#Light Shop | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lexawritex · 8 days ago

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light

student!karina x studentfem!reader

warning: angst, death, blood, accident, car crash

the bell rang loudly, indicating the end of classes. the students rushed out of their classrooms, teachers left standing with their unfinished discussions.

y/n walked to a certain classroom before stopping by and peeked at the window. her eyes landing on the raven-haired girl who was sitting alone in her desk, earphones on and eyes glued on her thick book. y/n chuckled and entered the room, unnoticed by the raven girl.

with a gentle tap on the shoulder, the girl finally looked up and saw y/n. her eyes widened and met the soft gaze of y/n. a wide smile plastered on both faces.

"were you planning on spending your time studying instead of taking your girlfriend out on a date?" y/n teasingly asks as she helps the girl pack her stuff.

the two walked out of the school, hands intertwined, giving warmth to each other in the cold autumn air. y/n looks at her girlfriend who then looked at her noticing the former's eyes on her.

"where do you plan on taking me ms. yu?" karina giggled at the formal name.

"well, i was planning on taking you to that cat cafe ms. l/n" y/n's eyes went wide as an excited squeal came out of her mouth, causing karina to smile widely at her reaction.

as the two arrived at the said cafe, y/n couldn't stop smiling and cooing at the fluffy cats that calmly roamed around the place. karina's heart warmed at the sight and took many photos of y/n who was too busy mingling with the cats to notice her girlfriend taking photos of her.

after what seemed like an hour of interacting with cats, y/n finally sat down in a table with karina. the two enjoyed a hot chocolate drink whilst talking about their day. a normal date, nothing too lavish, just them enjoying each other's company.

when the time came to leave the cafe, y/n almost cried and begged karina another hour in the cafe but failed anyways. karina had to drag a sad y/n away from the cafe.

"you'll see the darn cats again soon! we can't be there for too long!" karina said as she drags her pouting girlfriend.

the two landed on an arcade and decided to spend a good amount of their allowance over a rigged claw machine.

y/n held her eyes on a cat plushie with determination and focus as her hands skillfully operated the claw to the hole but whenever it neared it, the claw seemed to loosen, causing the plushie to fall again. this evoked a groan from y/n who shoved her hand in her pocket to fish some coins only to find it empty. she groaned once more and leaned her forehead against the glass in defeat. eyes locked in on the cat plushie.

karina had just returned from being a victim of the claw machine and saw her girlfriend looking like a lost puppy. she approached her and the two looked at each other with the same defeated look.

"let's not come back here again." y/n said receiving a nod of approval from karina.

the two exited the arcade and karina automatically held y/n's hand that perfectly fit to hers. as if they were made for each other.

the two wandered for awhile before karina stopped walking causing y/n to stop too and look at her girlfriend with a confused look. karina shot her a smile causing the latter to smile too.

"what's on your mind, pretty girl?" y/n asked.

"how does ice cream and a walk in the park sound like?" y/n's face beamed at the idea and her heart fluttered like how it did on their first date as a couple.

"wonderful."

with ice cream on one hand and the other holding each others, the couple strolled in the park, enjoying the autumn air, basking in the sound of people enjoying their time. y/n looked at her girlfriend and her heart swelled with love that she felt like it would explode any second.

"thank you, karina."

karina looked at y/n, a warm smile forming on her lips. the very smile that made y/n fall for the woman.

"no, thank you, y/n." karina paused and held y/n's hand.

"because of you...i learned that there is more than just studying and for giving me a warmth that i could only find in you. you complete me." karina said, whispering the last sentence.

y/n teared up. her heart filled with so much love that she couldn't help the tears welling in her eyes. karina mirrored her expression and pulled the woman closer to engulf her in a tight and the most secure hug ever.

as they pulled away, y/n lightly slapped karina's arm- causing the latter to laugh softly.

"yah! what's with you making me cry today huh?" y/n asked, voice cracking from sobbing earlier.

"i just love you so much." karina simply said.

the two sat on a bench, watching as the sun set and the moon emerging from its hiding. y/n tugged at the woman beside her, gaining her attention.

"it's getting late, we should return. you have to study, remember?" y/n reminded.

karina nodded and they made their way out of the park. as they both walk in a comfortable silence. karina stopped in her tracks, making y/n stop too.

"why? what's wrong?" she asks.

karina looks at her, her eyes soft yet held something else. something sad.

"there's one more place that we have to go." y/n looks at her in confusion and opened her mouth to protest but with the look on karina's face, she nodded.

she followed as the raven beauty lead her to an unknown alley she hadn't passed through. as scary as the place was, she has full trust on the woman before her.

karina stopped at a light shop, igniting a confused look in y/n before chuckling.

"did your light bulbs in your house die or something?" y/n asked at the woman who had her back at her.

karina sighed heavily and turned around to face y/n who's smile slowly faded upon seeing karina's solemn expression. the latter forced a smile before beckoning y/n to enter the shop.

they did and y/n winced as she was greeted by the bright lights. her eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness and was slightly amazed at the various types of light bulbs displayed in the shop.

"may i help you two?" the sound of a man's voice caught the attention of the two. y/n looked at the man in the cashier desk and bowed in greeting.

"oh, hello. we're here--"

"y/n, find the light that glows when you go near it."

karina cuts her off and looked at the lights in the shop. y/n nervously laughs at the sudden serious demeanor of her girlfriend. flashing an apologetic smile at the man, y/n wandered around the shop, looking for the light that karina requested. what does she mean by a lightbulb that glows when she's near? she wondered.

karina looks at the man, wearing a sunglasses, understandably from how bright the shop is with all the lightbulbs. the man seemingly understood karinas intentions and sat back on his chair, proceeding with his work.

she looks around and spots two desk lamps. one turned on and the other, off.

"y/n, i think i found it." footsteps softly neared karina's and y/n looks at the two desk lamps that karina was eyeing.

"you want to replace your desk lamp?" y/n asked yet karina said no response.

having enough of karina's sudden seriousness, y/n faced her girlfriend.

"baby, what's wrong? did i say something that hurt you? why are you suddenly acting like this? it's scaring me." y/n said, holding back the tears that are starting to well in her eyes.

karina looked at her in the eyes before tears welled up in hers as well. she held y/n's face, tears falling and sobs escaping her mouth. y/n immediately hugged her and rubbed karina's back in attempts to comfort her.

"why- why are you crying suddenly?" y/n asked, voice breaking as she's starting to cry too.

when karina pulled away, y/n gasped and stepped back when she saw blood dripping from her head. y/n stuttered in forming words until it all came to her.

the accident. the bus crash. the nonstop rain.

"karina! wait for me! you'll get wet!"

y/n screamed as she chased the raven woman in the rain, laughter emitting from their smiles. the two shared an umbrella in the hard rain after being dismissed from their night study in the school. under the protection of the waiting shed, the girls waited patiently for the last bus as they teased each other to pass the time.

the bus finally arrived and the two got on. however, karina couldn't shake the feeling of dread that she got as soon as they rode the bus. she tried telling y/n about it but the latter shrugged it off and told her that it was just the anxiety of the upcoming exams taking over her tired system.

throughout the ride, karina held tightly on y/n's hand- yelping whenever the bus would bounce a little from passing a hump. y/n did her best to comfort the woman beside her by giving her reassurance with her tight grip on her hand.

when the bus reached the bridge, karina couldn't sit still. her knee was bouncing up and known and y/n noticed this. she whispered assuring words to her girlfriend when a loud pop caused them and the other passengers to jump in surprise. after this, the bus began to shake as the driver stepped hard on the break pedal yet it only worsened the situation when another loud pop boomed in the ears of the passengers. followed by the uncontrollable swerving of the bus.

y/n held karina tightly against her, her chin resting gently atop karina’s head as she spooned her, offering a fragile sense of comfort. without warning, the bus lurched violently, slamming into the guardrail. for a heartbeat, time seemed to freeze, and then, with a deafening roar, the bus broke through the barrier, tumbling into the abyss. the cold, dark waters below swallowed everything in an instant, drowning the screams and leaving nothing but the haunting silence of the crash.

y/n gasped, jolting out of the tragic memory of the crash, her eyes locking onto the bloodied karina before her. karina was crying uncontrollably, her grip on y/n growing cold, slipping away with each passing second.

"y/n, please wake up. you have to!" she sobbed, her voice cracking with desperation.

y/n shook her head, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed harder, her heart aching as the reality of their situation hit her like a wave. she couldn’t bear it. she couldn’t lose her. she pulled karina into a tight embrace, clinging to her as if her life depended on it.

"no, no, no, i won’t leave you! we’ll wake up together! we promised to grow old and have cats! you promised, karina!" her voice trembled, filled with raw emotion, as she held onto the last shred of hope.

karina pulled away, her hands trembling as she guided y/n closer to the desk lamp. but y/n protested, shaking her head fiercely, her body wracked with sobs that she could no longer control. each cry felt like it tore her apart, but no words came—only desperate, guttural sounds of helplessness.

karina’s voice cracked, the tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, her grip on y/n tightening. "please, y/n! do it for me, please! you have to wake up!"

y/n’s eyes were wide with fear and sorrow, her heart heavy with an unbearable weight. she shook her head again, her breath hitching as the cries continued, her body shaking, but the words that once could have comforted them both seemed impossible to find.

karina held y/n's face in her bloodied hands and brought their faces close. their tear-filled eyes looking at each other with pain, love, and fear.

"please....y/n...live for me" karina whispered desperately. her forehead leaning against y/n's as she lets out a shaky breath.

"we promised..." y/n managed to whisper, her voice barely audible as the weight of their unspoken words hung heavy in the air. karina nodded, her eyes brimming with tears, her teeth sinking into her lip to keep from crying out. but it was impossible, and a guttural, heart-wrenching sob tore from her throat.

"i'm sorry... i'm sorry... i'm sorr—" karina's words were drowned by y/n, who suddenly crashed their lips together in a desperate, all-consuming kiss. it was long and agonizing, filled with pain and love, the kind of kiss that carried all the things they could no longer say. when they finally pulled apart, breathless and shaken, the silence between them spoke louder than any words could.

y/n pulled away from karina, her heart heavy as she gave her one last look. the sight of karina—their early days together—flashed through y/n’s mind, moments filled with laughter, tenderness, and unspoken promises as her tears blurred her vision.

with a final, shaky breath, y/n turned towards the man in sunglasses, his face unreadable, his gaze fixed on her with an unsettling calmness like he already knew the path she was about to take.

"let us not meet each other again." the man said.

y/n looked at the desk lamp and touched the bulb. a blinding light flashed suddenly, making karina wince and turn away, her hands instinctively covering her eyes as the intensity of the light stung her vision.

when the light faded out, karina looked at where y/n formerly stood and let her tears fall uncontrollably. she closed her eyes, letting the tears fall before sighing heavily. she looked at the man and bowed slightly.

"be careful on your journey." the man said.

karina nodded and exited the shop, walking through the dark path and disappearing into the fog as she ventures further.

the nurses rushed to a patient's bed as the machine beeped, the doctor checking her vitals. one nurse noticed the movement of the patient's eyes and the slight twitch of her fingers. she called the attention of the doctor who felt relieved at the news. soon, tears came out of the patient's eyes and rolled down.

"that's good news." the doctor said.

soon, the patient's eyes opened.

"ring y/n l/n's family and tell them that she's conscious." the doctor said and one nurse nodded and rushed to the phone.

the doctor stepped aside as the nurses assisted the patient, a sad look in his eyes. one nurse, a senior, stood beside him and sighed.

"poor kid, she's gonna be in so much pain when she's fully awake." said the nurse. the doctor looked at her and sighed.

"no one talks about yu karina until she's well enough to handle stress. right now, that name is forbidden." the nurse nodded.

"how ironic, she's the one being protected yet didn't make it." the man sighed and looked at the conscious figure of y/n.

"that's how unfair life is."

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i just finished watching the light shop and i loved it even though it was kind of confusing at the start and made me shed buckets of tears at the end. i really recommend watching it if you like dramas that make you cry. it inspired me to write this angst au which is my very first angst that i've written so pls bear with me :>

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dramadramallama · 1 month ago

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not really analyzing much, just making a few notes of the things that stood out to me in the first 4 eps of light shop. i haven't read the webtoon so it's more like i'm blindly pointing at things like a child hahaha

NAMES

All (?) the names called out when the teacher does attendance in the first episode have a (direct) translation (to something positive.) I noticed because 1. some of them are really unusual, and 2. they ALL are words, like no one's just named Ji-soo or something in this class lol:

Ip-sae (입새) - entrance/beginning

Nu-ri (누리) - (old fashioned) world/universe

Ha-neul (하늘) - sky/heaven

Gi-ppeum (기쁨) - joy

Eu-tteum (으뜸) - fundamental/basic (possibly: "the first")

Ga-eul (가을) - fall/autumn

Chuk-bok (축복) - wishing happiness/blessed

Bo-bae (보배) - treasure/priceless

Mi-rae (미래) - future

Do-dam (도담) - (possibly from 도담하다) be bold/stand out/accomplished (?)

Haet-sal (햇살) - sunlight

Now you're gonna say, well Hyun-ju (who keeps going to the light shop as an errand for her mom) is also in that class! She's seemingly the only one with a "normal" sounding name. Out of curiosity I did search hers, and interestingly, I found a few meanings too: 1. address of residence, 2. water used in ancestral rites (!) 3. stay in the present, live life (!!)

Side note: Haet-sal is also the name of the Detective's (unborn?) child. He chooses the name himself out of the ones his wife wrote down. It could be a coincidence, except most of the first names she pre-selected are the exact names of the students in that class.

I can't read all of them, but there are a few I recognize: Gi-ppeum, Ha-neul, Chuk-bok, Eu-tteum, Bo-bae... (there's also Sa-rang "love", or Haeng-bok "happiness" in the list)

HYUN-JU AND HER MOM

We're not shown Hyun-ju unconscious in the hospital, like all the other main players who are trying/failing to find a way out (the will to live/the will to move on)... But she clearly also is at the threshold between life and death. Maybe she is living, but able to unknowingly go between worlds?

The light shop seems to be the doorway to "home" or maybe "heaven" (as evidenced by Mr Twisty Legs, who keeps trying to "reach" the shop, and when he does get there, he doesn't cross the threshold and loops back to his solitary karaoke session in the dark rainy alleyway.

Dead or alive, Hyun-ju is basically invisible. She hangs out with her friends but she is not interacted with. It's really fun, if you go back and watch the scenes, no one directly talks to her, looks at her, or touches her. When she speaks, she's not acknowledged by the three friends. It's really clever: something's off, but it can be attributed to the girls being chaotic, not purposefully ignoring her. Eu-tteum is the only one who, barely awake, at the frontier between dream and reality, finally "sees" her. It's directly after that event that she sees the other ghost/spirit, whose body is missing (and whom the Detective is still looking for)

Hyun-ju's mom is revealed to be the body being embalmed. Her spirit (soul?) has a conversation with the Funeral Director and when she asks, "am I alone?" she surprisingly sounds relieved when he replies that she is. Is she relieved her daughter is not with her (meaning not dead yet?) She also cries and is worried about being left in the dark, which parallels painfully with the fact that she keeps seeking light, apparently asking her daughter to get her light bulbs over and over. The Funeral Director reassures her that she'll go to a place where it's very bright (=the Light Shop being very allegorical here)

Hyun-ju and her mom also live on the 8th floor of that apartment building, while the Intensive Care Unit is also on the 8th floor at the hospital. Bus Stop Guy also lives on the 8th floor of Hyun-ju's apartment building.

BUT... maybe Hyun-ju is the one keeping her mom from passing on, stubbornly buying her light bulbs that bring no light, and inevitably end up in the trash. Or is she helping...? Has she been dead ever since she was little (she still has that necklace she had as a kid, with her info on it in case she gets lost) and has been waiting for her mom all this time? The Shop Keeper even emphasizes that he sees her as a small child, unwrapping the candy for her.

When offered, Hyun-ju always picks the yellow (=light/sun) candies. The whole show feels like a giant allegory about Light and Dark, Life and Death.

SYMBOLISM/FOLKLORE

I don't know much, but I do remember that a common horror trope in Asian legends/stories is that ghosts can be recognized because they "clap with the back of their hands". I immediately thought of that when they show the Lady in White's weird hands (the inside of her hands is actually the back of it. The nails are all wrong, I FLINCHED) She's strangely interested in whether people are "alone" or "together", and who "knows" each other. She also needs to be invited inside explicitly to step into Bus Stop Guy's house, like creatures in a lot of folk tales.

The Shop Keeper never welcomes his customers inside... but greets them by asking a question: "how did you get there/what brings you here/how can I help?" The lights in his shop are not to be touched.

The Detective has a defective lamp on his desk, and cannot seem to light up his lighter anymore. He also sees people/things he shouldn't. The Nurse says "if you see people who are on the border of life and death, doesn't that mean you are too?" which obviously, he is now, since we see him in a hospital bed in the ICU. Maybe his wife and child are waiting for him to wake up...?

Lots of imagery with mirrors, which are common symbols for doorways, a limit between two worlds.

I know it's not, but New Tenant's outfit is also very reminiscent of a hospital gown (first image). When she settles in the new house, she puts away her shoes and does not seem to notice the bright red heels (the same ones the Very Tall Extremely Scary Woman wears, indicating she is inside the house with her).

The song my guy Mr Twisted Legs sings (badly) to give himself courage is the same one the Nurse makes her patients listen to (and the same one she was listening to when she was in a coma herself, "wandering aimlessly," "almost giving up" before she found her way back to the living). The characters on life support can all interact with each other in the alleyway, but are also completely isolated from each other: New Tenant does not hear Twisted Legs' cries over her own, and vice versa, even when they cry out for the same thing, "to get out of there."

They all share the same space in the ICU, but are locked in their own world. Do their collective consciousness populate that "other" world, mixing up elements of their life and memories?

Clearly, the theme of the deceased, unable pass on peacefully, who remain behind (due to something unresolved?) is prevalent. Does it create--not ghosts exactly--but an energy, an entity embodying the "regret," the "mourning [of] something they lost"?

Now, what I find interesting is: what does "I want to leave, I want to go home" mean for each of them? To peacefully pass on, accept death, move on, and forget? Or does it mean to fight, to find the will to live, thanks to those who wish us well? Is the Light (shop) the way back to life, or the way to the after-life? Or both?

#kdrama commentary #light shop #조명가게 #meta #that 'not really ghosts but something else' thing reminded me a lot of Oh No! Here Comes Trouble #which is literally one of my favorite shows also dealing with reflections on life death and everything in between #i didn't mention the names i saw in the cast/character list because we haven't heard them in the show (yet)#like i don't think the Nurse has been called by her first name which is listed as young-ji on MDL for example

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