In every lifetime

Minjeong and jimin promised forever on an ordinary night.
Just jimin's head on minjeong's chest, fingers lazily tracing patterns on her arm.

"Promise me we'll grow old together." Minjeong said softly, half-asleep.

Jimin smiled, pressing a kiss to her jaw. "Of course. I'll annoy you for the rest of your life."
Minjeong laughed quietly. "Forever then."

Neither of them knew how cruel that word could be. Minjeong's diagnosis came quietly-too quietly
Stage 4 cancer. Aggressive. Resistant to treatment.

Jimin sat across from the oncologist, white coat still on her shoulders, hands folded like she was listening to a lecture she already understood too well. She knew the statistics. But none of it felt real until minjeong squeezed her hand and whispered "It's okay. We'll get through this."

Jimin nodded. She always nodded. She was a doctor. She would fix this. She had to.

Jimin became everything at once : doctor, lover, caregiver, hope.

She memorized minjeong's lab results the way she once memorized her smile. She argued with specialists, researched experimental treatments late into the night, came home exhausted but still smiling because minjeong deserved to see strength, not fear.

Minjeong lost her hair. then her appetite.

That's when they promised each other they would always find their way back, together, in every life time.