Same Memory || Another Story

→• The New Leventis

Her friends noticed-of course they did. Chaeyoung hovered like a ghost, Sana dropped snacks by her side then fled, Jihyo stared with that concerned-pretty- gaze, and Dahyun, ever sensitive to Y/n's changes, poked her cheeks twice an hour to check if there was still some life left in them.

But Y/n waved them off. With a lazy smile and, "I'm okay," that sounded like a lie dressed in pajamas.

The truth was?

She wasn't okay. At all.

Sleepless nights and an overworking brain had replaced dreams of vet school and a quiet life after graduation.

Dreams of Maybe settle on a farm. Build some arm muscle from lifting haystacks and chasing chickens. Maybe even marry a strong, soft-eyed farmer woman who'd feed her grapes under the sunset.

Or the opposite-marry rich, adopt a cat, and never work a day in her life.

But now?

Now she was the Leventis.

Thee Leventis.

Of all people.

A scaredy-cat who cries when she sees a cockroach and thinks of death when a spider dangles too close. Someone who freezes during horror stories and can't even kill a mosquito without saying "sorry" first.

was expected to lead. To protect. To save the damn world.

The universe clearly had a twisted sense of humor. The next generation would laugh their lungs out reading about her-the almighty Leventis-getting chased by a goose or hiding behind a child during a thunderstorm.

"Ridiculous," she muttered into her pillow. "Utterly and bitterly ridiculous."

She needed years-years!-to train, to unlock her said powers, to build courage. But no, she got four days. Four days to shift from "Y/n who still can't open jam jars" to "Y/n the Hero."

The last Leventis got four entire years or maybe longer. Amd she got four days and a pat on the back.

And sure, she could pretend. She could pretend she was brave. But the truth bled out when she was alone. When her mind whispered:

"Maybe if you were braver back then... maybe your parents would still be alive."

But she wasn't brave. She had watched them burn. Paralyzed. Helpless.

And now, the world wanted her to save it?

If there was one thing Y/n hated-truly hated-it was Responsibility.

---

The Night Before Departure; The palace was still, basking in a soft midnight glow. The breeze that swept through was cool and comforting, like a quiet lullaby after a long gloomy season.

Y/n stood at the edge of the grand balcony. From there, she could see the Queendom stretch far and wide-the city lights like constellations scattered on earth.

Her Queendom.

Her home.

The place where she first scraped her knees and cried so loud a baker gave her free bread. Where she fell in love for the first time-an awkward, crooked-toothed crush who kissed her nose instead of her lips.

Where she made friends. Lost some. Got bullied. Got protected.

Where she confessed and got rejected.

Where she lost her family... and found a new one.

The Queendom held more memories than her mind could catalog. Every brick and breeze seemed to whisper her name. And now, she was leaving it.

Tomorrow.