Dreamcatcher Imagines

𝘆𝗼𝗼𝗵𝘆𝗲𝗼𝗻 | dream girl

Reader Is: Neutral Age (Fantasy AU)
Categories: Angst, Fantasy, Romance
Summary: The reader gets the shock of her life when Yoohyeon, a character from the novel that she's reading, walks into the bookstore where she works.

♡

It was late, nearing midnight already, at Dreamcatcher Bookshop. The doors had been locked long ago, city lights had switched on to sparkle through the windows in a manner that reflected the gilded constellations of the mural on the ceiling. You often spent your spare time analyzing the piece, committing each heavenly body to memory and then refreshing the mental images when you could no longer recall them perfectly.

At the moment, however, you were far too engrossed in the novel in your hands to be wasting your time with purposeless study. Though you could have headed home several hours prior, you preferred reading in the comfort of the bookstore after hours. It was always peaceful and still, the only sound that filled the air being the rustling of pages and squeaking of your chair when you tossed your legs onto the counter for extra relaxation.

Your shoes tapped gently against the oaken surface every once in a while as sleep threatened to take over your mind. You were incredibly tired, but you reassured yourself with the knowledge that stepping out into the chilly night air to walk home would wake you up once you had finished that one last chapter.

That was what you had been telling yourself for the last five chapters. They all ended on cliffhangers, so what could you do but continue on? At the rate at which you were reading, you'd be done with the book entirely in mere minutes, anyways.

It was just that the main character, Kim Yoohyeon, was so close to reaching the magical portal that would save her from the Curse of the Spider. It would be silly to stop before that imminent point. You would save the second installment in the series for the next day, but you simply refused to put down the first one.

Suddenly, a jingle of the bell above the front door made your head shoot up from the book. You could have sworn that you had locked up for the night...hadn't you? You jumped to your feet, heart racing, and threw your novel face down on the counter. Whatever the intruder wanted, they were going to have to cross you first. The little bookshop that you had worked so hard to get up and running was your heart and soul, and you were prepared to defend it with your life.

However, it seemed that the intruder didn't want to do much in terms of vandalization. "Hello?" a soft, feminine voice asked. Its musical lilt almost reminded you of how Yoohyeon's voice was always described, but you were far too distracted to dwell on that at the moment.

"We're closed, ma'am," you spoke indignantly as the figure began to approach you. She was shrouded in the darkness of the night, leaving you only with the image of her willowy build until she stepped closer.

"I'm – where am I? No, I'm not looking for books, I-I need help."

Certainly, you would have helped the alluring young lady – if for nothing more than the hopes of receiving her number in exchange – if you could speak or move. But your shock abruptly prevented you from doing either of those, since none other than Kim Yoohyeon was standing before you with an alarmed expression on her face.

No.

You shook your head at yourself. That was impossible. She was nothing more than a depiction, a figment of an author's imagination.

Yet, it was her, wasn't it? It had to be: blonde tresses elegantly framing her slim face at shoulder length, alabaster skin, eyes that sparkled with the vibrancy of a thousand emeralds. Even her clothing matched the book's description, a tulle dress formed using the finest of materials to the point that the garment and wearer appeared otherworldly.