Between Two Worlds
Pairing: Seo Jeongwoo x Reader
Genre: fluff i guess? supernatural au.
Warnings: none as of the moment.
Word Count: 2,550
Note: this will be a series type of au so if you get confused on this part, there will be an explanation on the next one. And if you wish to see more Ahof Au’s please reblog, leave some feedbacks and put tags, okii? Thank you very much 🩵
Summary:
Jeongwoo swore he wouldn't fall in love, not like this not when his only mission was to only keep you safe and protect you. He promised himself he wouldn't be vulnerable when it comes to this feeling. but can he stop it? No
But he tried.
He really did. He knows it's wrong.
He knows when the time it happens. It would be the end.
He’s not meant to fall in love.
I. In The Shadows
Jeongwoo smiled as he stared at you from afar, he watched you nervously bite your nails while staring at the book placed on the table in front of you.
The library was silent minus the casual sound of book pages being turned and the hushed chatter of students loitering nearby.
“are you enjoying the view?”
Jeongwoo jumped slightly on his seat at the voice.
“Han” he sighed as he realized it was only his friend Han.
Han placed his books on the table infront of Jeongwoo and casually sat at the vacant seat.
The said person stared at Jeongwoo seriously, gears turning in his head.
Jeongwoo looked up when he felt someone's eyes burning holes into his head.
“what?” said Jeongwoo raising his eyebrows at Han.
“You know it's really painful seeing you follow her around like a stalker”
“I’m not a stalker” Jeongwoo argued finding Han’s choice of words ridiculous.
“Then why am i always seeing you just always five feet away from her?” Han accused
Jeongwoo heaved a sigh obviously fed up by Han’s accusatory tone “Maybe it's a coincidence”
“Happens everyday?”
“What are you trying to imply?”
“I don't know?” Han shrugged “Maybe you try admitting that you’re stalking her”
Jeongwoo choked on his saliva at what Han said.
“why would i even stalk her?”
“You tell me. You were the one following her around like a loser”
Jeongwoo stared at him contemplating wether his friend is being serious right at this moment.
“You of all people know why i’m always near her, Han.”
Han thought for a moment before realizing what Jeongwoo was trying to say.
“oh, yeah right. I almost forgot” Han sighed slumping in his seat.
Han only could only kept silent as Jeongwoo sighed continuing whatever he was doing.
**
Jeongwoo walked a few feet behind you as you traipsed down the streets on your way to your house.
He sighed as he thought of what Han had said earlier. He must've probably looked like a stalker right now. But how can he protect you without following you around? sure he has supernatural abilities but none of it will work in this world.
Jeongwoo grumbled to himself kicking invisible rocks on the pavement.
“are you following me?”
A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, head snapped up in your direction.
fuck.
Jeongwoo couldn't believe you actually heard him behind you.
He stopped in his tracks eyes slightly widening as he tried to think of a reasonable reason for him to be behind you without sounding creepy.
He watched as you stopped in your tracks and turned on your heels to look at him expectantly with one brow raised.
"I—uh." Jeongwoo tugged at his ear, frozen under your gaze. "...Lost my cat."
He winced internally. *A cat? Really?*
But he held the lie like a shield, hands slipping into his coat pockets as rain began to patter between you both.
"...She's black. Likes libraries."
A half-truth, at least. The only thing he'd ever claimed was yours.
Your eyes flicked over Jeongwoo's form, taking in the damp dark hair plastered to his forehead and his soaked-through clothes.
"In this weather?" you replied, voice thick with suspicion.
Jeongwoo shifted his weight from side to side, avoiding your gaze. It was getting hard to keep up with the lie.
"She's stubborn like that."
Silence fell as the rain intensified, drumming a steady rhythm across rooftops. Jeongwoo glanced at you, gauging your reaction.
"A cat that follows me to the library," you said, arms crossing, a smirk tugging at your lips. "And now just *happens* to be lost in the rain... right behind me?"
Jeongwoo’s throat went dry.
"You’re terrible at lying," you added, stepping closer. "But oddly... consistent."
He swallowed hard — caught, drenched, and dangerously close to breaking his own rules.
"...I wasn’t lying about the black cat." His voice dropped low. "*You* were always hers."
Your eyebrows furrowed at Jeongwoo's words, confusion and curiosity sparking in your gaze. He seemed to be speaking in riddles, his words dripping with an underlying meaning you couldn't quite decipher.
"What are you talking about?" you asked, taking another step toward him, the space between you now reduced to a mere breath.
Jeongwoo took a deep, shaky breath, the droplets of rain running down his face almost mirroring the internal struggle within him.
"Forget it," he muttered, his eyes flickering away from yours. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me," you challenged, your voice firm but tinged with a hint of vulnerability.
Jeongwoo looked taken aback by your insistence. He was caught off guard. He'd expected you to be suspicious, maybe even angry, but not... intrigued.
His gaze met yours again, holding there as the rain continued its relentless dance around you. He hesitated, the answer poised on the tip of his tongue, but the truth was dangerous.
Jeongwoo wanted to look away, to run away, but your gaze held him captive. The weight of his mission, the rules he had willingly bound himself to, seemed insignificant in this moment.
His voice was barely a whisper now, as if speaking any louder would only bring the already thin glass of reality closer to shattering.
"What if I told you..."
The words hung in the air, suspended with tension. Jeongwoo swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he continued, still holding your gaze.
"What if I told you I've been following you for years?"
Your face paled, shock evident in your wide eyes as Jeongwoo's confession settled in the air. *Years?* The implications of his words echoed through your mind. *How was that possible? Why?*
"Following me," you repeated, struggling to wrap your head around what Jeongwoo was saying.
Jeongwoo nodded slowly, a hint of resignation in his gaze.
"I've been... watching over you," he said carefully. "Making sure you're safe."
A bitter laugh escaped you, disbelief coloring your voice. "For years? That...that's ridiculous. That's..."
*Crazy*, you wanted to say, but the word stuck in your throat. The sincerity in Jeongwoo's eyes made it difficult to dismiss his words as mere lunacy.
Your mind raced, pieces of your fragmented memories falling into place like a puzzle. Small events that now seemed too uncanny to be coincidences.
The memory came to you in fragments, like snapshots of a film reel.
It was a quiet winter night, years ago. You were alone, walking home from a late study session at the library. As you weaved through the deserted streets, you felt a distinct sensation of being watched.
But no matter where you looked, no one was there.
You shook off the feeling, attributing it to your overactive imagination. However, every time you walked home alone at night from that moment on, the same feeling persisted.
Weeks turned into months, and the feeling of being watched became increasingly intense. Sometimes, in the corner of your eye, you'd catch a glimpse of a figure darting behind a tree or disappearing into an alley. But whenever you looked closely, nothing was there.
You started carrying pepper spray in your bag and staying on well-lit streets, but the feeling persisted. It had almost become a familiar part of your nightly routine.
Then one rainy evening, it happened.
You were rushing home when you took a shortcut through the dimly lit park — a decision you regretted the moment a shadow stepped out in front of you.
A man. Tall, hooded, blocking your path with unnerving calm.
Your breath hitched. You fumbled for your phone, but before you could scream or run—
—he dropped like a stone. Collapsed mid-step.
And behind him stood *him*.
Jeongwoo. Soaked and pale as moonlight, one hand still outstretched like he’d pushed something invisible away from the attacker’s chest.
Your eyes locked with his—just for a second—before he turned and vanished into the storm without a word.
You never reported it.
Could never explain it.
But after that night…
you started seeing him everywhere.
Now, standing in the rain again—the same cold ache in the air—he whispers:
"...I’ve always been there."
The recollection left you stunned, speechless. Jeongwoo's confession suddenly made horrifying sense. The man who saved you years ago was the very same one admitting to stalking you all this time.
You shook your head, still trying to come to terms with the revelation.
"You expect me to believe this," you hissed through gritted teeth. All the times you'd felt watched, the strange incidents that you'd brushed off as mere coincidence—they were him.
"Years…you've stalked me for years?"
Jeongwoo tensed under your scathing tone. He could see the disbelief, the anger, the betrayal in your eyes. But more than anything else, he saw the hurt.
He could only imagine how terrifying and violating it would feel to find out someone had watched you for years without your knowledge.
He took a step closer, not caring that the rain continued to pour down on them mercilessly.
"I never meant for it to go this far," he said quietly, his voice strained. "I was just supposed to keep you safe."
Your hands curled into fists by your sides. "Keep me safe? By stalking me for years? That was your brilliant plan?"
Each word was drenched in scorn. This wasn't just a breach of trust; it was a complete violation of your privacy.
Jeongwoo flinched at your words, the truth of the matter cutting deep. He knew how this sounded—obsessive, insane, downright creepy.
He took another step closer, hands twitching at his sides as if he wanted to reach for you but held himself back.
"It's hard to explain," he tried, his gaze searching your face, pleading for understanding he knew he didn't deserve. "You wouldn't believe me."
You scoffed. "Try me."
Jeongwoo ran a hand through his hair, frustration mixing with desperation in his expression. He was never meant for this. He was sent here to protect you, to keep his distance, yet here he was, confessing his sins in the pouring rain.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, weighing the consequences of what he was about to do.
"Promise me something first," he said suddenly, gaze holding yours intently.
"Promise you won't run."
His voice was barely audible over the rain, but the words struck deep—raw, vulnerable, *afraid*.
You blinked. This wasn't about control anymore. This was fear. His fear.
And for some reason... you didn’t want to look away.
Jeongwoo could see the uncertainty in your eyes, the struggle between your anger and curiosity.
But he took your hesitation as a sign that you'd listen, so he continued.
"What I'm about to tell you might sound absurd, but it's the truth," he said, his gaze steady despite the turmoil within him.
"Please," he added softly. "Just promise me you won't run."
You exhaled sharply, rainwater slipping down your jaw.
"...I won't run."
The words slipped out before you could stop them—quiet, reluctant, but final.
Jeongwoo closed his eyes for a brief second, as if silently bracing himself. When he opened them again, they shimmered with something otherworldly—grief? longing?
"I'm not just following you," he said slowly. "I *can’t* leave you."
A beat of silence.
"Because I died the same night I saved you."
"You...died?" you repeated, barely above a whisper. Your mind struggled to process the revelation—the audacity of it. How could Jeongwoo seriously expect you to believe such a bold claim?
"You're saying you're a... ghost?"
The absurdity should have been laughable. It should have sent you running for the hills. Yet there was something in Jeongwoo's expression that made you pause—a solemn intensity that held you captive.
Jeongwoo swallowed the lump in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing anxiously. This was harder than he thought, but he pushed on, driven by desperation.
"Not quite a ghost," he corrected. "Let's just say...I'm not alive in the same sense that you are."
He paused, gauging your reaction. You looked bewildered, confused—but not scared. Not yet, at least. His heart pounded, anticipating the flood of questions he was sure would come.
"You don’t *die* protecting someone and just... stick around unless something went wrong." His voice dropped, raw with guilt. "I broke the rules that night. I stepped in when I wasn’t supposed to—changed your fate."
He took a shaky breath, rainwater tracing the sharp line of his jaw.
"The moment I touched that man… pushed *death* away from you—I became tethered to you. My soul didn't move on. It *anchored*."
A weak, bitter smile tugged at his lips.
"Now? I can't leave even if I wanted to. Wherever you go… I’m already there in the shadows."
Your head was spinning, each word Jeongwoo said more fantastical than the last.
Ghosts weren't real. Fate wasn't real. This whole thing sounded like fiction, like something out of a dream.
Yet, standing there in the rain, watching Jeongwoo look so lost—so tormented—you found yourself struggling to deny the strange flutter of *belief* in your heart.
Jeongwoo watched your conflicted expression, guilt and shame churning in his chest. He knew how bizarre, how *impossible* this all sounded.
And yet, even now, you hadn't run yet. You were still standing, staring—confused, maybe scared, but not running. And he clung to that, desperate to make you understand.
He took another cautious step closer, the space between you dangerously thin now.
He didn’t flinch when a car sped past, splashing water that passed right through him.
You saw it.
And he knew you did.
“Three years,” he whispered, voice breaking. “I’ve stood in the rain outside your apartment every night since the park… just to see you come home safe.” His eyes glistened—not from rain now, but something far more human than he should’ve been allowed to feel.
“I wasn’t supposed to care.” A shaky breath. “But I do.”
A long silence stretched between you, the downpour softening to a hush as the streetlights flickered above.
Your anger had dulled, replaced by something heavier—something like sorrow. Because now you understood. He wasn't just some stalker in the shadows.
He was a ghost of his own making.
Bound by choice.
Trapped by love.
You took a small step forward, your voice barely audible.
"...Do you even remember what it felt like? Before me?"
Jeongwoo took a shaky breath, his gaze dropping to the ground as if he didn't want to meet your eyes.
His answer was barely a whisper. "No."
He closed his eyes for a moment, the raindrops falling on his dark lashes. When he opened them again, they were clouded with sorrow. "I was told to keep my distance, to remain invisible...but then there was you."
He looked up at you, the pain in his gaze so raw it was hard to look away.
"You were the first light I saw in centuries."
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