Second Chances (KPop Demon Hunters)
Chapter 42: Solutions
A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next FIVE chapters are up on my Patreon for early access!
Isn't it obvious?
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Mira narrows her eyes as she stares at Celine along with everyone else. Frankly, her blood is still thrumming hot in her veins from that song they just got done singing. Not to mention she's never felt more connected to the Honmoon… nor more connected to Rumi and Zoey either.
Of course, she can't even begin to process the moment between the three of them that was interrupted by Bobby and Celine's arrival. But admittedly this situation with the public learning about Jinu IS a bit of a problem and one that needs to be nipped in the bud before it can spiral any further. Especially if it might endanger their newly minted Rainbow Honmoon.
That said, when everyone else stays quiet a moment too long, Mira does what she does best and goes on the attack
"Spit it out Celine. And do know I reserve to punch you in the face if I think it's as dumb of an idea as making Rumi hide her heritage from the people closest to her for all these years."
"Mira!"
But where Rumi groans in admonishment, Celine just smiles thinly and nods… looking like she would expect nothing less from Mira at this point. Good, even if Mira hasn't gotten to hit the older woman yet, she's glad to know they're both on the same page at least.
"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."
Ugh, she didn't have to be so damn reasonable about it though. Still, straightening up and squaring her shoulders, Celine turns towards business. More specifically, she turns towards Jinu.
"Jinu. You are a musician, no? And a singer as well. I have seen your covers of the girls' songs in the park. Not to mention your… repudiation of me the other evening."
Blinking owlishly, Jinu glances over to them. Rumi and Zoey look back at him, bewildered. Mira just snorts and crosses her arms over her chest. She wasn't forgetting his 'Now Kiss!' comment any time soon, the weirdo. Finally, the demon turns back to Celine and slowly nods.
"Ah… yes. I can sing and play my bipa. What of it?"
Rumi and Bobby both suddenly gasp in realization, with Bobby slamming his fist into his palm.
"Of course, that's genius!"
Mira shares a confused look with Zoey, grateful when she sees that the other girl is still just as in the dark as she is. Celine, meanwhile, is smiling now as she nods.
"Indeed. The solution is simple. We sign Jinu to Sunlight Entertainment as a solo artist."
Oh shit. Mira starts to pick up what's being put down as well, even as Bobby begins to babble.
"Yes! We can say we found him through the fan videos and were impressed by his voice and saddened by his circumstances! A homeless man with such talent deserves a chance to shine! So we brought him to the Tower to stay with us while we figured things out… technically, none of the girls have even been seen with him yet. There's no proof that he's even met them!"
Celine nods.
"Quite. Not to mention my visits to the Tower these past few days can be revealed to have been me checking up on our guest personally and seeing if he was a proper fit for Sunlight Entertainment."
Bobby nods excitedly.
"Yes! We'll turn it all around on them! The media, both social and traditional, will look like fools for trying to turn something so positive into something so negative! As far as they can prove, we've done nothing wrong!"
… Mira had to admit, it WAS pretty clever. Perfect PR, really. Of course Bobby, the notoriously good-natured manager of HUNTR/X, upon discovering someone as talented as Jinu was living on the streets, would procure housing for him.
Meanwhile Celine, CEO of Sunlight Entertainment, would in turn have met with him to decide if they were going to sign him or not. And of course Rumi, Mira, and Zoey would sign off on something like Jinu receiving housing in their Tower without even thinking about it, given they had a reputation for being supportive of other artists, especially newer ones.
There were just two problems that Mira could see with the proposal. Luckily, she doesn't have to actually bring up either. Others do it for her, starting with Rumi.
"And you… would be okay with that, Celine?"
Rumi's uncertain voice puts a damper on Bobby's excitement, the stout man blinking and looking confused for a moment before it dawns on him. Because yeah, Jinu isn't just some homeless guy staying in one of HUNTR/X Tower's guest apartments. He's a demon. And while they all have a past with demons, Celine has the most reason to hate them.
Indeed, despite this being HER idea, the older woman has frozen up for a moment at Rumi's question… before ultimately letting out a slow breath.
"I… does it matter whether I'm okay with it or not? He is here. And I do not think he is going anywhere, no?"
Mira shares a look with Zoey even as Jinu frowns. Rumi though… Rumi is resolute.
"No. No, he's not going anywhere. But that doesn't mean he has to be attached to Sunlight Entertainment. That's your label and it always will be… I would never demand that you compromise yourself just for our sake."
Celine smiles softly.
"You don't have to demand, Rumi. I've been happily compromising myself for you your whole life. And I'd gladly do it all over again."
Holy shit. This is why Mira hadn't punched Celine in the face yet, even though she really wanted to. Because the bitch kept making herself… ugh, so damn tolerable. Rumi, of course, is outright blown away by Celine's words. Seizing upon the opportunity to do so in a moment that won't look too suspicious to their two 'guests', Mira reaches out and grabs Rumi's hand again, intertwining their fingers together.
Rumi jolts, glancing down at where they're holding hands… only to look to her other side as Zoey does the same. Smirking, Mira meets Celine's gaze challengingly, but to her surprise… all she sees is approval in the older woman's eyes before Celine looks back to Jinu.
"Besides, it's not my consent that matters the most here, is it? Before we do anything else, Jinu must decide whether he wants the life of an idol or not."
And there was the second problem Mira had seen with the proposal. What Jinu would think of it? Was it something he would be willing to go along with? The four hundred year old demon looks stunned for a moment before shooting Mira and her girls a single look that manages to convey 'I can't believe this is happening… again'.
Having seen him give his pitch for a demon boy band to Gwi-Ma, having heard him play his Bipa, singing that mocking song to the Demon King himself and getting away with it… yeah, there was no doubt in Mira's mind that he could perform. No doubt whatsoever that he could be a solo artist even if his only previous experience with modern idol life was the Saja Boys.
"… I suppose I would be willing, if it put this matter to rest. Though as previously stated, I have been aggressively informed I'm not going anywhere…"
Rumi blushes at that and quickly pipes up.
"W-Well you can stay in the Tower for a bit longer at least once we announce this, and then we can move you into an apartment nearby. A-And Derpy can be our transportation so you can come visit us all the time in the penthouse with no one being any the wiser!"
That made sense to Mira. Well, as much sense as anything today so far had made. She still didn't know what to make of how she was feeling after last night with Zoey and then breakfast this morning with Rumi and Jinu. And then they'd sung that amazing song and turned the Honmoon iridescent and then…
Luckily, Celine cuts through Mira's thoughts before she can truly start to spiral.
"For the time being, Bobby and I should take Jinu with us downstairs, both to get a contract properly written up and perhaps to record a video so that those news outlets who think we're torturing him for some reason can print their retractions and apologies."
Okay, there was something darkly humorous about Celine being the one annoyed about being accused of torturing Jinu. Especially since she'd literally tried. Of course, now Rumi was going to demand to go too and Mira and Zoey would be left all alone with all that tension in the air and so many damn quest-
"A-Alright… Bobby, will you represent Jinu as his manager in these matters?"
Rumi suddenly pipes up and Mira can't help but shoot her a wide eyed look… she was seriously just sending Jinu off with them by himself? When the purple-haired girl gives Mira's hand a quick squeeze, she can't help but shiver in response
In fact, she barely even hears Bobby answer Rumi's question in the affirmative. And she doesn't pay much attention to the fact that Celine, Bobby, and Jinu are all filing out of the penthouse all of the sudden, making their way into the elevator so they can go downstairs and begin doing damage control on the situation.
The blood is roaring in her ears as they depart… leaving her and the loves of her life all alone together.
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Zoey bites her lower lip as Jinu, Celine, and Bobby all leave the penthouse. The last thing she sees of the trio is Jinu lifting a hand 'goodbye'… and then mouthing the words 'Now Kiss' again to them.
She can't help it, Zoey giggles even as Rumi lets out a strangled noise in the back of her throat. Mira, meanwhile… well, she looks like she's lost in her own little world. To be fair, Zoey can't blame her. Last night into this morning into that song into this crisis… and that was on top of the last few crazy days they'd had.
"Girls… let's sit down and talk, o-okay?"
Rumi's voice sounds a little nervous but also determined. Zoey tries not to get too excited by that second part, even though she's always loved it when Rumi gets all resolved and certain about something. In the end, with them holding her hands and Rumi pulling them along, they sit down on the couch together in short order.
"So… um… I know you two… g-got together last night."
Zoey blushes so hard it goes all the way to the tips of her ears. Mira, of course, responds in typical Mira fashion with the age old strategy of 'the best defense is a good offense'.
"Yeah well, we know you and Jinu bumped uglies last night too."
"Wha- Mira!"
They're already off to a great start Zoey can't help thinking, even as she tries for some damage control.
"And that's perfectly okay too, Rumi! No judgment here! Right Mira?!"
Mira gives her a bitch-face but Zoey counters with weapons-grade puppy dog eyes that make the taller girl sigh and slump before ultimately nodding.
"Yeah… no judgment."
"We didn't… we haven't even done anything yet! All we did was cuddle under the covers! With our clothes ON!"
Wait, seriously? Zoey can't help but join Mira in giving Rumi an incredulous look for that. Though Mira's follow up is still a little uncalled for.
"Okay… some judgment."
Rumi squawks, but Mira just smirks.
"Seriously Rumi, you have a catch like that treating you like a goddess and you haven't taken advantage of it yet? He has quite literally moved heaven and earth for you and he's easily the hottest guy I've ever seen… even if he is a demon."
Zoey can't help but nod along… because Mira is kind of spitting facts there. Rumi just looks between them both with wide eyes for a moment, her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. Finally though, she shakes her head almost violently.
"N-No! Stop! We're getting off track! This isn't about Jinu! Or at least, it's not just about Jinu! This is about Jinu… a-and us…"
Zoey freezes and she sees Mira do the same. Rumi blushes, biting her lower lip for a moment as she gives both of their hands a squeeze as if making sure they're still there even if she can't meet their eyes.
"… I don't just love you both. I'm in love with you both. And I think… I think you're in love with me too…"
Finally she looks up at them, hope in her eyes. Zoey fidgets and tries to hold it in, tries to wait to see what Mira will say… but she can't. It comes exploding out of her in one big confession.
"I'm in love with you and Mira too Rumi! I've been in love with you both pretty much the entire time we've known each other I'm pretty sure!"
Rumi's blush returns with a vengeance while Mira just snorts derisively before getting a fond look on her face.
"Yeah. Same."
Seriously?! Now was not the time to be minimalist about shit Mira! But when Zoey scowls at her, Mira just shrugs and rolls her eyes before moving the conversation along.
"What about Jinu though? It's obvious he knows about how you feel about us I guess. That 'Now Kiss' out of nowhere earlier makes a lot more sense now too. It's still pretty confusing though."
Rumi groans and throws herself back into the couch, her head laid out so she can stare up at the ceiling. Zoey giggles and joins her, with Mira sighing and doing the same a moment later. Finally, after a few moments of all three of them quietly enjoying Ceiling Contemplation, Rumi finds her voice again.
"Jinu… is an idiot. But maybe, just maybe… he's like an idiot savant?"
Mira grunts.
"Yeah? How do you figure?"
"W-Well… he's working off of a lot of really old information… but basically he likened us all to nobility and royalty and suggested that there was nothing stopping me from being with the two of you AND also with him at the same time?"
It all comes spilling out in one continuous run-on sentence but Zoey is a rapper so she parses it faster than Mira does… and immediately shoots up.
"Wait, he's okay with SHARING?!"
Mira shoots up too at that, eyes a little wide. Rumi remains where she is, staring down the plane of her face at the both of them like she's afraid they'll run screaming at any moment.
"… yeah?"
Zoey doesn't even have to think about it to be honest.
"I'm down!"
Of course, then she cringes, realizing that maybe this was also something she should have at least tried to get on the same page with Mira over first. But when she looks over, Mira is just smirking.
"Sure, we can 'share' you with Jinu, Rumi. Whatever the fuck that even means."
Finally, Rumi sits back up as well, looking at the both of them with wide eyes.
"S-Seriously? You're just… okay with that?!"
Zoey nods while Mira shrugs… but the taller girl is also smiling, making it clear she's not at all upset by the idea.
Rumi, staring at the two of them, lets out a shuddering breath.
"I… I can't believe that idiot was RIGHT! Oh my fucking… no. No freaking out. Girls… I want to kiss you both. Right now. Please."
Mira finally laughs.
"Only you would add a 'please' at the end, Rumi. You're so-mmph!"
But Zoey finds that she can't contain herself any longer. Wrapping her arms around both Rumi and Mira's necks, she yanks them both inwards in a haphazard manner (especially given Zoey is NOT in the center at the moment) and manages to get her lips on both of theirs in the process.
It's not a very good first kiss. Really, there's a question of whether it can even be called a kiss at all. Both Mira and Rumi cringe a little bit… but Zoey, undeterred, smooshes their lips together anyways, rubbing her own mouth back and forth across theirs. Until finally they realize she's half doing it just to mess with them and they finally start to laugh.
"Zoeeey!"
Grinning like a loon, Zoey pulls back after a moment and they come apart again. She has like, a million questions for Rumi at this point… but before she can ask any of them, Mira beats her to the punch.
"The real question is, if we're sharing you with Jinu… does that mean you'll share Jinu with us?"
… Yeah. Mira very much beats her to the punch.
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A/N: The 'kiss' finally happens, even if its more of a three-way face nuzzle with lip smushing. Meanwhile, Mira out here asking the IMPORTANT questions. Fufufu~
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