Love From a Parallel World

The late afternoon sun bathed the streets in a golden glow, stretching long shadows along the pavement. It was a peaceful day—or at least it was supposed to be.

"Ahh! My cat!"

A sharp cry echoed through the neighborhood, breaking the calm.

Jisoo barely had time to react before a blur of white fur darted past his legs, slipping between parked cars and bolting toward the main road.

His eyes flickered to the source of the voice—a little girl, barely six, standing on the sidewalk with tears streaming down her face.

"Please! Someone, help!" she sobbed, pointing desperately toward the runaway cat.

Jisoo sighed. Great.

He was supposed to be heading home, finishing up some schoolwork, maybe watching a few variety shows. But there was no way he could just walk past a crying kid.

With a frustrated groan, he took off running.

The cat was fast—too fast. It zipped through the street, weaving through traffic as Jisoo pushed himself to keep up. His school bag slapped against his back, his breath came out in sharp puffs, and he barely managed to dodge a cyclist cursing at him.

"Sorry!" he yelled over his shoulder.

The cat, apparently thrilled with the chase, bolted straight into the road.

Jisoo's heart stopped for a second as he realized—the light had just turned green.

A truck rumbled forward, its engine growling as it picked up speed.

"Shit—!"

Instinct overpowered logic. He lunged forward, ignoring the blaring honk of the approaching vehicle.

And then—

A hand grabbed his wrist.

A force yanked him back, hard.

Time seemed to slow.

He felt the rush of air as the truck barreled past, so close that he could feel the vibration in his bones. The cat, miraculously, had already made it to the other side.

For a moment, Jisoo could only stand there, panting, his mind struggling to catch up.

Then, slowly, he turned toward the person who had just saved his life.

And his breath caught.

Standing there, fingers still wrapped around his wrist, was her.

His longtime crush.

The girl he had admired from afar for years.

But—something was wrong.

Because this wasn't her.

Not exactly.

Her hair was different—a little longer, slightly messier.

Her uniform, while familiar, had subtle differences in design.

And her eyes, while unmistakably hers, carried an emotion he had never seen before.

Something deep. Something sad.

She stared at him, and for a moment, they just stood there.

Then, finally, she spoke.

"You're alive," she whispered, almost as if she couldn't believe it.

Jisoo swallowed, his throat dry.

"Uh... yeah? Thanks for that."

Her grip on his wrist tightened.

"You don't understand," she murmured, shaking her head.

Her lips parted again, and this time, the words sent a chill through his spine.

"In my world, you died today."

Jisoo's breath hitched.

Did he hear that right?

"In… your world?" he echoed, staring at her.

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she loosened her grip on his wrist, taking a small step back. Her dark eyes flickered with hesitation—like she was debating whether or not to tell him the truth.

Jisoo barely noticed the sound of the truck fading into the distance. The little girl's cries had turned into delighted laughter as she hugged her now-retrieved cat, oblivious to the fact that someone had almost died saving it.

But Jisoo didn't care about any of that.

Because right now, his longtime crush was standing in front of him—except she wasn't really her.

The girl let out a breath, seemingly coming to a decision.

"I know this is going to sound crazy," she murmured. "But I'm not from here."

Jisoo blinked.

"…Huh?"

She crossed her arms, looking slightly annoyed at his lack of reaction. "I mean exactly what I said. This isn't my world. It looks the same, but it's not."

Jisoo stared at her, completely lost. "Wait—what do you mean your world?"

The girl exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples. "Okay. Let's start simple. You and I… we know each other."

Jisoo's stomach twisted at her words.

Because she said it so naturally.

Like they were something.

Like they had been something.

She must have noticed the way he tensed, because her expression softened slightly. "I know this is confusing, but in my world… we were together."

Jisoo's brain short-circuited.

"Together?" he repeated, voice cracking slightly.

She nodded. "We were dating. We had been for a while. And today…" She trailed off, her gaze darkening. "Today, you died."

Jisoo's skin crawled.

The weight of her words settled over him, pressing against his chest like a heavy stone.

His mind screamed at him to say something—anything.

This has to be a joke.

Maybe I hit my head when she pulled me.

Maybe I actually died and this is some weird afterlife.

But the way she looked at him—it wasn't a joke.

Jisoo swallowed hard, forcing his voice to work.

"So… what? You somehow traveled to another world just to save me?"

Her lips pressed together, her expression unreadable.

"I didn't plan to," she admitted. "I made a wish. A desperate wish."

"A wish?"

She nodded slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"There was a shooting star last night."

Jisoo inhaled sharply.

He remembered.

Last night, on his way home from school, he had seen a shooting star flicker across the sky. He hadn't wished for anything—he never believed in those things.

But apparently, she did.

"I wanted another chance," she continued. "A way to stop you from dying."

Jisoo licked his lips, trying to piece this all together.

"So, let me get this straight. You're from some kind of… alternate version of this world. And in your version, I died today?"

She nodded.

"And after you made your wish, you woke up here?"

Another nod.

Jisoo ran a hand down his face. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds totally normal."

She sighed. "I get that this is a lot to process, but I'm telling the truth."

Jisoo opened his mouth—probably to say something sarcastic—but then he caught something in her eyes.

Pain.

Deep, raw pain.

And for some reason, it made his heart ache.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, finally, he let out a breath. "Alright… let's say I believe you."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You do?"

Jisoo shrugged. "Not really. But I guess I'll hear you out."

The corner of her lips twitched, almost like she wanted to smile.

"Well, that's a start," she murmured.

Jisoo sighed. What had he just gotten himself into?

Jisoo wasn't sure what felt weirder—the fact that a girl claiming to be from a parallel world had just saved him, or the fact that she was looking at him like she had known him forever.

He scratched the back of his head, exhaling sharply. "Alright, so let's say you're telling the truth. You come from another world where we—" he cleared his throat, "—where we were… together."

The girl nodded, looking almost amused at how hard it was for him to say the word "together."

Jisoo ignored the heat crawling up his neck.

"Then why did you end up here? Why this world? Why this version of me?"

The girl's expression softened.

"I don't know," she admitted, and for the first time, her voice wavered. "I wasn't expecting to wake up in a different world. I just wanted you back."

Something about the way she said it—**so genuine, so heartbreakingly honest—**made Jisoo shift uncomfortably.

He wasn't used to girls looking at him like that.

Like he was something precious.

Something worth saving.

He cleared his throat, trying to regain some control of the conversation. "Well… I guess you got your wish. But what now? What are you planning to do?"

The girl hesitated.

"I haven't thought that far yet," she admitted with a small laugh. "I was too focused on saving you."

Jisoo frowned. "So you just showed up here without a plan?"

She shrugged. "Guess so."

Jisoo sighed.

Great. So now he was stuck with an alternate version of his crush who had no clue what to do next.

Just perfect.

He glanced at her again, and for the first time, he noticed something.

Her uniform.

At first glance, it looked almost identical to the one their school had. But when he really focused—the details were off.

The school emblem wasn't the same.

The ribbon she wore was tied differently.

The shade of blue on her blazer was just a little bit darker than it should have been.

Jisoo's stomach twisted.

It hit him all at once—this wasn't just a weird joke.

Everything about her—the way she talked, the way she looked at him, the way she stood so comfortably close to him—felt just a little too real.

This wasn't his classmate.

But at the same time… she was.

Jisoo swallowed hard.

"Alright, fine. Let's say I believe all of this for now," he muttered. "But what do I even call you?"

The girl blinked.

And for a second, her face was completely blank.

Then, she gave a small, sad smile.

"…You really don't know?"

Jisoo frowned. "What?"

She took a step forward, tilting her head slightly, studying his face like she was searching for something.

Then, softly—**almost too softly—**she whispered a name.

The name of his crush.

The name of the girl he had been admiring from afar for years.

"Sooyeon."

Jisoo's breath hitched.

Hearing it from her lips—it sounded different.

Like it meant something more.

Jisoo exhaled, trying to shake the uneasy feeling creeping up his spine. "Well, yeah, I know that's her name. But… I guess I mean you. Should I still call you Sooyeon?"

For a moment, she didn't answer.

Then, with a small smile, she nodded.

"Of course. I'll always be Sooyeon," she murmured.

But for some reason, the way she said it didn't sound like the truth.

Jisoo pushed the thought away.

"Well, Sooyeon," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "What the hell am I supposed to do with you now?"

She just grinned.

"You could start by letting me stay at your place."

Jisoo choked on air. "WHAT?!"

Sooyeon clasped her hands behind her back, rocking slightly on her heels. "I have nowhere to go, remember? I'm not even from this world."

Jisoo stared at her in horror.

She wanted to live with him?!

Absolutely not.

No way.

Never.

…Right?

Jisoo stared at Sooyeon, waiting for her to laugh, to say she was joking.

She didn't.

Her expression remained completely serious.

"You want to stay at my place?" he repeated, as if saying it out loud would somehow make it sound less insane.

Sooyeon nodded. "Mhm. I don't have anywhere else to go."

Jisoo groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Right. Because you're from another world."

"Exactly."

"And you have no home, no family, no money because this is not your world —"

"Correct."

"—and you think my apartment is the best option?"

She beamed. "Yes."

Jisoo deadpanned.

There were a hundred reasons why this was a bad idea.

For one, he lived alone. His parents had moved overseas a while back, leaving him with an apartment near school. That meant he had zero supervision.

Which also meant if anyone found out that a girl was secretly living with him, he was as good as dead.

Jisoo exhaled sharply.

"You can't stay with me," he muttered, trying to sound firm. "It's weird."

Sooyeon tilted her head. "Why?"

"B-Because…!" He floundered, searching for a logical excuse. "You're a girl!"

Sooyeon just blinked. "So?"

Jisoo opened his mouth, then shut it again.

Was she serious?

Did she not realize how insane this sounded?

Sooyeon seemed completely unfazed.

"I don't see the problem," she said casually. "We lived together in my world, remember?"

Jisoo nearly choked on air.

"L-Lived together?!" His face heated instantly. "What kind of couple were we?!"

She gave him a playful look. "A happy one."

Jisoo wanted to die.

His crush (or at least, a version of her) was standing in front of him, basically telling him they had lived together as a couple in another universe.

How the hell was he supposed to process that?!

"I-It doesn't matter what we did in your world," he sputtered. "This isn't your world, and I can't just let you stay with me!"

Sooyeon pouted. "Then where am I supposed to go?"

Jisoo hesitated. "I… I don't know! A shelter?"

Sooyeon frowned. "You really want me to stay in some run-down place with strangers?"

"I mean—"

She stepped closer.

Jisoo froze.

"Would you have sent me away in my world?" she asked softly.

Jisoo's throat dried.

There was something about the way she said it—so quiet, so familiar.

Like she already knew the answer.

Jisoo clenched his jaw.

This wasn't fair.

She was playing dirty.

He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. "Fine."

Sooyeon perked up.

"But!" Jisoo quickly added, holding up a finger. "Only for a few days. Until we figure out what to do with you."

Sooyeon hummed, tapping her chin. "A few days, huh?"

"Yes," Jisoo said firmly. "Just a few days."

She smiled way too innocently. "Got it. A few days."

Why did that feel like a lie?

Jisoo sighed, already regretting his life choices.

This was going to be a nightmare.