I'LL BE YOUR IDOL | Jinu

The stadium was filled with thousands of numb fans, blood-red lighting painting all of their faces as stands were filled within seconds. Most were disappointed due to the award show being canceled, while others were overjoyed at the out-of-the-blue performance by the Saja Boys. Everything's going to plan. Jinu watched from behind the curtains, thick fog covering the ground of the stage. The scene was unsettling. Just as intended. That's when the speakers began blasting the ominous beginning of the song. It made the floor shake, and seats tremble while the walls vibrated.

They wanted new music, so they'd get new music. Lyrics in Latin sounded out in unholy cult-like chants. Dies irae illa, vos solve in favilla. And that was their cue to enchant them. Without their mortal form, every member looked just as beautiful, but all the more haunting. With skin of deep blue and glowing teal marks like tiger stripes, their yellow eyes were hypnotic. All of it could easily be blamed on lighting and special effects. Glow in the dark paint. The quintet hovered above the ground, gradually rising at a steady pace until it was Abby's turn to start the song, and they dropped down in less than a second.

Jinu stared at the sea of hungry, screaming fans with a smug grin that rivaled the rest of the members. They were leagues ahead of these mortals, and he was even closer to fulfilling his agreement with Gwi-ma. Soon, he'd be able to forget his sins. Jumping to his feet, he followed the choreography perfectly, dancing as if it were in his blood. Soon was the pre-chorus, and he sang like a siren hypnotizing sailors at sea. The people seemed never-ending from so far back on the stage, that it was nearly made a thrill go down his spine.

Within the ocean of hopelessness, somehow, Jinu managed to lock eyes with one individual. They were... different. Even if their actions were the same as everybody else around them, their energy was suffocating. It was like a thick honey that trapped a bee inside its sweetness. It reminded him of the energy he exuded. But it wasn't a priority. They weren't a priority. So, he ignored the odd feeling and flashed a smirk.

More screams of desperation. 'Jinu, marry me!', '오빠, 사랑해!', and the usual cries of unreciprocated love that fed his ego unimaginably. It was amusing, to say the least, how they so willingly gave their attention and affection to a person that they'd never met. Had this become the state of humanity? Where a demon could play human, yet still be admired while they harm the ones who supposedly adore them? Jinu's smile sharpened into an expression that was all sharp teeth and fangs.

The song began to near its end as every member repeated the act they started with- levitating from the ground as if they were puppets on strings. "Living in your mind now, too late 'cause you're mine now." Jinu extended a hand to the audience meters away, continuing to flawlessly perform. Yet, his gaze remained fixated on where that fan was in the stands. "I will make you free when you're all a part of me!" The belting echoed through the stadium as the choir-esque backing vocals grew lower, a dramatic emphasis to the song. Fans' eyes grew wide in awe at the theatrics. "내 황홀의 취해, you can't look away, no-one is coming to save you! You're down on your knees, imma be your idol."

Boom. The lights turned black. The performance ended. And the audience grew so loud that the members could hear their irritating shrieking through their in-ears.

Everyone disappeared backstage again. The first one to change was Romantic- trading his black robes for comfortable pajamas. Then Abby was next, Baby, and Mysterious. They were so human. Even while presenting their true selves. But maybe it was... better this way. Jinu couldn't remember the last time he experienced happiness like this since he sold his soul.

The staff members stared at them as if they were anomalies, because the last time the make-up crew checked, they didn't even have lilac face paint on hand. Yet they still scurried off without question after Jinu glared daggers at every one of them.

He groaned, tossing his hat onto a nearby table, slender palms dragging over his face. "We did decently. Around... 1,500 souls taken," Jinu said. The number didn't seem nearly enough, not when the one wish he'd been thinking about for centuries was on the line. One slip-up and it was over for him. Abby scoffed and grinned like an adrenaline-filled wolf, cracking his knuckles obnoxiously loud. "Decent? We obliterated them. Those idiots had no idea what was coming for them." Baby nodded, pointing a finger gun- or, claw gun- at Abby in agreement.

Jinu's nose twitched like a puppy fighting back a sneeze, fingers balling into fists, continuing to mumble, "It could've been better though." Romance glared at him, his expression almost bewildered from Jinu's lack of... what? Intelligence? Awareness. "You can't be serious, Jinu. That's our best number yet," he stated in a purr, continuing, "Gwi-ma doesn't care how long it takes to stop the hunters. He just wants to keep the portal open."

Romance was right. Their time on Earth could span for however long, only if they were continuously combatting against the hunters. Jinu nodded but didn't speak. He felt uneasy, but he couldn't place where it came from. He wasn't used to feeling so weak, especially after a performance, it was... strange, to say the least. What is this feeling? His eyes flashed gold one last time before he transformed into his human form with a snap of his fingers. Swiftly, he tugged a hoodie over his head. "I'm going for a walk, see you guys back at the dorms."

The dressing room door opened and shut behind him as Jinu weaved through the hallways of the stadium, taking a back exit that was sure to be shrouded in darkness, completely invisible to the public. Each step echoed both in his head and on the cracked pavement. What was it? Surely not anxiety, it's not like demons felt that emotion so intensely anymore... perchance the more time he spent up here, the more he reverted to his human ways. There was an ache in his head that persisted the entirety of his trip, and his hands trembled like he'd been attacked. But it'd been hours since the fight with HUNTRIX... this shouldn't have happened.

The sick sensation spread throughout all of him before coiling into his brain like barbed wire. The more human I stay, the more I'll be like how I used to be. Memories flashed through his mind of his mother crying, how his little sister- so young and innocent- begged for him at the gates of the palace before the doors cruelly shut on them. He never said goodbye. Jinu wanted to, but the words had been stuck in his throat back then. And he couldn't even admit to himself out loud what he'd done was wrong. This guilt and shame stuck with him for centuries, and it was amplified in this form.

He stopped near a stone bench next to a black fence and stared off at the lights of the city. It was so different to the place he knew. In his heart, he held onto the hope that somehow his family was alive. But that was stupid and impossible to believe. He wanted it to be true, yet it wouldn't be. Jinu gripped the railing tightly with a clenched jaw, sneakers scraping at the dirt and gravel beneath his feet.

That's when he heard footsteps. Light, hesitant, yet curious, like a cat nervously stepping around a puddle of water. Jinu turned around too quickly to the point it was startling, and he immediately held the gaze of the person in front of him.

The moon highlighted their features, stars glistening behind their head. Oh. It was them. The fan from the concert. His expression turned skeptical. Why are they here? Did they follow me up here? To keep up appearances, the polite Jinu everyone adored, put on a winning smile and slowly walked up to them. "Hi! Are you a fan of the Saja Boys? I think I saw you screaming your heart out in the audience," Jinu chirped, acting like he wasn't on the verge of a breakdown. If he could, he'd jump from the fence down the mountain. "I'm Jinu."