Chapter Text
Pairing: Mystery Saja × Reader
You were never late when it came to him.
Not when it was a livestream. Not when it was a concert, or a meet-and-greet, or even a leaked appearance at some overpriced café he supposedly liked. You'd show up hours early, cramming yourself into the crowd like a pressed flower, smiling like you belonged there.
You always got the front seat. Always.
And when you couldn't-when the tickets sold out or you misread a time zone-you still watched from your screen. Laptop cracked open, eyes wide, the glow of his face lighting up your dark little room. His smile. His laugh. The way he tilted his head just slightly when he was tired. You caught every detail.
You knew them all.
He liked peppermint tea, hated being touched without warning, favored black over white unless it was a press event. His real smile was different from the fake one he used for cameras. You'd learned to tell the difference.
It felt like a secret-something private between you and him. Even if he didn't know it yet.
You didn't mean any harm.
You never did.
But lately... your body had betrayed you.
It started with a sore throat. Then came the chills, the headaches, the exhaustion that made even lifting your phone feel like a punishment. For the first time in two years, you'd missed a live concert. Then a fansign. Then another show.
By the third missed event, you'd stopped checking the fandom chat. The other fans were buzzing about new songs, about how radiant Saja looked this comeback, about how he smiled at someone in the front row.
It wasn't you.
You tried to sleep through it-curled up in your blanket, scrolling through old fancams you'd saved, some blurry from your shaking hands as you filmed. They felt like memories now. Distant. Dusty. Like you were on the outside again.
It was 9:47 PM when you dragged yourself out of bed, your hoodie clinging to your damp skin, fever burning behind your eyes. The medicine was gone. You'd finished the last strip of paracetamol yesterday, and the ache in your bones was getting worse.
So you went out.
The night air slapped your face, cold and sticky. The sidewalks were nearly empty, the only sounds a passing car here or a closing shutter there. The pharmacy glowed dimly a block away. You tucked your hands into your sleeves and walked quickly, eyes on the pavement.
That's when it started.
That feeling.
The one where something in the dark is... off.
At first, it was nothing. Just a sense of movement behind you. The shuffle of a shoe. Maybe a second step where there should've only been one.
You didn't look back.
You told yourself it was your fever. You were sick. You were tired. You were paranoid.
But then you passed the corner store, and its window reflected something behind you.
No-someone.
You turned.
Empty street.
Nothing.
You blinked at the sidewalk. Your pulse ticked up. The shadows felt longer than before. The cold wind slipped under your clothes like fingers. And even though there was no one there, you started walking faster.
Your heart thudded with every step.
Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe it was just your mind playing tricks.
-
You barely made it through the door.
The medicine was still clutched in your hand when you stumbled inside, the sharp flicker of the hallway bulb behind you buzzing like a warning. Your head was pounding harder now-each heartbeat echoing behind your eyes, nausea curling in your stomach. You tossed the packet onto your cluttered desk and barely managed to kick off your shoes before collapsing face-first onto the bed.
No blanket. No light. Just the warmth of your fever and the heaviness in your limbs.
You meant to get back up-to drink water, to take the pills, to at least check if your phone had charged.
But everything swam.
And you didn't even realize when your eyes finally closed.
---
It must've been midnight.
Something pulled you from the fog-a twinge in your neck, a strange warmth over your body, the sense that the room was... too full.
Your eyes fluttered open, sluggish and stinging.
Everything was blurry. Shapes twisted in shadows, familiar outlines smeared into nonsense.
Except for the one above you.
A figure loomed-quiet, unmoving, close. You blinked once. Twice. Your lashes were stuck together with sleep and dried tears. As the blur sharpened, a face emerged from the darkness.
Him.
His name screamed in your chest before it reached your lips.
Mystery Saja.
Your idol.
Your everything.
He was right there.
Hair falling in long bangs, almost covering his face completely-but not enough to hide the mouth set in a straight line, or the way he seemed to breathe you in like smoke.
He didn't move. Just stared.
Until-
"Thought you moved on... too quickly."
His voice was soft. Velvet wrapped around something much sharper.
You blinked again, confused.
"Huh...?"
Your tongue was thick. Your arms trembled as they reached up-slow, weak-and wrapped around him.
"Aahh... I'm seeing you in my dreams noww..."
"I missed you so much..."
"You feel so realll..."
You giggled a little, your fevered voice barely more than a breath against his chest.
"You smell like how I imagined..."
"I was so sad you didn't look at me last show..."
You didn't notice the way his hands curled into the sheets.
Didn't notice the way his shoulders twitched.
Didn't notice the way his lips parted-just barely.
Until-
Chomp.
You jolted.
A sharp sting bloomed in your left cheek like fire-quick, sudden, wrong. Teeth. Teeth sank into your skin like someone was biting you, actually biting, not playfully but like they wanted to taste you.
Your eyes flew open.
Morning.
Soft sunlight filtered through your dusty curtains. The hum of a car engine outside. Your bedsheet half-dragged onto the floor.
The medicine lay untouched on your desk.
Your head no longer throbbed. No fever. No nausea. Nothing. You felt... fine.
You blinked. Sat up slowly.
Tried to remember.
But last night was gone. Blanked out like a torn page.
You groaned and dragged yourself to the bathroom to wash your face. The cold water helped wake you up a little.
Then you looked up at the mirror.
And froze.
On your left cheek-a reddish mark. Oval. Deep. Bruised around the edges.
A bite.
You stared. "...Huh...?"