She met his gaze, a bitter, almost mocking smile pulling at her lips. "A future?" she repeated, her voice cold. "What kind of future would that be? Strapped to machines, needles in my arms, in some foreign hospital where no one knows me?"
He clenched his fists, his own helplessness simmering just beneath the surface. "And what about the people who do know you? Who love you? Don't you think they deserve a chance to fight this with you? Your uncle, the Su brothers—they finally got close to you, Jiho."
The mention of her new husbands made something flicker in her eyes, a brief crack in her guarded expression. She had promised them a lifetime, hadn't she? Those vows, the quiet promises exchanged in the dim glow of the old house—how hollow they felt now, knowing she couldn't keep them. But the thought of becoming a burden, of watching their hope turn into pity, made her feel sick.