trouble and the Honmoon weakened by who knows what, it might have been the tipping point that could have unraveled everything. Or if not that far, nevertheless caused catastrophic damage. Both to the girls and the barrier protecting our world from Gwi-Ma and his ilk."

There's a lot more emotion in Celine's voice than Bobby is expecting. Almost like she's talking from experience or something. Her gaze, while still piercing as she glares at him, has taken on a haunted quality to it.

"Celine…"

But she just cuts him off again.

"So no, Robert. You don't have to protect the girls. You're the one who needs protecting here. Because whether I should have hired a different manager or not back then, we're stuck with what we have now. And at this point YOU are an unfortunately integral part of this current generation of hunters. A thread that Gwi-Ma has somehow figured out he might be able to pull at. One that could unravel the entire Honmoon if he gets his way."

Okay… on the one hand, harsh. On the other hand, Bobby probably deserved harsh after today. And on the third nonexistent hand… it was nice to hear Celine seemed to care in her own cold way? Not that he was stupid enough to say that out loud or anything. No, instead Bobby says something else almost as stupid.

"Well, I guess it was lucky that this Jinu fellow was there to save me, huh?"

Celine stiffens up at that… though she doesn't immediately tear Bobby's head off like he's expecting her to. Instead, after a moment her shoulders slump and she rubs her forehead while shaking her head.

"You can't trust him, Bobby. There's no such thing as a good demon. And what he's doing to the Honmoon…"

She trails off but Bobby isn't willing to let her leave it at that.

"What exactly IS he doing to the Honmoon? And if he was really working for Gwi-Ma, surely he wouldn't be this easygoing and friendly, right? You say not to trust him, but so far he's done nothing but help. How do you explain that exactly?"

Another long pause as Celine stares off into nothing. Then, she grunts and just… starts explaining in this tired, exhausted tone that makes Bobby even more certain she hasn't gotten enough sleep these past few days.

"I don't know what the demon is doing to the Honmoon. The… patch of rainbow that he sealed it back up with is still growing. Eventually, it could replace the entire Honmoon if left unchecked. But it's not… it's not Golden. It's more flexible than that. Pliable. I think it might be made to let some things through or… or something."

Some things through? Like certain demons?

"That's why my current working theory is that there might be another demon faction down there. Some group or other that has betrayed Gwi-Ma. Because… you're right that this isn't like Gwi-Ma at all. He's never been this clever. And if he had a way to interact with the Honmoon, he would have already destroyed it entirely."

Bobby frowns, pursing his lips.

"So what… you think Jinu is part of some sort of demon rebellion or something?"

Celine shrugs, taking another gulp from her fifth cup of coffee. Bobby tries not to stare at the way she's started vibrating just a little bit from the amount of caffeine in her system.

"Maybe. It's a working theory. If he and whoever else is working with him has found a way to influence the Honmoon, then they could be aiming to block Gwi-Ma and his forces while leaving ways to enter and exit our world through their special version of the Honmoon."

She looks contemplative for a moment before scowling at Bobby once more.

"But Bobby… make no mistake, that does not make this demon our ally. The enemy of our enemy is not always our friend and every demon requires souls to survive. He and his faction will still prey upon humans if they are allowed to run amok in our world. And if he succeeds at doing whatever it is he's doing to the Honmoon… it might make the Golden Honmoon impossible. And then we'll have no way of protecting people from this new kind of demon."

Bobby really doesn't think she's right, at least based on everything Jinu told him. But Celine already knows all that and it's obvious she's discounting most of what his savior had said to Bobby outside of the café earlier. And maybe she's right to think Jinu is just lying. Bobby is less than twenty-four hours old to all of this. Celine has had decades to learn the things he's learning now.

Before he can figure out how to respond, however, Celine's phone buzzes and she snatches it up, eyes locking on the screen.

"… The girls have him. They're bringing him back to the penthouse now. Apparently… he's coming peacefully."

Her eyes narrow at that last part, suspicion heavily laden in every syllable that leaves her lips. Bobby winces but decides to try for it anyways with a tentative, hopeful smile on his face.

"Maybe… the enemy of our enemy can be our friend after all?"

Celine just glares at him for a long moment, looking more tired than he's ever seen her. Then, she turns around and grabs the pot from the coffeemaker. Bobby can only watch in horror as she holds the thing with both hands and chugs the rest of the pot's contents down right then and there.

Then, she freezes in place.

For a second, he worries that she might just straight up explode and leave Bobby to explain her demise-by-caffeine to the girls when they finally return. But after a long moment, she calmly puts the coffee pot down and steps away from the counter.

"Need to pee."

That gruff explanation is all Bobby gets as he watches Celine march her way out of the kitchen and down the hall to the penthouse's guest bathroom. He stares after her for a moment before groaning and leaning forward to put his head in his hands.

Hopefully Jinu had been able to get the girls on his side. Hopefully he might even be able to talk some sense to this sleep-deprived version of Celine while he was at it. But somehow… somehow Bobby didn't think that was going to happen. Somehow he just knew… this was all going to end in tears.

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A/N: Poor Bobby! Just gotta have a little faith! I'm sure everything will be just fiiiiine~

Feedback is GREATLY appreciated, every comment helps me shape the story with a Free Write like this one!

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