Chapter Text
"I Love you so much. You make me the happiest person in the world..."
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Zoey was drenched in sweat, bent over, trying to catch her breath. The Huntrix girls just got done finishing rehearsals, getting ready for another tour. As Rumi and Mira were also getting their break, she walks over to where she placed her stuff down across the ballroom. The Maknae proceeds to snatch a towel, wiping her face with it, and then placing it over her shoulder.
Grabbing her water bottle, Zoey turns around and leans against the wall, taking sips every now and then. She turned her attention towards the two other Huntrix girls, who were conversing on the other side of the room. She stared at them, replaying memories of how much she adores them in her head.
"Everything ok, Zoey?" Bobby asked, placing a hand behind her back. The Maknae looked at him, giving a cheeky smile.
"Yeah. Everything is great."
"Alright everyone, that's enough for today! Make sure you guys get lots of rest tonight! I'll see all of you tomorrow!" The dance choreographer announced. While everyone was packing up to leave, Rumi and Mira walked up to Zoey, with a question.
"Hey, we're going to the bathhouse. Did you wanna come?" Rumi asked. Zoey's face was plastered with concern, like she was asking a really stupid question. And she was.
"If I ever say no to going to the bathhouse, you better strike me down where I stand.", she answered, causing a chuckle to escape from the girls. Zoey was being 100% serious, though.
It was about 6:00pm, the sun starting to set, when they exit the building together, waving bye at everyone. While walking down the sidewalk, Rumi and Mira were deep in another conversation. Zoey wasn't paying any attention to it, as she scrolling down her phone, mindlessly—watching any videos or posts that came up on her social media feed.
After doom scrolling for a few minutes, one post came up, making her stop in her tracks while Rumi and Mira kept walking.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Mystery, the famous singer, ex-Saja Boy, is rumored to return to Korea, after staying in the U.S. for the past few years!
Zoey's eyes lowered a little, looking at the headshot of Mystery that was attached to the post.
Her heart sank down to her stomach.
She immediately felt ill, like she was gonna throw up. Memories immediately flooded in—to a time where she felt like the happiest woman in the world. But, all of that was overshadowed by pain and suffering.
"He's back?"
Mira turned her head to look at Rumi while they were still talking, but noticed that Zoey was gone in her peripheral vision. She stopped, and whipped her head, looking back at Zoey standing in the middle of the sidewalk while people were walking by her. She immediately started walking up to her, Rumi following close behind.
Zoey was too deep in her thoughts. Her throat felt like it closed on her, making it difficult to breathe—her chest, feeling tight. An anxiety attack was coming up, something that she had recently been getting better with, but now, it felt like it was back to square one.
Mira immediately knew something was wrong by the way Zoey's face was filled with distress. She jogged up to her and led her to the side, away from the public. Once they were alone, she made her sit down.
Squatting, Mira placed a hand on her back, gently rubbing it, while Zoey was hyperventilating, "Hey, relax. We're here. Breathe in and out.....In.....And out...."
With the help of Mira, Zoey managed to calm down after some time. She sat there, phone still in hand, but was curled up in ball, her face covered by her knees.
"Hey, what happened? Are you ok?" Rumi asked, finally deciding to speak up. Zoey raised her head and unlocked her phone, before showing her the news. Rumi grabbed the phone and stared at it. Her face instantly went sympathetic.
"I'm so sorry, Zoey."
Mira grabbed the phone, reading it. She instantly clinched a fist.
"Forget him, Zoey. You don't deserve this," Mira said, in a stern tone. "Come on, Let's go to the bathhouse already, it'll help you relax and clear your mind."
Rumi and Mira slowly help Zoey up to her feet. As they walked down the sidewalk once again, they stayed close by her, helping keep pace with them. She kept her head hanging, and stayed silent the whole way there.
Once they arrived, the girls led the Maknae inside, quickly guiding her to the changing room. While there, they began to undress. Zoey though, was moving like sloth. She was still in her head, overthinking every little thing, but mostly, all she could think about it was not wanting to experience that pain again when he left.
"Did you hear? Mystery is coming back to Korea."
"Really? He was my favorite Saja Boy!"
"He's so cute!"
Zoey heard the conversation going on across the room, snapping her out of deep thoughts. She tensed her body up, feeling something crawling down her cheek. upon touching it, she felt wetness, rubbing it between her fingers and thumb.
"Am I crying?"
She quickly rubbed her face against her forearm, and just focused on finishing stripping down. She wrapped herself, and followed the girls to their own private area.
After thoroughly washing herself, The Maknae made her way to the hot, steamy, pool of water that Rumi and Mira were at, taking off her towel, and sitting at the opposite end. She exhaled with relaxation once she was enveloped by it.
"This never gets old," Rumi said. The others nodded in agreement. They sat there for what felt like hours, giving time for Zoey to start overthinking again.
Unfortunately.
"Why is he back? Why right now, when I was finally getting better? Do I.......want him back? After what he did to me? After all this time...."
"Hey, Zoey." Mira spoke up, causing her to change her attention to the pink-haired.
"I know it must be a tough time right now, suddenly learning your ex is coming back, but I just want to let you know, we are here if you need anything. You mean too much to us and we don't want to see you like that ever again. It was hard on everybody. So, please, let us know how we can help."
Rumi nodded. Zoey looks at the both of them, before letting out a big sigh.
"Honestly," She said, trying to find the right words, "I don't what to do. I'm feeling so many emotions right now, it's overwhelming."
Zoey looks down at her reflection, "I was finally starting to feel better about myself, but now I'm scared that I'll resort back to the way I was when he left."
"Yeah, you were a huge mess. I was really scared that you were gonna do something to yourself." Mira said. There was a pause.
"Do you still love him?" Rumi added. Zoey lowered her head once again, contemplating her question.
"I don't know. A part of me is, if I'm being honest. But, I know it's wrong to want him back after what he did to me. I don't even know if he still loves me."
Silence falls upon the girls, only running water filling the ambiance.
"Well, whatever you do, we'll have your back no matter what." Rumi spoke up. Mira agreed. Zoey smiled at them both and nodded.
"You're doing way better than last time. You're actually communicating with us." Mira joked, successfully causing everyone to giggle.
"Thanks girls. I love you both."
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After their deep convo and relaxy time, Mira brought up an idea to go out tonight, to help Zoey forget all about Mystery. Zoey had second thoughts, but she eventually agreed. They head home to the Huntrix tower to get dressed real quick, before arriving at a late night club. They didn't wear anything to draw attention to themselves, mostly because they were taken already and Zoey wasn't interested in dating right now.
There was a lot of people, loud music, usual club stuff. Luckily, there wasn't many fans there, and the ones who were, were pretty respectful, for the most part. While snaking their way through the building, the girls found a booth to stay at. Zoey immediately sat down.
"Hey! I'm going to get some menus and drink! What did you want?!" Mira shouted, as the music was loud.
"What ever you get! It doesn't matter to me!" Zoey answered. Mira nodded, pulling Rumi with her.
While waiting for the girls to come back, Zoey scrolled on her phone. She was mostly watching videos, responding to messages, but her curiosity got the better of her. She started looking deeper into news of Mystery coming back to Korea.
Zoey completely ignored or even blocked anything Mystery related, so this is the first time she actually saw pictures of him in a long time. She stopped at one though, where half his face was shown. The Maknae stared at it, feeling her heart beat faster, her face getting hot, memories running through her head.
Oh, how he made her feel back then, but she needs to forget it.
Suddenly, her trance was broken when two men walked up to her, reeking of booze.
"Hey girl~!"
Zoey just looked at him and awkwardly smiled.
"Hey, we say you from the bar, and we just wanted to say, you're really cute!"
"Thanks!" Zoey responded, obviously feeling uncomfortable, but, wasn't nervous. She could handle her own.
"Why don't you come with us?! We could have fun all night~!"
Zoey looked at both of them, before laughing to herself. "No thanks, Sorry! I'm not interested!"
The guys look at each other and laugh, making it even more awkward for The Maknae.
"Come on, you don't want to have fun~?! We-"
The drunk guy was pulled from the shoulder by Mira, cutting him off—forcing him to face her.
"Hey! She's not interested! Find someone else to bother!"
The drunk guy just looked her, before tapping his friend and both of them quickly left.
"Thanks!" Zoey said.
"Of course!"
Mira handed her a cup and a menu, while Rumi placed down a bottle of Soju and Makgeolii, with a few shot glasses. Zoey immediately poured a glass and started drinking, before looking at the menu. Both girls sat down, across from Zoey, looking at the menu too. After some time, a waiter came over and took their orders.
Zoey didn't slow down on drinking tonight. She finished her drink pretty fast while waiting for her food.
"Damn, Zoey! Maybe you should slow down!? It's not going anywhere!" Rumi said.
"I'm ok, don't worry about me!" Zoey responded, pouring another glass and taking a sip.
Their food arrived, and it was delicious.
"You ok!?" Mira asked Zoey, her mouth full. She just nodded in response.
Zoey was not really ok. She was not letting up, and the alcohol was getting to her fast.
As the night went on, Zoey was all over the place. She forced Mira to dance with her on the dance floor, she cried on Rumi's shoulder saying how much she loves her—taking multiple shots with them. All the fun stuff.
It was getting late and Mira decided they should get going before it got to be to much. As they exit the building, Rumi helped Zoey out, as she wasn't all there, obviously.
"Oh, you're going to be feeling it tomorrow."
"I'm f-fine."
"No, you're not."
"Yes I am! Look!" Zoey got out of Rumi's grasp and started dancing around. She was smiling happily, without a care in the world.
"Mystery who?" she blurted out. The girls just chuckled watching her.
As she was drunkenly doing her moves, Zoey accidentally bumped into someone, scaring her.
"Oh! Sorry about-"
She looked up and immediately noticed the long, lavender, bluish-haired color. She didn't immediately get what was going on, but after a bit, she was totally stunned.
"M-Mystery?"
The pair stared at each other—the world feeling like it stopped, just for them.
"Zoey?"
Zoey backed up a little, to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Looking at him up and down, she took in his physique.
She turned her attention to the left, noticing him holding hands with another girl.