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“It didn’t hurt this much at first,” Zoey said, biting back the tears that threatened to fall. Rumi’s fingers were gently running over her ribs, feeling them, making sure they weren’t broken.
“Zoey, who did this to you?” Rumi asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could. If she found out who hurt her girlfriend like this, she would give them something to run for their lives for.
“It was one of the security people stationed outside,” Zoey replied, a single tear falling down her face. “He was hurtful and homophobic, and demonphobic. I don’t want to repeat what he said.”
“You don’t have to just now, my sweet love,” Rumi said, wiping the single tear away and pressing a kiss to Zoey’s forehead. “Stay laying down, Mira will be back soon with ice. You should have told us when it happened. I wouldn’t have gone ahead with rehearsals if I knew you were injured.” Rumi felt like she was beginning to blame herself for what happened. Zoey’s injury wouldn’t have been exacerbated if she hadn’t insisted on doing multiple run throughs of their dance numbers.
“I have ice and Bobby is going over the CCTV to figure out who it was,” Mira said, entering their shared dressing room.
Taking the ice from Mira, Rumi wrapped it in a hand towel and carefully placed it over Zoey’s ribs. Feeling the girl try to shift, she reached up and gently touched her face as her thumb ran over her cheek.
“Here, sweetie,” Rumi murmured as Mira sat near Zoey. “The cold will help, I promise.”
“I know, it just hurts,” Zoey replied, wiping the tears from her face.
“Did your attacker say anything to you or was it unprovoked?” Mira asked, her eyes on her phone. “Bobby just sent me the attack and it looks like something was said.”
“I don’t want to repeat it,” Zoey replied, more tears falling from her eyes as Rumi wiped them away.
“Zoey, honey, it’s okay.” Running her fingers through Zoey’s bangs to try and soothe her, Rumi pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
“We love you, Zoey. Always. We don’t want you to carry this burden all on your own.”
“I love you guys too. He was just being homophobic and said some really rude things about me and Rumi being together and about Rumi’s markings. That’s all I want to say,” Zoey said, grabbing onto Rumi’s hand as the ice still chilled the bruises down her side.
“You should have told us the second it happened, Zoey. We would have taken care of him much earlier than now. Bobby messaged and said he’s pretty sure he has the person who did this to you. If I show you a photo of him, can you tell us if he was the one?” Mira said, handing the phone to Rumi for her to look at.
“Okay, I can do that,” Zoey said, taking the phone. Looking at the image on the screen, she zoomed in on his face and took a moment. Nodding her head, she passed the phone back. “That’s him, he was the one who attacked me.”
“Thank you, Zoey. Stay here, stay safe, and I’m going to go help Bobby deal with him,” Mira said, taking her phone and getting up.
Feeling Mira’s fingers grip around her arm, Rumi went off to the side with her so Zoey was just out of earshot.
“Keep her safe and make sure she keeps the ice on for at least twenty more minutes. If she wants to go home, take her home. I really hate people who hurt my two best friends,” Mira said, looking her in the eye so she knew she was being serious.
“I will. I feel like it’s all my fault someone hurt her. If I had just been less, she wouldn’t have been attacked,” Rumi admitted, not able to meet Mira’s eyes.
“You love her, Rumi, and that is something you can’t help. Since you two got together, I’ve never seen either of you this happy. Be yourself and don’t be ashamed. We all love you, Rumi, and we don’t want to see you turn into the shell of the person you were. I’ll deal with the person who attacked her and make sure he gets what’s coming to him.”
“Please do. If I could go with you I would. I hate seeing Zoey scared and in pain.” Looking back over at Zoey, Rumi felt her heart hurt as she watched her partner wipe tears from her face. “I’m going to go be with her. I’ll message you if we head home.”
“Please do.”
Watching the door close behind Mira, Rumi went back over to Zoey and sat on the side of the single bed.
“I’m sorry, Rumi. I shouldn’t have let him get me like he did,” Zoey said, still wiping tears from her face.
“Zoey, baby, you have nothing to apologise for. Some people are just cruel and that is something we can’t stop. It can happen to anyone, anywhere. Would going home help?”
“My ribs hurt too much to move much,” Zoey replied, scooting over slightly. “Come lay with me, please?”
“Of course.” Kicking her shoes off, Rumi slid onto the bed with Zoey. Laying on her side, she gently wrapped a loose arm around Zoey’s waist. “Is this okay?”
“It is. I feel safer with you next to me.” Reaching for Rumi’s face, Zoey ran her fingers over her soft lips. “I love you, Rumi.”
“I love you too, Zoey,” Rumi murmured before she leaned in and kissed her.
Hearing her phone ding, Rumi broke the kiss and placed a quick kiss on Zoey’s forehead.
“It’s Mira. He’s been dealt with.” Showing Zoey the short message, Rumi wasn’t certain how exactly Mira had dealt with him. That was between her and God.
“When Mira gets back, can we go home and grab something to eat on the way? Maybe do a quick stop by the markets and get some fruit?” Zoey asked, slightly pouting when her eyes met Rumi’s.
“You know you get anything you want with that look,” Rumi replied, pressing a kiss to her temple. “We can do that. We’ll have a girl’s night in, watch a movie, do face masks, and eat as many snacks as you think you can handle.”
“That sounds really nice.” Moving the ice pack on her ribs down a little, Zoey winced as the cold penetrated her skin through more bruising. She was in pain, she was sad, and Rumi and Mira were the only reason she wasn’t scared. She still wasn’t sure if something wasn’t broken, but if it was, she had a feeling she would have realised before now.
Moving closer to Rumi, Zoey cuddled into her as best as she could. Feeling Rumi’s hand on the ice pack holding it still, Zoey settled in against Rumi and softly sighed.
“Zoey?” Rumi said, using her finger to tilt the younger woman’s chin up to look at her. “Do you want to talk about anything?”
“Not really. I just can’t get his words out of my head,” Zoey replied, barely above a whisper.
“I know you don’t want to repeat them but I’m here whenever you’re ready.” Running her fingers through Zoey’s bangs, she slowly caressed down her face.
Playing with the hem of Rumi’s shirt, Zoey gently traced the faded markings on Rumi stomach and arms.
“I don’t think he was from here, he used very American derogatory terms about me, about us. His accent was different too. Not an American-Korean one, something different that I can’t pinpoint,” Zoey said, her fingers still tracing the markings on Rumi. “He sounded like a very bad tourist who wasn’t a tourist. Both his Korean and English were perfect though.”
“Don’t let his words affect you. We’ll get to the bottom of this one way or another. I know you, Zoey, and I can tell you now, you’re one of the kindest, loving, funny, dorky, and cheerful people I know. I love you, and I love spending time with you and making our dreams come true.”
“I love doing that with you too.” Pulling Rumi down into a slow yet sensual kiss, Zoey let her hand slowly run down Rumi’s side.
“Okay, lovebirds, time to pull apart,” Mira said, entering the room.
“That was quick… too quick,” Rumi stated, her eyes narrowing in on Mira. “What happened?”
“He was a demon in disguise. I’ve gotten rid of him. He said that there still might be a few more lurking out there who weren’t changed when the Honmoon strengthened.”
“That’s the last thing that we need. I’ve promised Zoey a girl’s night so we’re done with rehearsal, I’m going to get Bobby to push our rehearsals back a few days, and we need to stop by the markets for fruit and maybe dinner. Straight in and straight out,” Rumi said, already knowing Mira would be onboard with her plan.
“Why are we still here then, come on, let’s ditch this place,” Mira smiled, beginning to pack their bags.
“I’ll help Zoey get changed once I find her….” Rumi began as Mira handed her a ball of clothing. “Thanks.”
“Do you think you can move?” Rumi asked her as she placed the clothing down on the mattress.
“I’m going to have to. I’ve pushed through this once already and I can do it again,” Zoey replied, managing to sit up with only a little pain.
Pulling her shirt and jacket off, Zoey took her t-shirt and slid it on, liking the loose feel of it. Taking her hoodie next, she slipped into it and adjusted it so it fit right. “Now for pants,” she winced as she tried to get up without help.
Feeling Rumi hold her and help her the rest of the way up, she was a little surprised when Rumi undid her skirt and slid it down her legs. Zoey had never seen Rumi take such forwardness like this and it was kind of nice. Allow Rumi to help put her black leggings on, she took a second to let the pain pass before she pulled Rumi into her arms and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you,” she murmured before letting her go.
Slowly walking across the room and sliding her feet into her shoes, she waited for Mira and Rumi to finish changing.
“Are we ready to go?” She asked a few moments later, looking at her two best friends.
“I am. Rumi, you good?” Mira replied.
“I am, all good now,” Rumi said, pulling her hoodie over her head. “Now, do we want dinner from the markets or do we want to grab something after we stop there?”
“Dinner from the markets is always so much better. I want anything with broth and noodles,” Zoey said, holding onto her ribs as they headed out of their changeroom.
“Yeah. You’re staying in the car. You have until we get there to give us a list of everything we need to get,” Mira said, walking ahead and opening the doors and checking for danger on the other side.
“I’ll try and keep the list short,” Zoey beamed as Rumi stood close.
The drive to the markets didn’t take long and before Zoey knew it, she was sitting in the back of the car, engine on, doors locked and the air conditioning on just enough to keep it comfortable. Keeping her eyes trained on the crowds outside, she kept looking for something or anything that looked out of place.
She had no idea how a demon had attacked her and she hadn’t noticed. She felt like she had been hate-crimed, picked out of a crowd just by the gender of the person she loved. It had been seven months since she learnt the truth about Rumi and together as a group, they sent the demons back to where they belonged. It had been five and a half months since she and Rumi confessed their feelings to each other in the middle of the night, on the roof of their penthouse as it rained.
Zoey knew being a K-Pop star had its advantages, and she didn’t realise how much she took it for granted until today.
Demon fucking dyke.
Fucking carpet munching faggot.
Fruitier than a fruit basket.
The hate in his voice as what he said ran through her mind, Zoey shuddered and tried not to think about it. Rumi had already been through enough, and now there were homophobic demons out there that didn’t get pushed back into their realm.
She knew Mira would be on top of it – she always was – but it was sometimes unfair to put all of this on Mira while she recovered as Mira would have Rumi act as Zoey’s personal security and not help her instead.
Hearing a knock on the window, Zoey felt herself almost jump out of her skin. Seeing Rumi and Mira with their arms full of boxes and bags, Zoey popped the boot and opened the doors. Pushing her door open to get out and help, it was quickly kicked closed.
“Don’t you dare think about getting out of the car,” Mira said loud enough for her to hear.
Relaxing back into the seat, it wasn’t long before two big boxes were placed in the passenger footwell and Rumi joined her in the back.
“We got everything on your list and some extras for dinner,” Mira commented, sliding in behind the wheel.
“What kind of extras?” Zoey asked, unable to move enough to look into them.
“You’ll see when we get home,” Rumi smiled, reaching out and taking hold of her hand and softly squeezing.
The drive to their penthouse was mostly done in silence. Rumi kept her eyes focused all around them. She could see Mira concentrating on the road, she could see the sad look on Zoey’s face as her mind was probably replaying the attack over and over again. Her own mind was more worried about Zoey than anything. She knew the demons still being here was a problem, but she knew that once she located them, it wouldn’t take more than a day or two to completely deal with them.
Pulling into their parking garage, Rumi reached over and undid Zoey’s seatbelt for her. Seeing Zoey reach for her hand, she met her halfway and smiled when Zoey pressed a kiss to the middle of her palm.
“Come on, lovebirds, the food will be cold by the time you two are done being mushy,” Mira said, pulling the boxes up and out of the car.
Getting everything inside in one trip, Rumi made sure nothing would roll off the kitchen counter before she took three bottles of aloe vera juice and placed them on the coffee table along with some bottled water that had their band logo on them.
Mira was busy unpacking their dinner onto the coffee table as Zoey made up a cozy area on the floor around it so they could sit down comfortably and watch something. Catching Zoey trying to do more to help, Rumi smiled and shook her head.
“Zoey, baby, let us take care of you, please,” Rumi said going over to Zoey and taking the utensils from her and placing them on the counter.
“I hate not helping,” Zoey said, looking to the floor.
“I know but you need to rest. Sit down and let me and Mira get the last few things ready.” Wrapping an arm around Zoey’s waist, careful of her ribs, Rumi led her over to the coffee table. “Where do you want to sit?”
“The middle so I’m next to both of my best friends,” Zoey replied, leaning into Rumi.
“Then sit and I’ll even let you pick what kind of gimbap you want to try first,” Mira said as Zoey quickly sat.
Hearing a distressed scream come from Zoey, both Rumi and Mira were next to her in an instant.
“I didn’t think that through,” Zoey said, breathing heavily.
“No, you didn’t,” Mira replied, rubbing her back.
“It’ll pass. Slow deep breaths, my love.” Brushing Zoey’s bangs back, Rumi continued to do so until she had calmed down.
“Okay, I’m feeling better. Thanks guys. The pain has gone back down to a three,” Zoey said, wiping at her eyes.
“Sit, rest, we’ll join you in a minute,” Rumi said, pressing a kiss to her head.
Quickly gathering the last of the things they needed, Rumi and Mira joined Zoey around the coffee table. Cracking open the three containers of noodles, Rumi got to work on opening the containers of broth. Mira loaded each container up with vegetables while Zoey did what she could and split the gimbap between them.
Pulling up She Makes My Heart Flutter, Zoey hit play as Rumi handed her an almost overflowing container of market noodles. Settling in for a girl’s night with the two people she loved most in the world, Zoey wouldn’t have it any other way. Feeling Rumi press a kiss to her cheek, Zoey grinned as Mira fondly looked at them and pretended to roll her eyes.
Tonight was a night they all honestly needed and after the shit that happened, Zoey was ready to get it off her mind.
Slurping her noodles, Zoey closed her eyes and sighed. Market noodles were soul soothing and delicious.
“I love you guys,” Zoey said, putting her container down.
“I love you guys, too.”
“I love you guys, three.”