I woke up abruptly, chest tight, eyes fluttering against the bright light filtering through the curtains. My head throbbed, my body felt heavy and wrong. For a split second, panic surged — I thought I had died in that morning accident.
Then I became aware of the room. No hospital smells, no sterile white lights, no beeping machines. Just… a lavish bedroom, ornate and overwhelming, with mirrors lining the walls, polished wood floors, and piles of luxurious items scattered carelessly.
And I noticed something else. The stillness. The silence. I was completely alone.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, trying to rise, and froze. The reflection in the nearest mirror stopped my breath entirely.
It was him. Kael. Or rather… Kael's Raven form, the villain's body from the game, dark and imposing in a way that radiated fear. Broad shoulders, a commanding presence, sharp, cold eyes that seemed to pierce through everything. My hands flew up instinctively, touching the firm, heavy frame, the unfamiliar features, the aura that made my chest tighten.
This… is me?
I sank to the floor, knees shaking uncontrollably. My chest heaved, my throat tight, and tears immediately sprang to my eyes. This was the first time I had truly cried in my life — not in childhood, not over games, not over small heartbreaks. This was raw, helpless despair.
"I… I can't… I can't be him…" I whispered, my voice breaking, muffled into my hands. The reality of the Raven Kael body, the sheer terrifying weight of it, pressed down on me like a living thing.
I rocked forward, then backward, hugging my knees, sobs tearing from me uncontrollably. Memories of her — Shin Yeonghwa — crashed into me like a wave. Her laughter, her teasing, the countless hours spent debating choices in that silly otome game, the secrets we had shared, the warmth of her hand in mine — all of it, gone in an instant. And I was trapped here, helpless, in this body of Kael, the villain.
My sobs echoed against the walls, muffled only by my own shaking shoulders. I buried my face into my arms, weeping for the life we had lost, for the world we had just left behind, for the girl who had trusted me completely.
"I… I can't…" My voice was raw and trembling. "…I can't leave her… I can't…"
I pressed my face into the floor, feeling the cold bite of the polished wood against my cheeks, trying to make sense of it. This body — Raven Kael — had been feared, despised, and hated in the game. Every ounce of it screamed danger and power. And now, for the first time in my life, I understood fear. Real, crushing fear.
My hands flew to the mirror again, gripping the edges as if it were the only anchor left in this new, alien world. The reflection stared back at me unflinchingly. I had never been so terrified… or so helpless.
And yet, buried beneath the despair, a faint thought began to burn: She's still out there. She has to be… Shin Yeonghwa. She has to be safe. She has to… be here too.
I lifted my head, trembling, tears streaming freely. "Shin… Yeonghwa…" I whispered, my voice barely audible, raw with longing and desperation. The name hung in the silence, a lifeline I clung to amid the chaos of this unfamiliar body and unfamiliar world.
I collapsed back against the floor, sobs wracking my body, utterly broken. For the first time in years, I had no control, no laughter, no pride — only fear, grief, and the imposing presence of Raven Kael staring back at me in the mirror.
But even in this pit of despair, a tiny spark flickered — a memory, a promise, a connection that had survived across time and worlds. She was still out there. And if she had come to this world like me… then perhaps, just perhaps, we could find each other again.
I pressed my trembling hands to the mirror one last time, staring at Raven Kael, and whispered hoarsely, "I… I will survive. Somehow. And when I find her… I'll make this right. I won't fail you again, Shin Yeonghwa."
The room was silent except for my ragged breathing. I sat there for what felt like hours, sobbing, trembling, broken… yet beneath it all, a fragile, stubborn determination began to grow. I might be trapped in Raven Kael's body, the villain of the game world, feared by all who knew his name. I might be powerful, imposing, and alone. But I would endure. And if Shin Yeonghwa had come to this world like me… I would not let fate separate us again.
Somewhere deep inside, a tiny hope flickered — faint, stubborn, and impossible: She's here. She must be here.
And with that thought, I finally allowed myself to breathe, to weep fully, and to accept the horrifying reality that my new life had begun — helpless, terrifying, and desperate — but with the one unbroken bond I would cling to, no matter what: Shin Yeonghwa.