A Backstage Love I Han Jisung x Reader

A Sore Heart

Han shrugged off his coat, draping it over the back of a chair, and turned to face me. The tension in his expression had softened, replaced by something darker, heavier—fear.

"I can't stop thinking about that night," he said abruptly, his voice trembling.

My chest tightened, and I knew instantly what he was talking about. The night the sasaeng had chased me down, cornering me in the alley behind the venue. The night their obsession turned violent.

"You don't have to—" I started, but he cut me off with a shake of his head.

"I do," he said firmly, his voice laced with an urgency I hadn't heard before. "Because I can't pretend it didn't happen. I can't pretend I wasn't scared to death when I saw the blood trickling from the gash on your arm-"

Han's hand trembled in mine, his normally steady demeanor shaken as he stared at the faint scar on my arm. I'd tried so hard to pretend it didn't bother me, to bury the memory of that night, but the way his eyes lingered told me he wasn't ready to move on.

"Han," I whispered, my voice hesitant.

"I almost lost you," he said abruptly, his voice raw. "You could have died, Y/N. If they would've hit in a more delicate spot, I would've never heard your beautiful laugh ever again. Or your precious smile. I would have never been the same Y/N."

The memory hit me like a freight train. The chaos of the crowd. The blur of faces as I searched for him. And then her—the sasaeng who had slipped away from Han's grasp, her obsession turning deadly.

"You didn't lose me," I said gently, though my own voice wavered.

"I almost did." His jaw tightened, his gaze dark with guilt. "You ran after her—after me. I should've been the one protecting you, but instead, I..."

I could still feel the rush of adrenaline from that night, the way my heart had nearly stopped when I saw him chasing the sasaeng into the narrow alley. He'd vanished around the corner, leaving me no choice but to follow. I wasn't thinking about anything except finding him.

But she found me first.

"She intercepted me," I said softly, my fingers unconsciously brushing the scar. "I didn't even see the knife until it was too late."

Han's face contorted in pain, and I knew he was reliving it too: the moment he realized I was behind him, the split second he turned back and saw the saesang with the knife.

"She could've killed you," he said, his voice breaking. "I pushed her down just in time, but what if I hadn't? What if—"

"Stop," I interrupted, stepping closer. "You did get there. You pushed her off me and held her back until the police arrived. You saved me, Han."

His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I shouldn't have let it get that far. I shouldn't have left you in the first place."

The memory of her crazed eyes as she lunged at me, the sting of the blade slicing through my arm—it all felt so far away now. But the one thing that had stayed with me, clear as day, was the sound of his voice as he shouted my name.

"You did everything you could," I said, reaching for his hands. "You stopped her before she could do any more damage. I'm here because of you."

His shoulders sagged, the weight of his guilt visibly bearing down on him. "I've never been so scared in my life," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Seeing her hurt you...seeing you bleed... I don't know how to live in a world without you, Y/N. I don't want to."

I tightened my grip on his hands, my eyes searching his. "You don't have to," I said firmly. "I'm here, Han. I'm not going anywhere."

His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and for the first time since that night, I saw the raw fear he'd been hiding. "I can't lose you," he said, his voice breaking. "Not ever."

"You won't," I promised, my voice steady despite the lump in my throat.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then he pulled me into his arms, holding me as if letting go might make me disappear.

"I hate that you got hurt because of me," he murmured into my hair. "I hate that I couldn't protect you the way I should have."

"You did protect me," I said, pulling back to look at him. "You were there when it mattered most. You've always been there."

He let out a shaky breath, his hands cradling my face. "I'll never let anything happen to you again. I swear it."

There was a fierceness in his voice, a determination that sent warmth coursing through me. I rested my forehead against his, closing my eyes as the tension between us began to melt away.

"I believe you," I whispered, my voice steady but soft, as though saying it too loudly might shatter the fragile moment between us.