Spring’s flutter.

— Romance, you’re a goddamn traitor!!

***

It all started two days ago. Another practice, the perfect choreography, the song, the words of which were already etched into their heads. “SaJa Boys” were releasing a new single - already imagining the popularity it would bring them. “HUNTRX” were still breathing into their necks, thus they had to try their hardest to remain in line and not step out of the learnt-by-heart plan.  Ah, yes the learnt-by-heart plan.  How much time had it been since there appeared a single, yet so important variable? Jinu was so sure he’ll handle this. He had been planning this tactic for a long, long time and knew that everything will go smoothly - knew that it will when he was asking Gwi-ma to let him and the others go to the human realm in the disguise of the boys-band, knew that it will when their first song broke all the records and took the leading position in the charts. But then came the hunters. And the men’s bathhouse, where Jinu saw her for the first time.  Not the annoying huntress girl with a strong voice and the ego twice as big as herself, but a person with whom he was alike. A half-blood, carrying a weight of regrets and secrets which she couldn’t tell anyone. Perhaps she wasn’t just a huntress, but a witch - how else could he explain this sudden nervousness and shyness he kept on feeling every time they’d cross paths? All of the sudden Jinu became more interested in her eyes, that long braid, her smile - long story short, in all that was pretty much useless to their plan of taking “HUNTRX” down.  And that’s when his perfect plan began to crumble. Things got ten time worse when other demons found out about the changes Jinu had went through.  — By the way, “HUNTRX” are coming to the rehearsal too, — hearing this, he loosened his grip on the water bottle and it staggered to the floor.  Abby, the one who sneaked up behind his back only to whisper this into Jinu’s ear, smirked with self-satisfaction.  — Wh-what?! N-nah- it’s impossible! — finally finding the right words, the guy turned around and glared at him like he wished to end Abby with just one stare. — They cannot share a training hall with us.  — Um, they actually can and will, — Baby SaJa looked up from his tablet, the one he immediately opened to watch videos as soon as they were given a break. — We’ve rented the same training hall.  — It can’t be, — everyone except Jinu gave each other knowing glance. — Ughh, did you do this on purpose?!  Jinu ran a hand through his hair not even bothering to hide his irritation, probably turning it to the nest for the tenth time in a row. Romance, wiping the sweat off his neck with a towel, couldn’t help but snicker: — Aww, someone’s nervous. You waiting for your favourite huntress girl?  Jinu gave him an angry stare, for the millionth time hating himself nor being so obvious. Or rather, hating his bandmates for being so observant.  — For real though, Jinu. I believe it’s time you take the act, — approaching him, Romance nudged his shoulder, for which the demon raised an eyebrow. — We do everything we can for you to finally confess to her. How much more time are you going to spend wagging your tail while staring at her back?  — I, — a pause, — I’m not wagging anything! What have you all been imagining here?!  — Well, to be fair, in some way Romance is right, — Abby opened his own bottle of water and took a couple of big sips. — I feel like she’s interested in you too. You’ll confess to her, get more closer - and it’ll benefit us.  Jinu looked away, biting his lower lip. Even if the other demons had accepted his illicit feelings, they’ve still managed to understand them wrongly and now were trying to make him think that it was not something pure, meek, something he hadn’t felt in an eternity, but a ruthless trap.  That’s what he has been afraid of - as well as afraid of Rumi slaying him with her sword the moment he confesses. If this situation is to be viewed from Abby’s angle, then Jinu would feel even more guilty. As if that flutter he’s feeling every time he sees her isn’t real. As if it’s fake, created only to lure her closer.  He didn’t want for it to be this way.  — She doesn’t like me, — more than he wanted to convince others, he wanted to convince himself. — She cannot possibly be interested in me, I’m a demon. Every time we meet she tries to lunge at me.  — You know how they say: if she tries to slaughter you, she’s probably head over heels for you, — Abby shrugged, receiving Jinu’s annoyed glare for the countless times. — Stop hesitating so much. How about…damn, I don’t know. What do girls like these days…? — Dates? — once again spoke up Baby Saja.  — Ah, yeah. Dates. “HUNTRX” will be here the same time we’ll be packing up. Use this chance and ask her out.  Jinu frowned. Then swallowed. Then glanced at his reflection in the closest mirror. Immediately cursed under his breath because his hair is a tangled mess and just raised a hand to try and fix the situation-  The doors to the training hall swung open, and the first to walk in was her.  The demon froze the way he stood seconds ago, with his hand stupidly raised and barely touching his hair. Immediately spinning around the face Rumi, he gave her the most unprofessional smile and hurried to greet the girl.  — Rumi!! I mean…haha, “HUNTRX”, woah! You’re early! Rumi, meeting his gaze, smiled.  — Hey, Ji… — We’re early? It’s you who’s taking our time here, — the next who came in after Rumi was the girl with red hair, Mira, who was ready to burst from anger. — It’s half past two, “SaJa Boys”. It’s been ten fucking minutes since we were supposed to train in this hall.  — Ah, oh, erm…sorry, sorry. We’re-we’re already done, — shaking his head slowly, Jinu grabbed his shoulder bag and hurried towards the doors. — Come on guys, hurry up. Let’s not keep our…friends waiting, — catching Rumi’s eyes on him, he managed to give her an awkward smile. — Have a god training session.  — What was that? — the moment the doors were closed, Romance put his hands on his waist, expressing the highest form of indignation. — “Have a good training session”?? Wow, the way you’ve asked her out was so smooth, even I would’ve agreed.  — Enough, forget about it. No dates, — pushing him away, Jinu adjusted the collar of his shirt and once again tried to fix his hair.  — That conversation never happened.  They’ve returned to their apartment, where Jinu took a cold shower, trying to get a grip and force the unnecessary thoughts out of his head. Once he was done and exited the bathroom, he had found others spread all over the couch, watching some movie. Baby SaJa was having his time devouring popcorn, sometimes sharing it with Mystery, Abby was drinking an orange juice while Romance was eating a chocolate bar. Noticing Jinu standing in the doorway, the latter looked up at him, raising his eyebrows in a silent question of why would he keep on standing there and watching them when he can just join the rest.  The demon looked away.  — I’ll…I’ll go to bed. Don’t stay up too late, y’all. Today’s been a rough and tiresome day, and so on.  — Yeah, yeah, of course. Good night.  Jinu turned away and walked out of the room, not knowing that Romance - as well as the other three demons of their band - were watching him walk away with mischievous grins on their faces. 

***

He woke up early. There was a full-body tremor wracking him, which forced his demon patterns to show for the brief moment. That’s why Jinu woke up with a gasp, being forced to leave the sweet fetters of Morpheus. Breathing heavily and still shaking, he looked down at his hands. Suddenly overcome with a fear that his human disguise was gone he immediately grabbed his phone, intending to open his camera and examine his reflection.  What stopped him was a strange text among other notifications.  “Then it’s settled. See you the day after tomorrow :)”.  He broke out in a cold sweat. In black letters across the white bubble there was a name: Rumi. Immediately unblocking the phone, he started reading those texts - the ones he was sure he didn’t type nor send. 

“Su-u-up, Rumi. Listen, I’d like to ask you out - how about tomorrow?”

At first Jinu thought he’s hallucinating. He blinked and wiped his eyes, examining the messages more attentively - but, to his dismay, the texts remained the same. The demon had asked her out on a date. The only problem was that he wasn’t the one sending all of this.  “Hiii, you mean today, because it’s already past midnight? Haha, sorry, I’ll be busy these two days - how about the day after tomorrow?”

“Fine by me. I’ll also be free).”

“Then it’s settled. See you the day after tomorrow :)”.  He was ready to travel back to Gwi-ma and never visit the human realm again.  After he calmed down just a fraction, the guy looked at the messages more carefully: at the time they were sent he was already sleeping. That meant someone chatted with Rumi using his phone. Someone from the band.  Jinu had stormed into the living room like the tornado. Romance happened to be there to his own misfortune - still wearing his pyjamas, scrolling through something in his phone.  — Someone had asked her out pretending to be me, — the other demon raised his eyebrows and only then did he look at the disheveled Jinu.  — Oh come on, if it were you, you’d spent another ten years waiting for “the perfect moment”. Moreover, did she agree? Yep, she did agree. Quit spiralling, — he was about to continue scrolling the edits of their group made by fans when he felt Jinu wordlessly towering over him.  — Who told you that she agreed? Oh fuck.  Romance gulped, slowly raising his head to meet the heavy gaze of their leader. Jinu’s eyes were the colour of amber, sparkling. With malice.  — Welp, because it was me.  For a moment, the demon froze, before lunging at the other.  — Romance, you’re a goddamn traitor!! 

***

— Where can we possibly spend time together? — Oh, so you haven’t decided yet?  Tomorrow. Tomorrow is his date with Rumi. Just thinking of it was making the butterflies in his belly flutter, trashing from side to side in panic and bang on the inner walls. Mystery, who asked this question while still sipping his morning coffee, didn’t make him feel any better. Jinu looked at him like a man tortured, and then continued to stare at the marble surface of their table. Mercilessly going hard on himself every training, he’d tried to push away the thoughts about the upcoming date, but it didn’t make the actual date disappear. Romance even made a note in their calendar - so that Jinu would definitely keep it in mind.  — Well it’s hard! — he said in his own defence. — Because I lived as a human four centuries ago, I fear of being too old-fashioned for her. What if she’ll get bored of me? What if I’ll do something stupid?  Mystery shrugged, hiding his gaze behind his long bangs like usual.  — Dunno. You could scroll through the sites like “A thousand date ideas”.  — Already did. I’ve stopped counting after the twenty sixth.  — Damn.  Wincing, Jinu massaged his temples, recalling his reflection he had seen this morning. Disheveled, with his hair messy and with shadows under his brown eyes. Someone had already managed to leak his photos and now his phone would sometimes buzz with notifications from their fans, who were too concerned for his well-being. If only they knew the true reason behind his awful state - their reaction would definitely be different.  — I want for everything to be perfect. You understand? — giving up, he said this to Mystery, putting his head on the table. — How laughable. To worry so much because of a date… — Laughable indeed. Stop worrying and act natural. If you’re lucky enough, things will go smoothly on their own.  — On their own? But what if I’ll say something wrong? What if Rumi won’t like something?  — Come on, come on, enough. My ears are about to bleed from your whining. 

— Write a poem for her, — Romance had offered yesterday - right after Abby and Mystery, who came because of the sounds of fighting, stopped them from getting too messy. — Girls are going crazy over this.  — Rumi? Going crazy over a poem? — he shook his head with doubt. — She’ll think of it as too old-fashioned.  — Then go and sing a serenade near their apartment’s windows.  — What?! Ew, no! That’s even more old-fashioned!  — But it’s romantic nonetheless, — Romance sighed languidly, for what he’s gotten himself  an angry glare.   Baby SaJa, who remained silent during all that discussion, suddenly took part in it.  — Ask her to go to the oceanarium. I’ve heard that these dates are kind of popular nowadays.  — Oceanarium…— Jinu frowned, biting his lip again. Did Rumi truly like things related to the sea? He didn’t know. But the idea itself didn’t sound that bad - at least not as terrible as the proposal of singing a serenade. Ew.  But to him, simply going to the oceanarium wasn’t enough. Jinu had already read quite a handful of different sites, spending long hours at night scrolling through them. Along with their trainings and recordings, this was worse than awful.  Giving him a long stare, Mystery got up from his chair and grabbed his coffee mug with his slender fingers.  — You can always create a plan for your date. And take a good rest. Stop worrying already.  Following him with his eyes, Jinu watched how he washed his mug, and then sighed. Overall, the plan for the upcoming date sounded like a good idea. This way he’ll have some paragraphs to rely on and thus there will be no room for awkward improvisation. This way, he definitely won’t jinx anything.  — Thank you, Mystery.  — Ah, there’s nothing to thank me for.  “1. I meet Rumi at the park; 2. Offer to grab some drinks; 3. Mention the oceanarium; 4. We go for a walk there and look at everything Rumi likes; 5. Then we go for a stroll to the old part of the city - I remember Rumi liking it; 6. I confess?” Sitting in his bedroom, Jinu frowned, pocking the last hand-written sentence with his pen. “I’ll confess”? Ew, no, absolutely no. He immediately crossed out that part. I’ll confess. But what if he won’t succeed? I’ll confess. He’d imagined her face right in front of himself, looked into her brown eyes, full of light and confidence, wandered with his gaze alone across her pretty features and remembered her long purple hair, always tied in a braid.  — You wanna tell me something? — her projection, created so vividly with imagination, gave him a mischievous smile, looking into his eyes with nothing but warmth and complete trust.  — I like you, — he breathed out, and only then did Jinu realise he had said it aloud.  Closing his mouth with his hand, he blushed like some lovesick teenager. 

***

He appeared in the park ten minutes before the said time. Rumi kept on asking where would he take her, but Jinu only typed that it’s “gonna be a surprise”.  Wearing jeans and pink tank top, above which he put on the loose white shirt, Jinu would occasionally look at the watch on his wrist, watching the people passing by in hopes of noticing the familiar purple braid. His own hair was washed and styled - he had spent a good half an hour full of irritation and quiet curses. Jinu even picked a perfume which wouldn’t linger in the air for too long - and now he had a soft smell of citrus around himself. Soon, Rumi herself appeared, observing the people near her with the same intent of spotting the familiar demon in the crowd. Just like him, she was dressed rather simply: dark jeans, white top and light-green shirt with long sleeves above it. Finally noticing Jinu, the girl smiled and waved at him. The demon froze at first, but a second later, mentally slapping himself, waved at her in response.  — Hi! I hope I’m not too late, — she smiled, raising her head to make an eye contact with him.  Step number one: I meet Rumi in the park.  Jinu, unbeknown to himself, started smiling too.  — No, of course not. I just came here a bit early.  — That’s great to hear. So, where are we going to go? I’m dying form curiosity.  The demon let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.  Step number two: offer to grab some drinks.  — How about we go and grab something to drink? What do you prefer more, perhaps, some lemonade or sparkling water, — he offered his hand for Rumi to hold onto. The girl did it willingly, dragging him towards the small store with drinks, which happened to be so useful in this place.  — Okay, then let’s go grab some blueberry lemonade. You’ve ever tried it?  Blueberry lemonade - for some reason Jinu wasn’t surprised that she likes this flavour specifically. It even seemed right - Rumi herself was resembling a blueberry in a way.  — Hm? No, I haven’t tried yet. But I trust your preferences.  The huntress smiled. Soon after, both of them had ordered the blueberry lemonade, and then continued their stroll through the blooming park. Watching the way Rumi enthusiastically drinks her lemonade, he too did a small sip.  The liquid - cold, fuzzy and sparking - had touched his tongue and he immediately felt the taste of the blueberry.  Jinu smiled softly.  — It’s tasty.  — Haha, I’m glad you like it!!  They’ve spent some time walking in silence, both busy with their lemonades. The girl wasn’t holding his hand anymore, but the demon had already memorised the warmth of her fingers, hugging his forearm through the thin fabric of his shirt. Too busy thinking, he had suddenly remembered about the third paragraph of his plan - the oceanarium.  — By the way, Rumi… — Everyone, look!! That’s Jinu and Rumi! He immediately stopped himself, rapidly snapping his head back to see some excited girl, pointing with her finger at him and Rumi. The demon could feel how his insides slowly curl into a tight ball and then fall down, breaking somewhere at the pit of his stomach.  Jinu had already forgotten about his fans. Their arrival now wasn’t making the situation any better.  — Look, they’re drinking lemonade together! — That’s a date!!! — JiRumi nation, we officially win today!! — Um, actually it’s RumiNu!! — Who cares! People began taking out their phones and record them, adding some comments and shouts along. Everything became so empty and silent in his head that Jinu forgot how to move for a moment, standing there like a statue. His brown eyes watched those people who tried to get closer, when the demon suddenly felt Rumi’s fingers gripping his forearm.  — Let’s get out of here! The sooner we leave, the better!  He didn’t even think of resisting. The huntress swiftly left the park along with him, disappearing in the narrow alleyways. During their escape route Jinu stumbled, accidentally spilling his drink all over her shirt.  Once again stopping dead in his tracks, the demon reached out with evident panic, looking at the big ugly stain on her clothes.  — Oh fuck, sorry, sorry, I’m so sorry… — Ah, never mind, — taking off her way shirt, the hunter shook her head and smiled once she noticed his concern. — I’ll wash it without any problem. It’s just clothes, Jinu. Don’t get so worried over it.  — But is it truly okay, though? — he leaned closer, not taking his worried eyes off of her. Jinu looked like a scared puppy, before swiftly taking off his own shirt and draping it over her shoulders.  — At least keep it like this. I don’t want for you to get cold.  — Thank you…ahem! You were saying something - before all this chaos began… — Ah, right. I wanted to offer you to go to the oceanarium. Would you like to? — Oceanarium? — Rumi looked up at him, and Jinu once again could feel the butterflies flittering somewhere inside him, sending nervous shivers down his spine.  — Why not. Let’s go! Step number three: mention the oceanarium.  Jinu smiled happily and even took her by the hand. This time it was him who guided Rumi to their destination, having the necessary address memorised a couple of days ago. The oceanarium was famous for its large collection of fishes of different species, beautiful decorations, lots of corals - there were even sharks, too. He had hoped with all of his heart that she’ll like it there. Rumi seemed full of enthusiasm, too: she kept on looking around with a smile on her face, as if already searching for the right place.  The oceanarium stood at the crossing point of two streets, being a couple of living buildings long.  The construction with white walls, covered with the bluish patterns resembling waves, was unmistakably different from the rest and spoke about itself without the need for a name card. The demon had mentally calmed down, trying to reassure himself that everything once again goes according to the plan. With confident footsteps, he had approached the door to the building and pulled it to himself.  But it didn’t budge.  — What the hell? — he cursed unintentionally. Jinu frowned and tugged at the doorknob once again, pushing it to the different direction this time - only to be met with nothing. Rumi, standing behind him, had noticed the sign with the schedule of working hours of the oceanarium and hurried to pat his shoulder: — Look, it says they don’t work after six. And it’s already almost a half past it.  — It can’t be! We were…— cutting himself off, the guy had recalled their escape from the suddenly arriving fans and dragged a hand over his face. — Damn it…if it wasn’t for our escape route, we’d be here on time.  — It means we’ll be on time the next time we come here. Don’t get so disappointed! — Rumi had lightly nudged his side, forcing Jinu to meet her gaze. — Since we didn’t succeed with your plan of the date, how about you trust me? There’s a cool place nearby I’d like to show you.  But his plan wasn’t completed yet, Jinu was about to protest. Although eventually all he did was nod, keeping in mind two last steps of his plan: a stroll through the old part of the city and then - confession. Everything still can turn out pretty good in the end.  — By the way, the place isn’t too far from here, and it won’t take much time. So don’t worry!  He didn’t. Jinu had once again allowed for the huntress to guide him, wordlessly admiring the light in her eyes and the way the corners of her lips were curled up ever so slightly, forming a small smile.  — How the prep for the award ceremony? — he asked in between their walking. Rumi immediately turned her attention to the demon.  — It’s awful! I’ve barely convinced the girls to choose a different song for our performance, and we’ve spent this last couple of days rehearsing it, — sighing heavily, she had heard his soft chuckle and couldn’t hold back a mischievous smile.  — How about you? How the preparation goes?  — We keep on repeating the choreography and the words so that we won’t forget anything on stage, — Jinu shrugged, looking down at her with a soft smile.  — Everything’s just like always, Rumi.  She smiled back.  Soon enough, noticing the familiar buildings with big roofs, decorated with traditional lanterns, he couldn’t hold back a chuckle. She had led him to the old part of the city - the very same place he had chosen to confess his feelings to her. It felt like Rumi had read him like an open book, keeping her gaze especially attentive on the last lines of his simple plan.  There was music nearby. Live, loud and real. The girl confidently guided him towards one of the alleys, so that in the end they’d approach a small square, covered in bricks which had all been shattered because of the weight of time. There was a small group of musicians performing there - and one of them was holding a pipa.  Jinu froze. Rumi, not noticing that something is wrong, stopped nearby, attentively listening to the light, weightless music which was played by the group. She was swaying in tact with the melody and smiling - but as soon as her brown eyes glanced at the demon standing beside her, she had stopped moving. Because in his eyes, aside from the sparks of amber, now stood fear.  — Rumi…sorry. I cannot. Let’s get out of here.  One look at that musician with a pipa was immediately remaining Jinu of himself from the past. Once again he was seeing the bitter memories of his younger sister and his mother, in the eyes of which he didn’t fail to notice the silent accusation and disappointment before those heavy doors were pushed closed. Jinu shuddered with every cell of his body and hurried to turn away.  — Sorry, I’m truly sorry. I cannot bear to look at him.  The last two steps of his “plan of a perfect date” had failed miserably.  Looking at his feet, he swiftly started walking away, not even bothering to watch the road. Anywhere to get away from that square. He had somehow found a staircase made of stone which lead somewhere higher, and started walking, hearing how Rumi hurries to follow.  His chest was constricting from the overwhelming hatred directed at him and himself only. He had jinxed everything - the plan that seemed flawless to him crumbled like the house of cards. If it wasn’t for his fear, if it wasn’t for this stupid guilt - things would’ve been different. He should’ve never agreed to play by Romance’s rules and actually support this idea of a date. He should’ve ended this while he still could - as well as his stupid affection towards Rumi.  — I had ruined everything, — the guy noticed with a bitter grin, looking at his feet. His boots were mechanically walking up the stairs, as if his body wasn’t obeying him and wanted to run away by its own will. To run away from the sudden ghosts from a distant past and overwhelming guilt.  — You know, I’ve had a plan. I was planning to go with you to the oceanarium, then walk with you to this part of the city, because we had already walked there, more than twice - and I know you like it here - and then I was going to finally confess that I fucking like you.  — Wait! Wait, what?  As soon as Rumi had asked this question, Jinu froze, understanding that he had said all of this aloud. Immediately turning red, he had covered his face with his hands, too afraid to face her.  A gentle, cool night breeze swept over them. The demon, not knowing it himself, had led them to a cherry garden - and now the pink petals, carried with the wind, landed on his shoulders, while the rest decorated the huntress’ head.  — Damn it, damn it, I’ve said all of this out loud, haven’t I? I’m so-o-o cool, this is a total disaster… She took him by the hand.  Jinu immediately turned silent, slowly putting his second hand out of his face and finally meeting her eyes. Rumi was looking straight at him - and her brown eyes were sparking in the golden lights of the street lanterns.  — You like me? — repeated the girl, making Jinu blush all over again. — Even when I’m a human and a demon hunter?  — I care not, — Jinu breathed out, looking down at the stony stairs, covered in pink petals. — I’m not attracted to your human nature or the fact that you’re hunting my species. I’m attracted to you, Rumi. And it scares me more than anything. If Gwi-ma finds out, and decides to use this against you or me, I have no idea how to protect you. You deserve someone better than me.  — But I don’t want someone else.  Demon immediately looked her in the eye.  — With you I can talk about anything in the world, as well as my patterns. You make me smile, and I feel at ease with you - like I’ve never felt with anyone else before, — looking at his eyes and not blinking, Rumi had tightened her grip on his hand. With his free hand, the demon had grabbed her other palm and gave it a light squeeze between his fingers.  — I like you too, Jinu.  His brown eyes immediately turned amber. The skin had lost its healthy hue, becoming deadly-pale and gaining purple patterns all over it. The demon never stopped looking at her.  — Even like this?  Pulling on of her hands out of his grasp, she had reached out to place it on his cheek, caressing the cool skin with her thumb.  — Even like this.  His eyes started to sparkle. A second - and Jinu got back into his human disguise, dragging Rumi into a tight embrace. He had nuzzled into her neck, filling his lungs with the light aroma of her perfume and shampoo, while the huntress locked her hands on his back, surrounded by the light smell of the citrus and warmth of his body that had returned again.  — Young people! Do you want to get some bracelets?  Flinching in perfect sync, Rumi and Jinu hurried to pull away from each other - both of them were blushing and avoiding eye contact. A woman approached them - she was small, looking like she was in her fifties, carrying a small cart full of woven bracelets.  — These are handmade! Matching bracelets, totally for free! — the woman declared, observing the two with her wise dark eyes. — Don’t get so shy now: I’ve seen what you two have been doing here.  Finally exchanging glances, both Jinu and Rumi laughed.  — Yeah, we’ll take two of them.  — Thank you very much!