Don't Leave Me
The rain poured down without mercy.
Don't go.
Don't leave me behind.
I missed you. I missed you so much!
“Hurry up!”
Canna sobbed uncontrollably as she chased after Seonhong.
That rotten little brat was, as always, showing zero consideration for his older sister’s heavy, exhausted body. He simply ran wherever he pleased.
And Ttotto was no different.
Just like how the little creature would rub up against her with sweet affection one moment, only to bolt far away the instant her mood soured, right now it was sprinting toward a place completely out of reach.
“Wait for me!”
She ran frantically down the dark, rain-slicked path.
Before she knew it, she had entered the forest, but she didn’t even realize it. The only things in her sight were Seonhong and Ttotto.
Finally, Seonhong came to a stop.
And there, standing before her, was a face she had longed to see.
“Canna.”
Canna’s knees trembled.
That gentle yet strong voice. How desperately she had missed it.
“Mom…”
“My sweet Canna.”
Her mother stood beside her father. Seonhong and Ttotto waved at her from their side.
Canna stumbled forward, tears streaming down her face.
“Mom. Mom…”
“Yes, it must have been so hard for you all this time, hasn’t it?”
Yes, Mom!
It was really, really hard!
She wanted to say it out loud.
She wanted to cry that it had been unbearably difficult.
She wanted to whine about how everyone tormented her, how cruel and vicious this world was.
But it felt like a stone was lodged in her throat. The pain was so sharp she couldn’t utter a single word. She simply stood before her mother, hiccupping and letting the tears fall.
These were tears she had never once shed since arriving in this world.
The moment she saw her family—standing before Seonhong, Ttotto, Mom, and Dad—there was no longer any reason to hold back. With them, it was okay to be weak. In front of them, she could crumble completely.
“Huh?”
But when she lifted her head again, no one was there.
“What…?”
The rain hammered down.
Inside the storm-drenched forest, she stood alone, completely drenched and utterly lost.
Then—
“Sister, over here!”
At the sudden voice from behind, Canna spun around.
Somehow, Seonhong was there again, waving at her.
“Seonhong…”
“Yeah, sis?”
“Where are Mom and Dad?”
“They went home first.”
“Home?”
“Yeah. Let’s go home too. Mom, Dad, and Ttotto are waiting.”
Home.
It was a magical word.
Canna wanted nothing more than to go home now.
To forget all of this like a nightmare, lie down on the living room sofa, and just sleep.
“Wait!”
But when Seonhong started running again, Canna chased after him. That was when it happened.
“Canna.”
“…!”
Canna froze mid-step, forgetting all about following Seonhong.
When she turned around, he was standing there.
“O-Oppa?”
“Canna. I missed you.”
Light brown hair. Gentle, deer-like eyes. A clear, kind face. A tall, handsome man.
The lover she had once even considered marrying was standing right there.
Why is Yeonwoo oppa here?
Why is everyone here?
Something… something’s…
Her head spun.
It felt like her vision was obscured by thick fog. Nothing came into focus. Canna clutched at her hair, staggering.
What is this? What the hell is…?
“Sister!”
But there was no time to think.
At Seonhong’s voice calling her once more, Canna moved after him like a conditioned animal.
“Canna, hurry!”
“W-wait, oppa. Seonhong, wait!”
“Sister, faster! We have to go home!”
Canna stumbled after Yeonwoo and Seonhong. The faint thread of doubt vanished, replaced by rising hope. A wide smile spread across her face.
Yes. She could go home.
She was finally going home!
“Hey!”
That was when a powerful grip seized her arm. Canna’s body was forcibly spun around.
“Snap out of it!”
“…”
Who…?
His hair, soaked with rainwater, was such a vivid red it looked like blood was dripping from it. Canna stared at it in a daze before violently shaking off his hand.
“Let go. Let go of me.”
“I said snap out of it! Why the hell are you acting like this too?!”
“Let go! I have to go home!”
What if Seonhong disappeared while she was stuck here? What if Yeonwoo oppa vanished? She had only just met them!
“Let me go home! I want to go home!”
Canna thrashed wildly. She kicked at the man, scratched him with her nails, desperate to break free from his grasp.
“Hey!”
Finally tearing herself away, Canna ran like a madwoman.
“Mom!”
Up ahead, her mother and father were waving at her.
“Canna, let’s go home. Dad made doenjang soup.”
“Meow.”
“Sister, let’s eat chicken when we get home!”
“Canna, I really missed you.”
The voices rang out as if whispering right beside her ears. No—it felt like they were prying open her skull and murmuring directly into her brain.
“Mooom…”
Canna staggered forward like someone possessed. Then her mother, who had been quietly watching her, smiled softly.
And said,
“Is this how I raised you?”
…Ah.
The strength left her legs. Canna collapsed heavily onto the ground.
“Ugh…”
Sprawled pathetically in the mud, Canna let out a groan. Her entire body ached from the impact.
Her arms and legs. Her face.
And her heart.
Canna closed her eyes. Rain poured down as if mocking her fallen body.
This isn’t real.
Feeling the rain strike her cheek, Canna barely managed to pull her thoughts together. She called out to her reason.
This isn’t real.
What isn’t?
This isn’t real.
This whole thing.
Yes. It’s not.
It couldn’t be. Absolutely not.
There’s no way it’s them.
Right. It wasn’t.
There was no way her entire family and her lover would all gather here. There was no way they would appear and disappear mysteriously just to confuse her.
And above all—
They would never have let her run through the rain like this.
“Sister, get up. We have to go home.”
“Canna, are you okay?”
“Meow.”
Yet the whispers still lingered at her ears.
Her scattered, dizzy judgment seductively urged her to just believe it, to admit how much she had missed them, to run after them with all her heart.
If she obeyed that command, it seemed like she would feel truly happy. Like she could laugh brightly and dance.
But she didn’t want to.
She couldn’t.
“Hey.”
Canna opened her eyes again.
“What the hell is this mess?”
She realized this was the only reality.
Only that voice.
Only the man she despised more than anyone.
This was her reality.
“Idiot.”
Then a strong force lifted her body up. Canna didn’t resist. She simply let herself fall into his arms.
“I told you to get the hell off this island.”
In the pouring rain, Orshini muttered curses under his breath.
“You didn’t listen, and now look at you. Serves you right, you moron.”
Orshini had found Canna at the edge of the forest.
“Wait for me, Seonhong!”
At first, he thought it was just another villager.
He turned his head with an annoyed expression, assuming it was another resident suffering from mania and running wild.
But then—
“Seonhong!”
That voice.
“Stop the carriage.”
“Lord Orshini?”
“Stop it.”
Rachel, the lord’s daughter, sat beside him.
“But it’s raining outside…”
Orshini didn’t wait to hear the rest.
He kicked the door open and leaped out. Following the trail the woman had left behind, he plunged into the forest.
“Mooom!”
Curses roared inside Orshini’s mouth.
It really was his damn sister!
Crazy bitch.
She was in complete disarray. Soaked pajamas, bare feet covered in mud, sobbing her heart out.
And who the hell is that bastard?
Behind her, Claude was secretly following. Canna seemed to be seeing hallucinations; she stared fixedly at one spot and muttered.
“M-Mom…”
For a moment, Orshini’s steps halted.
“Mom. I missed you.”
Her shoulders, battered endlessly by raindrops, trembled violently. She looked like a wounded bird.
“Hic… hic… ugh…”
Without realizing it, Orshini hid behind a tree.