And now? Now, the gods had delivered this final twist, as if to say, You thought you could be happy? Think again.
For a moment, Jiho didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The irony was sharp, and yet, as the idea of her own death lingered, a chilling truth settled over her. Death had once seemed like the ultimate defeat to her, a form of loss she despised with every fiber of her being. She hated the thought of losing, of surrendering. Back then, if someone had asked her if she feared death, she'd have laughed it off, shrugged, and said it didn't matter. But now? Now, with these brothers she'd come to care about—these people who, for better or worse, had become her family—the thought terrified her.
What would they do without her? Would they be left with memories, haunted by a life they'd barely begun? Would they feel the hollow pain of losing someone they'd come to love? She couldn't bear the idea of that pain for them, of leaving them to shoulder the loneliness and the grief.
