I accidentally created an AU where Abby Saja is Gwi Ma's son because there was a lack of Sungwon Cho voicelines in Kpop Demon Hunters and I thought filling the void with Doug from Date Everything would work
Instead it's Mira being confused why the prince of all demons is in a boy group and being even more confused why she's falling in love with him
Summary: Y/N, shrine maiden for the family temple, is trying to finish her tasks for the day until she catches the eye of... some entity..
Y/N wakes up to the sound of knocking on her door in the middle of the night...
WC: 1,876
CW: deity x human, slow burn
You sprung up in a cold sweat, frantically looking around your room and slowly gaining awareness of your environment. You were in the family home beside the shrine, tucked under the covers of your futon, illuminated only by slivers of moonlight that peeked through the cracks of the blinds. You're surrounded by nothing but your thoughts, ruminating even in your dreams.
Your breathing was heavy, panting as you tried to make sense of what you had seen yesterday evening, trying to not let it affect your night out with friends, attempting to shake it off and forget about the encounter.
Except the encounter was just too… disturbing, now forever etched into your memory. Wiping away some sweat from your brow, you rested your head in your hands, revisiting that haunting memory.
.
.
.
"In a hurry?" it murmured. You jumped away from the entity as soon as it spoke its first words. You hardly couldn't believe what stood before you: a gangly being blocking your escape, smiling as if nothing happened, as if it didn't just shatter everything you knew about spirits and yokai.
Growing up and never having the ability or "the 6th sense" to perceive things beyond this plane of existence, according to your family, you had grown up as a stain in the long lineage of priests and monks; never once did you believe anyone and their "encounters" with a variety of spirits.
A supposed range of supernatural beings have crossed paths with your family tree, from witnessing shadows passing by to straight up fighting with a devil himself after a fun night at the bar, you had always believed these stories to be the over exaggerated tales of family members trying to scare the younger generations into behaving into the way they wanted, it was a form of control through rigid traditions.
And yet, what stood in front of you wasn't a shadow, it wasn't some passing spirit searching for its way to move on from this world, it wasn't even an angry and bitter specter damning those unfortunate enough to come across it, mentally scarring its victims for petty thrills.
No this thing…was full of pure malice, that you had enough foresight to have sensed. No "6th sense" and yet even you can feel its malevolent presence choking you.
The entity continued smiling, opening its one eye to soak your image into its memory just as you did:
It had pointed ears with black fringed tips and a bushy maroon tail, like those of a fox. Donning itself in traditional chinese-esque clothing, you noticed the seal over its right eye, its corners charred and frayed from what looked like burns but still firmly intact, molding itself to the face of the being.
You analyzed its every move, jolting slightly when it raised its hand, waving hello. Was it mocking you? Trying to lure you into a false sense of hope? To gain your trust?
Your hand still clasped over your mouth, unable to take in or let out a single drop of air, you stood there feeling paralyzed, unsure of what to do. Your eyes felt dry from staring at the being, too scared to blink, scared that if you did, you'd lose sight of it. Terrified that in an instant, it'd disappear and suddenly grasp your neck from behind, digging its sharp nails into your flesh and succumbing to its divine strength.
The entity took a small step towards you, still donning that carefree smile as it did, enjoying the sight of you, a petrified miko, it seemed. Your brows furrowed trying to make sense of it all, fiercely staring at the being.
Suddenly it broke the eery silence with its voice low and raspy:
"My, is this how you welcome visitors? Have you no manners child?" cocking its head to the side, clearly teasing you.
You weren't sure what to do.
Should you answer it? Him? Or do you run? Your heartbeat was only increasing the pace the longer this confrontation played out; now you were unsure if you would die at the hands of this thing or faint and never wake up.
He took another step before pressing for a response.
"Do you greet your relatives like this? You can't even say hello?" His voice chipper, chuckling to himself. "You're so cold". His eyes piercing into yours, never letting up for a moment. His smile grew wider and seemed more.. sinister the longer the entity gazed at you.
Before you could even speak, you took another step back and yet again, you bumped into someone.
You jumped away once more, letting a small, pent up yelp escape as you turned, expecting to see the being behind you once more.
But instead of that awful spirit, it was instead your very alive and warm older brother, startled by your sudden scream.
"Y/N! Are you alright?" His face concerned, reaching out to grab your shoulder.
You looked around again, the ambiance had returned, birds could be heard in the distance as they flew in formation above your head, tourists and visitors were taking photos and chattering and some even staring and you and your brother, curious about the commotion. Trees rustled again, the branches swaying in the wind and animals scurried away from sight, out of way from any human that walked past them.
There was no sight of that damn fox spirit.
Taking a few deep breaths you answered.
"Oh yeah, I'm good. Thanks Nii chan"
"You're positive?" His voice sounded reassuring but his face said otherwise.
"Yes!" You laughed, trying hard not to let this incident ruin your mood.
You knew that if word got out about some malicious fox spirit right now, you wouldn't be able to go out; the family would have to close the temple grounds early and escort out all the people, hurting revenue as they would need a few days to purify the area.
Straightening your shoulders, you feigned enough confidence, changing the subject.
"Is it time for you to cover now?"
"Yeah, that's exactly why I'm here. You have plans tonight right?"
"Yeah" You smiled, hoping to reassure him. Patting his back, you took off. "Thanks Nii chan!" Quickly dashing away, avoiding discussion about what you had just experienced.
Your older brothers weren't dumb, and this one in particular had a keen sense for detecting abnormalities, feeling that subtle change in the air, and for better or for worse, a natural bullshit detector.
Surely he had rushed over to you, sensing the entity's presence, though it had made its escape before your brother could get to the area. That much you could tell from the look in his eyes: caring as he spoke to you but cold and glaring, surveying as he looked past you, searching for the source of that disturbance.
Sooner or later he was going to ask you about this, about what he had sensed, and investigate.
But right now wasn't the time to think about that, it was time to shower and get ready for a night out with friends, all of you versus the cold windy autumn night, fueled by street food vendors and good memories… it was a night you had been looking forward to this whole week.
And yet this damn fox.. thing… just had to make its presence known at the worst time.
.
.
.
You took another breath as you raised your head, letting its weight fall as you leaned your head back for a few moments, not only worrying about that being but just… how you would even tell your brother and inevitably that whole clan about this incident.
Taking a deep breath, you hold it for a few seconds before releasing, attempting to calm yourself down before going back to bed until..
"Y/N? Y/N!" a hushed whisper echoed in your room, startled, you looked and realized it was coming from the direction of the sliding doors that lead outside. It was your brother standing outside, his silhouette elongating and distorted from the moonlight.
You were confused. Why hadn't he knocked on your door instead? Was he out patrolling the night?
Before you could even reply, he continued.
"Do you want to come out and see the moon? It's so pretty tonight." He chuckled to himself. "You can even see the rabbit."
Still hesitating, you asked:
"Why are you outside?" you slurred. It was much too late into the night for this.
Your brother didn't respond to your question, he just kept knocking at the sliding door. "Put on a jacket before you step out, it's a little chilly outside."
You slowly got up from bed, still in a sleepy haze, and made your way to the sliding door. Your eyes were still adjusting, slowly gaining strength to fight off any lingering slumber that inhibited you.
Just why was your brother up so late? Had he decided to wait for you after hanging out with your friends?
It wasn't.. out of character for him to randomly pop up to show you something he found fascinating or curious but this… the way he appeared late at night and knew you were sleeping… This was weird, even for him.
You approached the sliding door where his shadow was, placing your fingers in the slot and slowly sliding the door open for your brother when you stopped.
Something was off about all this, it all felt too eery.
It was too late when you realized the huge mistake you just committed, now fully awake and conscious, sweating. It was already too late for you to think rationally.
Suddenly you heard a different and familiar voice whisper close your ear:
"I'm inside".
You slammed the sliding door shut and whipped around, hoping to find the owner of the voice but to no avail, there was nothing behind you but the familiar sight of your room: the futon as messy as you had left it moments ago and a few books and manga scattered about along with your desk. Everything seemed to be in place, no plushies or figures had moved, posters of your favorite celebrities and athletes were still intact, everything seemed to be in place until you noticed one thing:
The mini altar you have where you burn your incense had been knocked over and from the way the ashes had spread onto the tatami, there was force and intent behind this action, this was a message.
You looked back to see if your brother was still standing there, awaiting for response and to your horror, his silhouette was gone. There wasn't any sound of footsteps or rustling of his robes.
It was as if he vanished.
Your eyes grew wide and your breathing picked up the pace and you stood there paralyzed with fear, the tension in the air grew thick enough for you to practically suffocate in it. The room seemed to have grown colder and colder by the minute, the air drying your throat and making it painful to breathe in through your nose.
You sprinted to your futon, diving under the covers and wrapping yourself, trembling not only from the intense cold but also from terror.
You fully acknowledged that this mistake may have just cost you your life.
