Chapter Text
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A strip of daylight shone into the narrow alley through a mess of overhead wires. Rumi skirted a parked scooter, taking in the visual feast, the haphazard of signs, empty delivery crates, and neons pulsing in storefronts. Energy and light everywhere. Not shadows and oppression like below.
Rumi was lucky. She had an out. She was half human. At a young age, she’d learnt that she could slip through the veil between worlds. Most demons could, but she could use weak spots, not just tears. And she didn’t have Gwi-Ma’s voice in her head. She was not his slave or puppet. It wasn’t the relief it should have been. If he found out, he’d find a way to use it against her, or just kill her.
When she was young, she crossed into the world above for simple pleasures, to feel the sun on her skin, the soft green grass underfoot, and an ocean that lapped at her toes without burning them off. She’d go to the playground to run and play with other children. The surface realm drew her to it and as she grew so too did her time spent there. Eventually, it led to the decision to stay permanently.
Rumi slowed, spying something in the window of a store. There upon the merchant’s shelf was a bowl containing an earth being. This type of creature had intrigued her from her very first visit. They survived just fine on their own in their natural habitat, but when the humans cultivated them they often needed care. And when they took them as pets, the creatures were completely at their mercy.
She stepped into the shop to stroke its cool leaves. They curled slightly at the edges and were pliant. The creature was thirsty.
Rumi summoned the merchant with a look. “You! Are you responsible for this creature?”
The man spluttered a confirmation.
“It requires hydration. See to it.” She looked him up and down and turned away. “That is all.”
She left the shop and continued walking. There was still much to learn. About the world, about how to be human. She was too young. She knew that much. Teenagers weren’t independent here. She needed to be an adult. Until then, she would study the humans further on these covert expeditions.
And plot her escape.
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There was nothing special about the day she chose to leave for good. Nor were there any goodbyes. She simply wandered off between the shards of rock into the caverns. Unlike the others, her fingers could snag the waves of energy trapping them. She could warp them and pass right through without a trace.
The first thing she needed to do was find a lair…a nest?…a…someplace to sleep. This went okay for a couple of days. She found a rather nice shrubbery. And it was highly amusing frightening humans when she unexpectedly jumped out of the shrubbery. But they also looked upon her with scorn. Humans did not think a shrubbery was an ideal home.
So Rumi wandered.
She had to assimilate, blend in so they didn’t know what she was. And most importantly.
Do not eat anyone.
Rumi didn’t actually know how to eat someone. She just assumed it was something she was capable of doing. There was always a lot of talk about it in the underneath. Rumi didn’t see the appeal personally. She didn’t need to feed on souls. She had one of her own—a gift from her mother. Carefully hidden from the other demons so she didn’t become lunch.
There was a yearning scorching inside her body. It worried her. She continued to walk through the city, not sure where to go. A smell drifted into her nostrils amongst the petrol fumes and grime. She inhaled deeply, drawing more of the delicious scent into her lungs. Her eyes darted around looking for the source. A street vendor, cooking things in a cloud of fragrant steam.
Food.
Right, she needed to eat up here. Back home she survived on Gwi-Ma’s warmth and the odd fungus she found growing in the dirt. But on the surface she had to eat regularly like a human. Everything here cost money though. She pulled out the coin she’d found on the ground and offered it to the vendor.
“This is not enough.”
“Please? I’m very hungry.” Rumi tried to convey the depth of her hunger with her face.
“I’ll pay for her,” an elderly woman said, handing over enough money for Rumi to be presented with something on a stick.
“Thank you,” Rumi said with a bow. It still shocked her when humans were kind to her.
Rumi’s teeth sank into the crunchy, warm snack. She moaned with ecstasy, her head tilting back. It was so good! She stuffed more in her mouth, barely chewing. It filled the pit inside her, the painful gnawing.
The couple next to her were staring, horrified and disgusted.
“I forgot to eat,” she explained.
That did not satisfy them. Rumi used the serviette she’d been given to clean her face like she’d seen humans do. She returned to her food at a slower pace.
Blend in.
Rumi could see food was going to be a significant hindrance. In order to survive here, she’d need money. Which meant, she was going to need a job.
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Over many days, Rumi searched in the quieter outskirts of the city, where life was calmer and the hills were close. There she found a treasure, the place she wanted to work. The store was small, and full of her favourite creatures, many already in colourful ceramic pots, ready to be taken as pets.
It was perfect
She strolled in, walking up to the person inside. “May I please work here?” She used the honeyed tone of voice that made humans want to please her. “I am good at communicating with plants.”
“What about people? It’s not the plants you need to communicate with.” He chuckled.
“I can talk to people.”
Rumi left the counter and sashayed over to a customer. “This one would be a wonderful choice,” she gestured to a plant, again using the voice.
“Oh. Yes.” The woman took the plant off the shelf and brought it to the counter.
The shopkeeper was impressed. She could tell. The voice was useful. She wasn’t able to enthral anyone, and they still had free will, but it did make some people open to suggestion. She’d been able to ask for money or food that way. Even though her kind stole from humans, Rumi had learnt that it was wrong here.
Once the woman left, the shopkeeper turned to Rumi. “We weren’t looking for anyone. But…we could use some help on Saturdays. Could you start at ten?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t know how she’d know when ten was. She didn’t have a phone or a time bracelet. She’d have to find time out in public, or ask someone.
“Great. Did you have any questions?”
Rumi leaned closer. “What day is it today?”
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Having a job was good. Much better than hiding in shadows, listening to the distant sound of Gwi-Ma screaming at some poor demon who’d failed him. Rumi got to spend all day with her favourite earthlings, and give advice to incompetent humans. They listened to her and respected her knowledge. Well, most of them.
A young couple approached her with their selection. Rumi smiled pleasantly. It felt funny on her face.
“Greetings.”
“Can we have a ribbon on the pot?” the woman asked. “It’s a gift.”
Rumi glanced at the calathea then up at the humans. “Does the recipient possess other plants?”
“Um…I don’t think so.”
“Then that is a poor choice.”
“But—”
“You would be sending that creature to its death. I shall find you a more suitable option.” She whisked the calathea to safety and sent them on their way with a parlour palm in a pretty blue pot with a white satin bow.
Rumi was good at her job. She sold lots of plants. She helped people pick when they were being indecisive, stopped them from getting overwhelmed and leaving. Gave them plants to suit them, so they weren’t disappointed by death.
The owners were pleased and gave her more hours. Mr Kwon had a lovely wife, Yeo-jin, who was surprised to meet her, but after hearing Rumi’s voice was quite agreeable. She asked about Rumi’s family and looked sad when she told her she didn’t have any and had run away from where she used to live because of the bad people there.
They helped her find somewhere to live because ‘the tube slide at the playground is not a home.’ Pffft…it was comfortable and pleasantly coloured. Yeo-jin also took her shopping so she could get ‘all the things a young lady needs to start over.’ There were some clothes, good smelling things to bathe with, and a futon to sleep on.
A new customer came in, a middle-aged woman who eyed the stock with apprehension.
Rumi swooped in to assist. “Greetings. I will help you find something.”
Her expression was one of relief, before changing to one of guilt. “I’m really bad with plants.”
She looked like she would be bad with plants. Mass botanical murderess bad.
Rumi handed her a spider plant. “This will live. It may not look perfect with crispy leaves, but it will survive extreme neglect.”
“Oh, good.”
“It also has babies.” Rumi smiled, feeling the tug of skin at her cheeks.
“Uh huh.” She nodded warily.
Rumi needed to work on her smiling. It was letting down her charm factor. She’d thought that was a good one. Spider babies genuinely delighted her. It was a fascinating method of reproduction.
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Rumi learnt more about compassion. She saw how caring the humans could be to each other. People had helped her without wanting anything in return, given back her dropped wallet when they could have taken the money, shown her directions when she was lost. One woman even told her words of comfort when she was distressed, even though such weakness shouldn’t be indulged. She was a lovely young woman to look at as well. Pretty ones made Rumi feel warm and shiny inside.
She practised her facial expressions in the mirror and learnt how to lean in to her flirtatious side. It helped her sell plants. But it did not help her make friends. Maybe subconsciously, they could still sense she was a demon. People thought she was attractive, but only from afar. Rumi wanted to be with someone romantically, sexually. She craved that closeness, desperately wanted to feel the warmth against her. Each day she left the plants at the shop and returned home to the ones in her apartment. They were marvellous things, but they were not warm.
Rumi was very alone.
And it hurt.
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“Please, Mum? Everyone else is going.” Ha-eun uncrossed her arms and fiddled with her bracelet.
Zoey turned her back on the TV to watch her aunt faceoff against the teenager.
“I don’t like you going out that late to the house of someone you barely know.”
“His family will be there. It won’t be a drug-fuelled orgy.”
“Maybe his family will start the orgy,” Zoey called out from the couch.
Ha-eun sent her a glare. “Not helping!”
“Hmm…Not by yourself. You can go if Zoey goes with you.”
“What?” Zoey hurried across the room to protest. “I don’t want to go to a sixteen-year-old’s party.”
Her cousin seized her by the shoulders. “Please, Zoey?” She tried to look up at her with sad eyes, which didn’t work given they were almost the same height. “Please? ”
“Urgh! Fine. But you owe me.”
Ha-eun squealed and ran to get dressed.
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A train and two buses later, and they stood outside a two-story house on a windy hillside street. It was a nice neighbourhood. Maybe too nice. How had Ha-eun even met this dude? The girl’s ability to socialise was both inspiring and depressing.
Ha-eun faced Zoey, not properly meeting her eyes. “Could you maybe not come in?”
Zoey stared at her. “Seriously? You make me come all this way and then you want to ditch me?”
“I know. I’m sorry. But I really like this guy and I want to make good impression. It will be weird if you’re just sitting in the corner, or if you talk to people about building a house out of cheesecake again. Or try to show people your scar that’s shaped like a cat.”
Zoey frowned. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t want to be the person who brought the weird girl.”
“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
The promises of sixteen-year-old girls who wanted something were about as empty as Zoey’s social calendar. She was used to exclusion from peers, but it was a little harsh when she received it from family.
“Whatever. But you come when I call you so we don’t miss the bus, or I’ll come to the door and be extra deranged.”
“Got it.” She hugged Zoey and spun to press the intercom.
Zoey waited for her to be let in, then dawdled along the street. It wasn’t like she wanted to hang out with a bunch of younger people, but rejection always hurt.
She got out her phone to see where she could spend a few hours. It wasn’t a rich area, but it was nice. The houses were large and spaced from their neighbours. It meant there wasn’t much around.
Zoey passed the bus stop, but didn’t slow. She may as well walk to the next to pass the time. She could take a short trip, but ultimately she didn’t want to leave her young cousin too far from reach. She was supposed to be a responsible adult here.
She sat down on the bench. This one felt lucky. Or the other one felt off, in the ominous ‘something told me to move and if I hadn’t I would have died’ way. She scrolled her phone while she waited, passing the minutes with cute K-pop videos. And only a little bit of leafy seadragons.
Shouting voices came from a house up the street. A gate hit its latch hard and a young woman walked her way, shouldering a bag. She crossed the road in a huff and sank with a heaviness onto the other end of the bench, dumping her bag unceremoniously on the ground. She was tall and stunningly beautiful, with a, ‘I can kill you with my bare hands’ air about her, but she was also vulnerable. There was defeat in her posture, dissipating anger showing hints of pain. It wasn’t normal to talk to strangers in Korea, but Zoey couldn’t ignore someone who was hurting like that.
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“Are you okay?” asked a quiet voice.
Mira side-eyed the girl beside her, a petite thing, face dripping with concern. Why was she talking to her?
“I’m here if you want to talk about it,” the girl said, with the hint of an accent.
Oh, American. That was why. Mira just wanted to be left alone. She hated small talk, especially with people she didn’t know. She was tempted to snap at the girl, but she was…cute. She had big eyes and freckles and an innocent sweetness to her. She didn’t deserve to have Mira take her anger out on her.
“I’m fine.”
She smiled sadly. “Okay.” She played with her hands in her lap. “My cousin used me so her mum would let her go to a party, and now she’s ditched me because I am too weird to be seen with.”
“Rude.”
She laughed. It was sort of sad and accepting. Without pause, she launched into another irrelevant tale.
Was this an attempt to distract Mira, general too friendly overshare, or was this woman just an eccentric oddling?
It should have been boring listening to her waffle about trivial things, but Mira found it endearing. She was so animated, so into what she was saying, as if the rest of the world could cease to exist and she’d still be chatting excitedly.
She was kind of adorable.
“What’s your name?”
She lit up. “Zoey.”
Oh, great, something she couldn’t pronounce.
She giggled at Mira’s expression. “It’s fine. I don’t expect anyone here to be able to say it.”
“I’m Mira.”
“That’s such a pretty name.”
“I’m having my own party next Saturday for my birthday while the parentals are out of town. You should come.”
Zoey stared at her, lips parted in shock. “Really?” Her eyes held a hint of wonder. “Okay. Thanks!”
Geez, how few parties had this girl been invited to?
“9pm. You know the address.” She tossed her head towards home.
The lights of the bus came around the corner. Mira reached for the strap of her bag and stood up. Zoey took a seat near the front and Mira swung into the one across the aisle. She liked her space. Although, she wouldn’t object to having Zoey in her lap.
The bus wound through the darkened streets, lights, houses, and closed shops passing by.
“If you get off here, there’s a convenience store,” Mira said as they approached a stop. “You can get some food and wait for your bitch cousin. Plot your revenge.”
Zoey laughed. “Okay. Thanks.” She stood up, clinging to a pole as the bus pulled to a stop. “See you next Saturday.” She gave Mira a brilliant smile on her way out.
The bus lurched away from the kerb, leaving her behind. Maybe Mira should have got off with her for a while. Confrontation with her parents always left her in such a bad mood, but Zoey had made her feel brighter.
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Zoey jolted awake, head hanging half way to her knees. Her bag was on the floor of the train carriage, having slipped from her hands and lap. She picked it up, flustered at the attention. The announcement for the next station made her freeze. She’d missed her stop.
The doors opened and she joined the shuffle of people up the escalator. At least she could go get some food before catching the train of shame back to her stop.
Zoey scanned the buildings as she walked. She’d unintentionally popped up in an area with a lot of retail stores. Which actually, was great. Because she needed a gift for the weekend. It was polite to bring a gift when visiting someone’s house here, and it was Mira’s birthday, so she should get her something, right? She needed a gift suitable for an adult she didn’t know—that wasn’t boring and thoughtless like hand cream or candles.
She’d actually really liked hanging out with Mira. The woman was effortlessly cool and disarmingly attractive. The type of person who normally didn’t even see Zoey. But Mira had seen her and she didn’t even get annoyed when Zoey talked too much. Zoey could be pretty oblivious to a lot of stuff, but even she’d picked up on the possibly not straightness going on behind that striking face of fierce eyeliner and smirking lips. And apparently so could the part of her that wanted to slide closer and fawn stupidly at her.
The window on her left was full of plants and décor. It made Zoey pause. A plant! Yes. Solid, mature gift. Everyone liked…okay, most people liked plants.
Inside, the shop was an assortment of neatly arranged greenery. She cast a glance around, overwhelmed by foliage, not sure where to start.
“Hello,” said a pleasant voice.
Zoey whipped around to find a woman standing less than a metre away. She was rather enchanting to look upon. A gentle sort of beautiful with a kind, honest face, and braided purple hair.
“What can I help you find today?” She smiled and blinked warm brown eyes at her.
“Uh…um…hello.”
Social humiliation apparently.
“I’m looking for a gift.”
“Wonderful. Who is this gift for?” She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. The nametag by her fingers read ‘Rumi.’
“Oh, um, I got invited to a party by this amazing girl. She’s gorgeous, like she looks like a model, and she’s so cool, and totally out of my league even as a potential friend and I don’t know how to flirt anyway. And maybe a plant isn’t a good idea. She’s kind of edgy and blunt. Maybe she thinks plants are too soft and lame.”
“Plants are glorious and extremely beneficial to humans. Some people have a tough exterior, but that doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate delicate things” Rumi gently stroked the leaf of a plant. An alarming length of hair trailed behind her, smaller braids all joining to form one super braid that reminded Zoey of the climbing ropes in her high school gym.
Oh my god. What do you do with that amount of hair?
“Let us try something easy to care for.” She walked along the aisle. “For your friend.” All the innocence fell from her features. Her mouth hitched on one side and her eyes narrowed to a smouldering tease.
Zoey followed her, trying not to look at the way she was drumming her nails against her plump bottom lip while she took in the stock. It was very distracting.
A flush of pastel leaves popped out at Zoey from the green. “Pink!”
The sales assistant smiled and pulled the plant off the shelf. “Pretty pink for your pretty lady?”
Zoey wouldn’t have thought someone like Mira would like pink. She had that ‘fuck girly stuff’ vibe. Yet her phone had a crystal bead strap. She was such an interesting mix of a person.
“She has pink hair.”
“Ah, this is your one then. A sweet syngonium.” Her fingers swept over the leaves in a gentle caress, then she rolled her wrist in what was far too sensual a movement. Like the plant was a crystal ball she was pulling fortunes from.
“Now we pick a pot.”
“Oh, I…uh…”
The woman smiled and nodded. “You want a pot.”
“Okay.”
Rumi hadn’t waited for her answer. She’d already whisked the plant away to the counter and was perusing the shelves of pots. Zoey came up beside her, immediately drawn to a pot with a pink and blue glaze.
“Yes.” Rumi snatched it off the shelf and had the plastic pot inside the ceramic by the time Zoey got to the counter. “We have a special today.” She grinned and unwound a length of pink ribbon from a spool. “Free ribbons for cute girls.” She gave her a wink.
Zoey nearly dropped her wallet. She remembered to breathe and stood fidgeting with the zip while Rumi tied a bow around the pot and fixed it there with tape. She punched a few keys on the register and showed her the screen. Zoey tapped her card without even looking at the total.
Rumi offered her the receipt with both hands and a bow. “I hope you are successful in your endeavour. May this plant bring you happiness.”
What were you supposed to say to that?
“Thank you.” Zoey took the pot in her hands.
The sales assistant waved to her with a pleasant expression. “Please return soon. There are many more plants I can sell you.”
Zoey held the plant against herself and walked back to the train station. After…whatever the fuck that was, she decided to give up on social interaction for the day and go home.
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The bus lunged and surged its way through the streets. Zoey gripped the pot on her lap, the plant’s pink leaves brushing against her purple dress with the bus’s movement. She’d thought too much about what to wear. It had to say, ‘Look at me. I’m hot,’ without shouting, ‘Down for a finger bang.’
Oh, she suspected she very well may want Mira’s fingers inside her, but as a girlfriend scenario, rather than a quick and dirty behind the back wall encounter.
Hopefully this was that dress. Dark purple, silver piping, stars. Sweetheart neckline, short, flared skirt to show off her legs. Her hair was out and curled into waves and she’d been generous with the eyeliner and shimmer eye shadow.
She clicked her way from the bus stop to the house in her purple glitter heels and pressed the intercom. The gate clicked without an answer and Zoey toddled to the door to knock. It swung open and a young man stood grinning at her, bottle of soju in one hand.
“Hey, girl I don’t know! Come on in.”
Zoey tentatively stepped inside. “Is Mira around? She invited me…”
“Yeah, she’s somewhere.” He danced his way further into the house.
Zoey took off her shoes and slunk along a wall. Loud music poured out of the back of the house. There were a lot of people standing around in twos and threes, and at the back of the house a group were dancing. Everyone seemed to be drinking.
This wasn’t a friendly get together among friends. This was a disturb the neighbours kind of party.
Zoey glanced down at the plant. It was painfully out of place and so was she.
She retreated to a quiet room at the front of the house, where only a couple of people sat talking. Zoey perched on the step separating it from the hallway, where she could stare at the door and debate how long she should sit there before it would be okay to leave.
You should just go. No one will notice.
“Did you bring that so you’d have someone to talk to?”
Zoey yelped and almost launched the plant into the air. “Uh…” She looked at Mira over her shoulder and laughed. “Actually, I brought it as a gift, but I appear to have misjudged the type of gathering I was coming to.” She nodded. “So now I’m drowning in the shame of my social awkwardness while hiding from everyone.”
Mira shrugged, jostling the silver earrings dangling to her shoulders. “It happens. No need to drown over here by yourself.”
Her hair was up in a sophisticated twist and her makeup was a flawless masterpiece of winged eyeliner and black lipstick. She was wearing a silver mini dress that caught the light and made her legs look even longer.
Zoey looked away before she blushed. “I’m not very good at making friends.”
“Me either. Most of these people are just from my university class.” Mira sat beside her on the step. “What have you got there?”
Zoey showed her the plant. “It’s a syngonium apparently. The super cute girl at the plant shop helped me pick it. She said it was easy to look after. But I can take it with me if it’s not your—”
Mira set down her bottle of soju and reached to take the plant from her lap. “It’s cool. Thanks.” She smiled at her and placed the pot down. “So, super cute girl at the plant shop?”
Zoey let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, she was like…really beautiful in an ethereal way.”
Mira smirked. “Well, now I have to go to the plant shop to see this cute goddess.”
Zoey’s stomach tightened.
“Um…yeah, I can show you.”
Noooooo! Zoey, why?
She was supposed to be hitting on Mira. Not setting her up with someone else!
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Rumi brushed the leaf of a philodendron and dusted the shelf around its pot. She felt someone about to enter the shop a second before she heard the bump of the door and tinkle of the bell. She glided over to assist the two women standing just inside the doorway. Rumi recognised the short adorable woman from last week.
“You have returned! Welcome back. How glorious to see you.” Rumi looked her companion over, taking in her sharp, refined features. “Is this her? She is pretty. Are you on a date?”
The question appeared to alarm Zoey.
“Date? No, Zoey just wanted me to see the drop-dead gorgeous girl at the plant shop,” the woman answered for her, mouth curving in a teasing manner.
“Oh.” Rumi blinked in surprise, before leaning over the counter and giving her a sultry look. “Is she here? I’m a fan of pretty girls. I might have to add her to my…collection.”
A crease formed on her forehead. “I think she was talking about you.”
Rumi smiled knowingly and hummed a note. She didn’t have anyone in the collection other than plants. They would both be wonderful additions. She might have to…
Bring you back to my lair.
Apartment.
And devour you.
Nope.
Ravag—
No!
I mean, cuddle you until you cry.
Noooo, that’s still…too much.
She whimpered. Why was she like this? She just wanted to snuggle with the pretty girls. There was no need for the extremes fantasised about by the folk back home.
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Zoey hadn’t exaggerated. The plant woman was mythical levels of gorgeous otherworldliness. If she’d been alone, Mira would absolutely have handed the girl her number. But she was on what probably counted as a date, seeing as Zoey was clearly into her. It would be impolite and it would hurt Zoey. And Mira already liked her too much to let anything hurt her.
“Be normal,” the woman breathed, eyes staring at the counter.
Mira frowned. “Are you okay?”
Her focus snapped back to them. “Hmm? Yes.”
“You just whispered ‘be normal’ out loud.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “Daily affirmations.”
Zoey winced. “I don’t think that should be one of them. That sounds like it’s the anxiety talking.”
The sales assistant stared back at her, her voice dragging through her throat in a low croak for several seconds. She abruptly turned, grabbed a plant, and placed it in front of them.
“These just came in.” Her face lit up with a stunning smile that made Mira melt inside.
What the fuck was wrong with this woman and why was it so attractive?
“It’s a nice plant,” Zoey said, with her signature cheerfulness, ignoring the woman’s peculiarity.
“Did…did you come here for a plant?” Her forehead creased. “Or just to show me to the lady you’re courting?”
Mira snickered.
Zoey’s face blanched, her lips parted in horror. A blush rose on her cheeks. “Um.”
“We’re just here to see what you’ve got.” Mira ran her eyes over the woman, before turning her attention to the stock.
She did a slow lap of the store, Zoey on her heels, pointing out a couple of cute pots. As she passed the counter on her way out, Mira gave the sales assistant a flirtatious smile. “I’ll keep you in mind next time I’m looking for something.”
The woman’s fingers tightened on the pot in her hands. “Please do.”
“Bye!” Zoey sang behind her.
Mira led the way down the street, slowing to let the shorter woman catch up.
“I think we broke her.” Zoey said once they were a few metres away.
“She does seem a little off. In an adorable way.”
Zoey giggled.
“That seemed very…neurodivergent. Can you translate?”
“Nope. Just roll with it.”
She reached for Zoey’s hand. “Where do you want to go next on our date?”
“Date!”
Mira chuckled. “Yeah, I think plant goddess had a good idea there.”
Zoey smiled, biting her lip. “Me too.”
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The last glimpses of the day were sinking low in the sky. A mix of orange glare and shadow dusted the city. Zoey didn’t want the day to end. That meant she had to leave Mira. And she didn’t think she ever wanted to leave Mira.
“What did you end up doing to your cousin in retribution for her betrayal?” Mira asked as they turned down a narrow street towards the train station.
“Nothing yet. I live with my mum, so I haven’t seen her since. I’m open to suggestions though.”
She was thoughtful for a moment. “Murder.”
“Maybe not that one.”
“A ten-year scheme where you manipulate all of the people around her, setting her up with a seemingly rich businessman who turns out to be a conman, then after a series of dramatic events it culminates in you having siphoned all her funds into an offshore bank account and revealing her marriage to be a sham in a triumphant public showdown, leaving her destitute and alone.”
Zoey side-eyed her. “Do you fall asleep to K-dramas?”
A dark shape dropped to the footpath. Zoey flinched at the person crouched before them. The woman, dressed in all black, gracefully straightened and dusted off her hands. She looked them up and down and smiled. “Two of you found each other. Wonderful.”
“What the fuck?” Zoey frowned, tilting her head back to search the buildings above them.
Where had she come from? What was she, fucking cat woman?
Mira stepped to the side, angling herself so she was slightly in front of Zoey.
She’s protecting me.
Zoey nearly swooned. A silly grin worked its way across her mouth, despite the situation.
“You’re not in any danger. I simply wanted to meet you.” The woman held herself with elegance and a totally unfair amount of self-assurance. “I’m Celine.”
Wait a minute. Zoey recognised that sharp jawline and those haughty eyes.
“Sunlight Sisters Celine.” Zoey’s hand fumbled for Mira’s arm. “Mira, is this real?”
She was hallucinating, or unconscious, possibly comatose. She was living a day where her crush asked her out, and now a 90s pop idol had descended from the heavens to address her personally.
Celine smiled at her with amusement. “Yes, it’s real. Our organisation is recruiting and you’re exactly what we’re looking for. I’d love the opportunity to discuss your future further in private.” She held out a small envelope to them both. “Why don’t you come to our audition tomorrow?”
*