𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘 | 𝗡𝗖𝗧 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠

When the Heart Remains | Haechan Fic #3

Title: when the heart remains (episode one)

Genre: korean fantasy au with a side of romance

Warnings: mentions/descriptions of death, blood, dark subjects, kissing (but nothing too explicit)

Word Count: ~5.3k

Author's Note: the reason i was able to finish such a big project was because i wrote it for a creative writing class, so the deadline motivated me to work on it every day lol. my classmates seemed to like the story, so i hope you guys do too. it's pretty different from my usual stuff and i didn't use (y/n) for this one, because it doesn't fit the context of the story. but you're free to imagine whatever. thank you for reading and a part two to this story will exist at some point! your support through comments appreciated ^ ^

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The streets of Seoul buzzed with life, the bright blue sky streaked with smudges of white as it usually did in the afternoons. Pedestrians hurried along, weaving past one another, each focused on reaching their destination—whether class, work or a meeting. Like everyone else, Eunji walked purposefully, her jet black coat flowing behind her. She didn't spare a second glance at the grim reaper struggling to follow her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his eyes darting around, absorbing the surroundings as if he hadn't lived in this environment for the past twenty-one years. Perhaps shadowing her was proving to be more overwhelming than he thought it would be.

"Keep up, Park Jisung," she spoke firmly, never breaking her stride. "The soul we're escorting is due in six minutes. We will not be late because of your straggling."

"Yes, Sunbae!" The tall young male immediately responded, readjusting the black fedora on his head.

Despite this, Eunji could see the excitement in him still simmering beneath the seriousness of their job.

"I'm just...still getting used to all this," he added, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips. "You know, being in between the living and the dead."

Eunji gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing. She couldn't deny she had been much like Jisung when first stepping into this role. Existing in the space between life and death had felt strange at first—both invisible to those they watched over, yet not entirely separate from them. The first decade was especially disorienting, witnessing people grow older while her body had stopped aging physically since she died. But Eunji quickly learned to shut out the distractions from the world of living. The lights, the sounds, and the vibrant energy were not meant for beings like her. Not anymore, at least.

After all, the most important rule that all grim reapers were to follow was simple: don't interfere. They were merely guides to the dead, nothing more. From the very moment she donned the full black uniform, Eunji obeyed this rule without question and performed her duties with no emotions involved. Hence, why her personality suited this role perfectly and she had easily risen through the ranks. Everything was more efficient when she didn't let feelings drive her actions.

As they entered a quieter street, Eunji froze, just for a moment. Her attention was drawn to the soft strumming of guitar chords carried on the breeze but immediately fixated on the honeyed vocals radiating warmth that accompanied it. Just ahead, a small crowd had gathered around two buskers. Seated on stools, the black-haired one playing the guitar had striking facial features, while the other singing beside him was handsome in a different way. His light brown hair complemented his warm, tan skin well. His name fell from her lips before she could even stop herself.