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

Back to the Tower where Mira and Zoey start getting a lore drop.

-x-X-x-

Bobby and Celine have to take the helicopter back to the mainland because otherwise there might be questions about how they got from Point B back to Point A. For the same reason, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey have to take Derpy back to the Tower with Jinu because they cancelled the helicopter that was supposed to bring them to Jeju in the first place.

This should be a good thing given that it means they'll have an hour or two before Bobby and Celine are back in the Tower. An hour or two to talk among themselves, to tell Mira and Zoey the things they need to know.

Only… Rumi finds herself hesitating once more as they arrive back in the penthouse of HUNTR/X Tower. It had been good, the way they all hugged Jinu while he was going through it back at his sister's gravestone. They'd all been on the same team…

Maybe… maybe today had been crazy enough? Maybe it was time to call another mulligan and leave the heavy stuff for tomorrow?

"You two should know, I was your enemy in the other timeline. I worked with Gwi-Ma to try to destroy the Honmoon for my own selfish purposes, knowing full well that he would manifest here in this world and consume every human soul he could get his flames on."

Rumi freezes as Jinu blows those nascent plans to take it slow right the fuck up. Mira and Zoey both freeze up as well, eyes widening and mouths dropping open at what Jinu has just said. Groaning, Rumi covers her face with her hands.

"What the hell, Jinu?! We could have eased them into it!"

Jinu just smiles sadly and shakes his head, a knowing glint in his eye as he looks at her.

"Or you could have talked them into waiting another day to find out the truth about me. No. Better to get this all out in the open right now. Mira and Zoey deserve to know exactly the sort of monster they're sharing a roof with."

Growling, Rumi stomps over and grabs Jinu by the front of his shirt.

"You're not a monster!"

To her surprise… Jinu's face actually softens up. He even smiles at her.

"Maybe I'm not anymore, thanks to you and the Honmoon."

Rumi's breath hitches. Finally, progress.

"… But they still deserve to know everything I did."

Damn it. He's right. She knows he's right. With a sigh, Rumi lets go of Jinu's shirt. But then she points.

"Fine! But everyone is sitting down for this! No arguing. We all sit and we talk and nobody pulls out a weapon, alright?"

She looks to Mira and Zoey at that last part and though they both slowly nod and take their seats on the couch, she can see the concern in their eyes. After all, just how bad can it be that Rumi has to worry about them pulling weapons on him?

Rumi swallows even as she glares at Jinu until he sits down as well. Then, finally, she takes a seat between Mira and Zoey. Not because she's picking sides even if it might look like it, but so she can be within reach just in case she needs to be.

Jinu doesn't seem to mind her choice regardless; in fact he actually smiles when he sees her sitting with her girls.

"Right, first off… Rumi, what exactly did the Honmoon show you?"

Rumi straightens up and bites her lower lip.

"Ah… just my own memories. It's like I lived Other Rumi's version of the past week and next week right up until the Idol Awards and then everything that happened after all the way up to the end of things at Namsan Tower…"

Zoey and Mira are giving her curious looks, but Rumi just shakes her head slightly. Jinu has the stage right now.

"Okay… then I suppose I'll start back at the beginning of the other timeline. It was just after the end of your World Tour when I put my plan into action. One of the demons who hijacked your plane got away, a stewardess if you'll recall."

All three hunters blink at that, throwing their minds back. Until finally, Mira punches her fist into her palm and growls.

"The bitch who stole the cockpit. She's the only one we didn't account for."

Shit, Mira is right. Rumi can't help but be concerned for a moment, but Jinu just waves his hand dismissively.

"You don't have to worry. She didn't go on a killing spree or anything like that. No, she had to report her failure back to Gwi-Ma. It was after he killed her for her 'incompetence' that I-"

Jinu pauses and furrows his brow, looking at Zoey. Rumi and Mira look over as well to see the younger woman holding up her hand like they're in class or something. Zoey blushes a little bit at the attention, squirming for a moment.

"Um… s-sorry, it's just… could you just show us this instead maybe? You know like you did before? Sorry, I'm just… I can be a bit of a visual learner sometimes, ya know?

Oh, that was a good idea! Rumi wraps an arm around Zoey's shoulders and gives her a squeeze.

"That's an excellent idea, Zoey. Jinu, make it happen!"

The demon frowns at Rumi's commanding tone but in the end he huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Fine, bossy. If you insist."

Since he's doing as he's told, she graciously ignores the name calling. As Jinu lifts his arms, Rumi watches curiously alongside her girls as the common area of the penthouse fades away to be replaced be… the demon realm. Mira inhales sharply while Zoey gasps and even Rumi can't help but purse her lips.

Because on the one hand, the demon realm is lifeless and barren, a wasteland for as far as the eye can see. On the other hand… they've been put smack dab in the middle of the largest concentration of demons any of them have ever seen.

"T-There's so many of them…"

But Jinu shakes his head at Zoey's comment.

"Not as many as there used to be. Hunters have been doing good work for a long time now. Back when I was newly turned, there were millions upon millions of demons. These days, tens of thousands at most. Gwi-Ma is too weak to summon more and the stronger the Honmoon gets, the harder it is for him to make deals with humans up top."

Rumi, who has been turning in a slow circle, goes still when she finally sees the massive pyramid that the demons are congregating in front of. Up at the top of it is a collection of pink and purple flames, currently frozen in a moment in time. In fact, everything is frozen right now… like someone hit the pause button on a video basically.

"Damn, so that's Gwi-Ma?"

Mira's question prompts a sharp nod from Jinu.

"Yes. The stronger he is, the more souls he consumes, the bigger his flames become. What you see in this moment is the weakest he was in the other timeline. After this he got a LOT stronger, and it was all because of me. Now… listen."

All of the sudden, everything comes alive. The demons start to move, though its mostly just them nervously shuffling about where they stand. And Gwi-Ma's flames start to dance, showing a life to them.

Rumi wraps her other arm around Mira, holding both of her girls close as they watch what unfolds next. The Demon Stewardess that had poured coffee into a potted plant does the walk of shame up to Gwi-Ma's throne and then gets dragged right in front of him.

Then, she dies. Rumi can't help but wince a little bit, even if the demoness would have happily killed her or her girls given half the chance. To say nothing of what she and her cohort would have done to their fans if HUNTR/X hadn't stopped them.

Gwi-Ma goes on a rant about how the Honmoon is turning gold and it's almost over for them. A Water Demon breaks into tears. And then… the sound of a bipa carries on the wind and Rumi's head snaps around the same as her girls. The real Jinu's voice carries from where he sits a few feet away.

"This is where I come in."

The other Jinu floats down from his perch high above the back of the crowd. Derpy, looking more menacing than he ever has in the real world, prowls up alongside him. The massive tiger is covered in a concealing mist that hides his lazy eyes and makes him look like a real threat for once.

Past Jinu is talk-singing to Gwi-Ma. No, he's talk-singing AT Gwi-Ma. Speaking about how mighty Gwi-Ma once was, but how these days all he does is starve.

And then, much to Rumi's surprise, Past Jinu starts to sing.

"… And will he let the fire go out?

Is this the end of him now?

Dying King with a crumbling crown?

Will he let the fire go out?"

Rumi's breath hitches as Past Jinu arrives at the foot of Gwi-Ma's throne on the final 'out'. She looks over at the real Jinu with her mouth open.

"How the fuck did you survive acting like that to the literal Demon King?!"

Jinu snorts and shakes his head in wry amusement.

"Just watch."

And so she does. Alongside Mira and Zoey, Rumi watches because even though she has memories from the future, she doesn't have THESE memories. It's… illuminating to see it all happen. Gwi-Ma IS angry at Jinu for 'mocking' him and even threatens to take away the demon's voice. But Jinu, of course, has a plan.

Mira and Zoey both shift a bit in confusion when the other four Saja Boys come out of the crowd and move to flank their leader. Together, the five of them all rise up into the air, flying under their own power to set down in front of Gwi-Ma.

"Bit far away now, isn't it? Let's move things up a bit."

The real Jinu snaps his fingers and the scene suddenly shifts. Before, they were seated among the masses of demons at the foot of the pyramid. Now, they're on top of the pyramid off to the side, but way closer to the illusion of Gwi-Ma.

Mira does another sharp inhale and Rumi gives her a squeeze, knowing that the other hunter is being hit by fight-or-flight instincts, even if she knows logically that none of this is real. Zoey, meanwhile, is practically leaning off of the couch, staring in fascination at Jinu and his demon… boy band.

Indeed, that's exactly what Gwi-Ma calls it after past Jinu has them all strike a pose. The Demon King doesn't sound at all convinced… until Jinu snaps his fingers and the sound of a soda can being popped echoes through the area while all five of them… transform into proper K-Pop Idols.

Mira chokes on her own spit. Zoey goggles. Rumi cringes, remembering just how… effective Jinu's plan had turned out to be in the future that never was.

Finally, Gwi-Ma agrees to the idea, albeit reluctantly. However, not before claiming that Jinu never did anything that didn't benefit himself and demanding to know what he wanted.

The illusion ends on past Jinu's final words.

"The memories… I want them erased."

It's Rumi's turn to suck in a sharp breath, even as the demon realm fades away and they're all back in the penthouse. The real Jinu looks at them all apologetically but also like he expects them to start tearing into him at any moment.

"So you see… it was my plan the entire time. Gwi-Ma is an idiot. He always has been. Big dumb bonfire like him, I don't even know if he has a brain or if he's just existed too long and developed the idea of thoughts. Regardless, I'm the one who came up with the plan that wound up destroying the Honmoon in the other timeline."

When none of them speak, Jinu clears his throat and rolls his shoulders.

"… And now that you've all seen that for a fact, we can move on to the rest of the story. After-"

"Wait! No! Pause! I have like… so many questions!"

Zoey finally finds her voice and if Rumi didn't have an arm around her shoulders, she's pretty sure the lyricist would be outright bouncing out of her seat at this point. As is, she's bouncing up and down on the couch, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Yeah, actually. I've got questions too."

Jinu's gaze sweeps from Zoey to Mira at that, his brow furrowing.

"… Alright. Go ahead."

"That song you sung was so cool! You basically spit in his face and then made him take it because you were coming to him with a plan he sorely needed!"

Jinu looks discomfited by the sudden praise. Rumi smiles fondly at Zoey. Trust their lyricist and rapper to enjoy a good mocking.

"Uh… thanks? I just needed his attention, really…"

"Nah, Zo is right, that was sick. What I'm wondering though is how long you'd been planning this. And who were those other guys?"

Jinu tilts his head to the side, humming.

"Ah… planning it? Years. Decades, even. I may or may not have used Derpy to sneak into the human world a couple of times here and there since the turn of the century. I didn't take any souls or anything, I was doing it under Gwi-Ma's metaphorical nose as much as you lot after all. But that's how I learned about K-Pop… and that's where the idea came to me."

Shrugging, Jinu chuckles.

"Those 'other guys' as you put it were going to become the Saja Boys with me. A demon boyband to wreck your confidence, steal your fans, and weaken the Honmoon. But the other four Saja Boys weren't real… they were constructs I made a day before presenting my plan to Gwi-Ma. They had simple intelligence, enough to fake it till they made it and play the roles I needed them to play, but that's about it."

Mira leans forward, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah? You sure they were constructs?"

Rolling his own eyes, Jinu huffs.

"This time, yes. Unlike Derpy and Sussie, I know for a fact that I was the one who created the Saja Boys… because case in point, I specifically chose not to create them in this timeline. The Rainbow Honmoon brought me back days away from Gwi-Ma's Throne, before I'd even traveled there."

Smirking, Jinu continues on.

"The other reason I know I created the Saja Boys is that I tried to find actual demons who could handle being in a boy group. I held fucking tryouts for that shit. It… didn't go well."

Jinu cringes so hard it looks like his soul might legitimately leave his body. Of course, Mira and Zoey quickly smell blood in the water.

"Oooh, show us that next!"

"Yes please, I really want to see demons suffering!"

Rumi laughs, something in her chest easing up at the way Mira and Zoey are clearly not taking this as terribly as they could. They don't hate Jinu, they aren't drawing their weapons on him… this is about as good as things could go really.

"Girls! Jinu is trying to open up to us here! He's being very brave, let's slow down for a second okay?"

Jinu just looks bewildered… until Zoey, after calming down, asks one final question.

"What were those memories you wanted Gwi-Ma to erase?"

That causes him to let out a sigh.

"The memories of me abandoning my mother and sister. Specifically, my little sister screaming to me, begging me to come back. It feels so foolish now… because it was. I was ashamed but also selfish. I didn't even think about trying to find another way. Instead…"

Here, Jinu looks at them all intently.

"Instead, I tried to feed this entire city to Gwi-Ma, all for my own selfish gain, just as he said."

Rumi winces as both Mira and Zoey sober up quick in the face of Jinu's words. Huffing, she squeezes her girls.

"Except that's not all you are, Jinu. Or else you would never have sacrificed yourself to save my life against Gwi-Ma."

But Jinu, infuriatingly as ever, is ready for that.

"Your life wouldn't have needed saving if I didn't manipulate you and then betray you at the final hour, Rumi."

Mira and Zoey both tense up at that, causing Rumi's wince to graduate into a full blown grimace.

Shit.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Jinu ain't wrong. Rumi just wants to keep him from getting himself skewered by Mira and Zoey…

Also in the interest of us not spending the next 4-5 chapters rehashing the movie, Jinu will be speeding up the retelling of this story next chapter. Because yeah, I really ain't trying to do a "the cast watches canon" fic here lmfao.

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

-x-X-x-

If you'd like to read more of my work not seen on this website, check out Hentai-Foundry.com and QuestionableQuesting.com where I have over a thousand stories!

If you'd like to contribute to funding my writing at all, check me out on Patreon.com/Cambrian

Thanks for reading!