AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (CH. 1)
synopsis: you grew up in a family full of occultists with the knowledge of demons and spirits in the countryside. years later after the disappearances in your hometown, you notice the same thing happening in seoul.
pairing: saja boys x shaman/witch!gn!reader
warnings: body horror, mentions of death
>m.list here
translations and a surprise at the end!
the woods were alive.
not just the woods. the mountains, trees, and every single pebble you stepped on getting here. they, too, were alive. watching. whispering.
they knew your name even if you didn’t know theirs. rumors spiraled through each blade of grass. they reached the ears of stalking predators and the fish in the streams. your secrets were not safe anywhere.
even the walls have ears.
not much changed since you left for seoul in your sleepy small hometown. the same mom and pop corner stores that you used to visit after school were still up and running. you remember it well. on especially hot summer days, you and your friends would excitedly hurry over to one, taking your pick of the colorful popsicles waiting for you in the freezer.
you would sit on the stairs discussing school. that math test you bombed. that one project that’s due at the end of the semester. that one teacher you swore had a vendetta against you. you’d sit as the cicadas filled the silence with their acapella hymns.
those were the days.
the sun beat down on you from above, heating your scalp. you sat in the grass, one knee propped up as you twist open a green bottle of soju. the weather made you reminisce about your childhood, the days you would spend in the woods picking butter-yellow honeysuckles to replenish your energy. every new scar, every new bug bite was another story to recount as your auntie would bandage and scold you for wandering in the forest so late.
‘you can’t see them, but they can see you,’ she’d say, wagging her finger in your face as you crossed your arms and pouted.
you never understood her many warnings, nor the rest of your family’s until you were older.
don’t whistle at night.
don’t look in the trees.
if they speak your name, don’t acknowledge it.
silly superstitions like that have always plagued you. even now when you bounce your knee absentmindedly, you can hear the voice of your mother reprimanding you.
‘it shakes away your good fortune,’ she’d warn as she laid a hand on your knee to stop it from shaking.
you wish you had listened sooner.
you poured the liquid into the clear shot glass on the small portable floor table, spilling some on the dark mahogany colored wood. you set it down next to the utensils, a colorful display of side dishes in front of you.
you poured yourself a glass as well, before you took a shot.
you smiled before setting it down.
chuckling, you sat with your legs crossed, preventing you from bouncing your knee again. your movement caused the grass to shift, which was kept uncut and overgrown. honestly, you could barely see your feet.
your family’s headstones stared back at you, overgrown with moss and weathered from the elements.
you can still see them sometimes in your dreams. mostly in your nightmares.
you were raised religious. your lineage consisted of mediums, psychics, and practitioners of the divine. ancient folktales and traditions were gospel in your household, and the way of life in the countryside. even the residents that didn’t believe in your family’s beliefs still took caution to their warnings.
you grew up surrounded by rituals, sigils and incense. art of the old gods decorated the walls of your house, and there were almost always fresh offerings on the altars. you watched as they chanted spells under their breath, watched as they communed with the spirits that resided in your house. some in your family could speak to the dead. others could detach their soul from their body temporarily, freely able to explore the spirit world. you’ve even heard stories of your ancestors letting their bodies be possessed by spirits, a dangerous and rare but powerful ability.
it was something about the wild and untamed energy present. something untouched that the city didn’t have.
you didn’t know how much of your family’s teachings were real, but you soon realized that perhaps there was some truth behind most of their fables.
you remembered that when you were young, you were never permitted to stay outside after dark. people had begun to disappear, most of their bodies never found. the ones that were found had been declared to have passed in their sleep. homes began to grow vacant, and the tiny population of your hometown dwindled more and more.
you noticed it the most at school. gossip spiraled. everyday, there was a new empty desk.
the strange part about it all was that there was no struggle. there was no trace of any of the families that had disappeared. their homes were still vacant and preserved perfectly in time.
your family knew that this was most certainly the work of something spiritual. they armed you with protection charms, random pockets of herbs and talismans just to walk to school.
one day, you stayed out later in the mountains despite your family’s warnings. it was getting dark, and you had figured that if you had at least brought a protection talisman with you, you’d be safe.
it wasn’t even that far from the house. it was just the edge of the clearing.
the trees and the forest had gone eerily silent before you had time to react.
a human-
no.
this thing wasn’t a human.
this… creature had crawled out of the glowing purple tear in the space behind you. unfortunately it had taken notice of you. its form was skinny and malnourished. you could easily count the ribs. its skin was a dark midnight blue, and from what little you could see, its eyes…
oh, you weren’t able to sleep properly the following nights after that.
only the irises had been visible, bright yellow rings in a sea of black.
and the creature smiled.
from ear to ear, it only bared sharp canines.
you couldn't move. couldn’t pick up your feet that seemed to have been made out of lead at that moment. you couldn’t even scream. it began to crawl towards your frozen form, deeming you as easy prey.
‘run,’ you willed your legs. ‘please, run. let me move.’
it opened its mouth, its rows of teeth in full display as you felt your energy draining in waves. you could feel your previous fear being siphoned out of you as you felt what could only be described as heavy fatigue overtaking your body.
it was like you were suffocating. the air in your lungs felt as if it was being sucked out, and your mind was attempting to swim in a riptide current.
you collapsed to the grass, awaiting your death.
your eyes shot back open when you heard shrieking from the demon, a blade flung towards its chest as it began to evaporate into bright purple ashes.
your aunt dislodged the blade that was thrown at the demon out of the grass before checking if you were okay.
you hadn’t noticed it before, but you could see it now. you could see a barrier. it blanketed the sky, the earth, everything. it undulated, reminding you of the slow calm waves of the ocean.
and something had just torn right through it.
she scanned you, studied every inch of your skin. once you were verified to have no injuries, she promptly took you by the ear and yanked you back home.
it had turned out that the talisman that you had brought with you for protection had dropped out of your pocket a few hundred feet back.
you got the scolding of your lifetime that night.
they had explained later on that it was a shield that kept the spirit world and the human world apart. occasionally, demons could tear through the weak spots to escape to the human realm.
ever since then, you began to witness more and more things, things your parents have told you that you didn’t believe in until you had almost died.
you checked the barrier everyday to see if new tears or holes had formed, paranoid that your soul would be taken again. because of this, your family had decided to teach you how to fight against them.
they, however, taught you that you must not hate them for what they do.
why, you asked.
‘we cannot hate them when we ourselves don’t know the reason why they do what they do. there are things out there, in all those different realms, that we may never understand. reasons that we may never know,’ they said.
your family has told you that while they may be demons, they too, once had a soul.
‘no creature, be it spirit or animal, is born innately evil.’
you didn’t understand. the demon that you had met had just tried to suck out your soul. that seemed pretty evil to you.
since then, you were able to see more and more of them. not just demons, but other spirits too. you could hear them stalking you, lingering around you, trying to get your attention.
lighting a stick of incense, you placed it on the burner. the smell of dragon’s blood flooded your senses, the small line of smoke floating upwards and carried on by the passing breeze. even still, after all of the protests, after all of the complaining about how annoying all their superstitions were, you still remember to obey most of them.
you still remember to put the mirror facing away from your bed.
you still never whistle at night, even in the city.
you still never respond to anyone saying your name unless you’re sure that it’s them.
maybe it was because it’s the only thing that you have left of them. the only important things that they, and the ancestors before them, had passed on.
you hummed, rooting through your bag to find a leftover orange that didn’t fit in the fruit bowl on your makeshift table.
you peeled it, digging your fingers into the soft flesh of the orange to pick apart the sectioned pieces. you popped one in your mouth, and set it on your bag.
from the distance, you noticed it.
a lurking form. you stopped chewing, your gaze focused. maybe they didn’t notice you. or maybe they wanted nothing to do with you.
Its head snapped right to where you were sitting, its beady eyes zoning onto you. It began to crawl towards you, before it picked up the pace and lunged.
you were worried that this might happen again.
you rolled your eyes, tilting your head back in frustration.
shit, you were gonna miss your bus.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
the train rocked back and forth as it sped across the tracks. the night can do very little to block out the city’s skyline, the silhouettes of the buildings visible from the wide windows that lined the walls of the train.
you had gotten lucky to be able to take the last train of the night. if you were just a few minutes late then you would have had to cut off an arm and a leg for a taxi ride.
it was quiet, and there was no one else in your cabin. just the occasional sound of wheels screeching to a halt on the tracks.
“이번 역은: 잠실새내. 잠실새내. 내리실 쪽은 오른쪽입니다.” the automated message echoed.
you leaned on the pole next to your seat, one hand still on the handle of your suitcase. the entire trip had drained your battery, and all you wanted to do once you got home was to sleep. no time to shower or unpack or brush your teeth. just collapse face first on your futon. lord knows you can’t afford a bed.
surprisingly, you had missed your little basement dwelling in your part of the detached home. you got two rooms (which were practically closets), a small kitchenette, and a bathroom. honestly, to have all of that for the price you were shelling out was a steal. sure, there was a cricket problem and half the size of a standard apartment in seoul, but it was yours.
and rent’s cheap…er.
you had found it back when you had looked for places to live for college. the landlady was a sweet elderly woman, who you occasionally conversed with when you passed her while going out.
your eyes glazed over and landed on one of the advertisement screens hanging from the ceiling. the hot pink and purple lights had caught your eye. it was for a girl group that you’ve seen rise to fame recently. you thought their music wasn’t half bad. you preferred them over the other girl groups that debuted recently.
they looked about your age. it was refreshing to see a k-pop group that didn’t have underaged children debuting. their skills were also nothing to scoff at. you couldn’t even dream of hitting notes as high as the leaders in some of their songs.
you looked up above their heads at the name of the group: huntr/x.
well, it’s not like you haven’t seen crazier names.
”출입문 닫습니다. 출입문 닫습니다.“
the train shook back to life, slowly accelerating to the next station. you settled on looking back outside of the windows as the view of the city was suddenly blocked by the brick wall of the tunnels.
maybe you should listen to some of huntrix’s songs. you were starting to get a bit tired of the white noise of the train. that and the deafening screeching noise of the vehicle coming to a halt.
and you were, admittedly, influenced by the ad.
you scrolled through their albums and their singles, picking the most popular one. popping in your earbuds, you began to zone out as you continued to stare out the window. the tune was catchy, and the beat was addicting. you couldn’t help but hum along softly to the melody.
as you began to drift off to sleep with your music still playing, you noticed that the lights in the train began to flicker on and off. you blinked your eyes open, slightly confused. sighing, you pulled your luggage to your lap, unzipping it.
you really thought that being back in the city meant that there wasn’t going to be as many spiritual encounters, but of course almost as soon as you stepped back into seoul the world had to fuck you over.
hopefully, this is just a false alarm.
you knew it wasn’t. it never was.
you just hoped that there really was no one else on the train. then, things may be a little easier. you wouldn’t have to worry about collateral or the risk of being seen attacking a seemingly innocent human. pocketing your phone, you waited for another flicker. you gripped your suitcase a little tighter. couldn’t you just go one day without being attacked by a demon?
the lights had shut off, with only the advertisement screens illuminating the cabin.
you felt it. a ripple in the barrier. a tear was nearby.
the presence of a demon.
from the far end of the cabin, you sensed a being. you couldn’t exactly tell what from the darkness of the tunnel the train was in. the tunnel light that the train zoomed by helped you barely make out an unassuming middle aged woman. she was tall, her hair draped over her shoulders in loose, thin waves. her smile was innocent, as if she wanted to ask if she could sit next to you.
of course, you knew better. you could see the glowing purple patterns on her neck. you only stared at her, knowing for a fact that she also hadn’t opened the door behind her.
the train exited the tunnel, letting the moonlight shine.
in the blink of an eye, she had morphed into an inhuman, uncanny valley monstrosity.
its scarlet skin was the first thing that stood out to you. the irises were a bright red, which harshly contrasted its pitch black scleras. it unhinged its jaw, which made the sharp tusks that jutted out of their lips much more visible to you. its tongue lolled out, elongating past their chin and down towards its neck.
its skin was like fabric, too thin and barely draped onto its bones. nearly all of its veins were visible from where you were, sticking out in lightning patterns across their epidermis. its lanky arms swung by its side, their knuckles nearly making contact with the floor.
even to this day, their true forms never failed to form a pit in your stomach.
its shadow grew, slowly lengthening towards your feet.
you frowned as more demons began to crawl out of the purple hole in the floor, all equally as hideous as the first one. their movements were harsh, and they contorted their bodies in jerks. they clawed at the linoleum floor towards you slowly.
they waited. waited for a hint of fear from your body. waited for you to turn on your heels and sprint away. waited so that they could lunge and tear you apart and leave the husk of your corpse limp and bleeding out on the ground.
you could only rub your temples before you set down your luggage on the floor. rising to your feet you sighed, both of the ritual blades that were in your suitcase now in your grip. the old leather of the handles squeaked beneath your palms. the sharp curved edges of the metal caught the moonlight, which reflected back at your foes.
you turned to face them, your eyes meeting theirs.
“다음 역은: 잠실. 잠실. 내리실 쪽은 오른쪽입니다.“
this better be finished before your stop.
>ch. 2 here
a/n: the first three chapters are gonna take place about two years before the events of the movie. i have so much planned for this fic, i’m talking about literally marking up a map of seoul for all the locations that we’re gonna see in this fic lmao. putting my time in korea to good use.
translations: “this stop is: jamsilsaenae. jamsilsaenae the doors are on your right.”
"the doors are now closing. the doors are now closing."
“the next stop is: jamsil. jamsil. the doors are on your right.”
i also got excited and drew the end scene for this chapter. i may draw more scenes from future chapters :3
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