The hospital room was quiet when Jason stepped inside again. He had been here before—seen the pale walls, heard the hum of machines—but this time felt different. He wasn't walking in as a visitor. He was walking in with answers.
Brielle looked up from her bed, startled at first, then smiling faintly when she recognized him. She looked thinner than before, the hollow of her cheeks more pronounced. Her skin, once smooth, had grown rough and irritated, marked by the relentless war of treatments that bought her time but stole comfort in return.
"Jason," she said softly, her voice still threaded with rasp. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon."
Jason pulled a chair closer to her bed. "Some things can't wait."
Braxton rose from the corner where he had been standing, his posture as rigid as ever. But Jason could see it—the faint weariness in the man's eyes, the way his shoulders seemed heavier than they should. He bowed his head slightly. "Sir."
Jason inclined his own before turning back to Brielle.
She tilted her head at him with a quiet curiosity. "You didn't come empty-handed, did you? You don't look like the type to show up just for small talk."
Jason's lips curved faintly. "You're right."
Jason reached into the sleek bag he'd carried in and placed it gently on the bedside table. Instead of a single container, he pulled out several—each minimalist, elegant, their packaging pristine. A cleanser, a serum, a balm, and the centerpiece: a moisturizer that gleamed beneath the fluorescent light.
Brielle blinked at the growing collection. "That's… a lot of bottles."
"It's a set," Jason said simply. "Eversage has been developing this line for a little while now . No one outside the labs has touched it yet." He paused, his gaze meeting hers. "You'll be the first."
Her fingers hovered uncertainly over the serum, brushing against its smooth surface. "The first? As in… before anyone else?"
Jason nodded once. "Before launch. Before the market. Even before the investors. Consider it your privilege."
Her lips parted, her voice unsteady. "I don't think I've ever been first in anything."
Jason's tone softened, but only slightly. "Then it's about time."
Jason continued, "As of today, you're being transferred to a better facility. Specialists from abroad are already on their way. Everything has been arranged—equipment, staff, treatments. You won't remain here another night."
The air in the room seemed to still.
Brielle's eyes widened. "I… I don't understand. Why would you—"
"Because you deserve better," Jason interrupted gently. "You're not just another patient waiting for the inevitable. You're someone worth saving."
Her lips trembled, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "No one's ever… said that to me."
Jason's voice stayed steady. "Then let me be the first."
The transfer was set in motion faster than Brielle could process. Daisy had already moved ahead of him, clearing red tape with surgical precision. Nurses entered with paperwork; Braxton checked each document with a soldier's eye. Soon the old machines were wheeled out, replaced with sleeker equipment. Specialists introduced themselves with quiet confidence, their presence radiating competence.
Brielle watched in stunned silence, as though she were dreaming it all.
When the bustle subsided and she was resting in her new suite, Jason lingered by the window. The rain outside tapped against the glass, steady and unrelenting.
Braxton stood beside him, his voice low. "Sir… I don't know what to say."
Jason didn't turn. "Then don't."
Braxton's hands clenched at his sides. "You've done more for her in a day than I managed in years. I've fought, I've bled, I've given everything, and it was never enough. But you…" His voice cracked despite his discipline. "…you made it look effortless."
Jason finally glanced at him, his eyes cool, unreadable. "It wasn't effortless.
Braxton bowed his head, the soldier's composure breaking. "You saved her. You gave her hope. I can't—" He stopped himself, shaking his head. "I can't repay that."
"You already have," Jason said calmly. "Your loyalty is enough. Gratitude is optional."
But Braxton lifted his head, his eyes burning now, stripped of all shields. "No. You'll have both, sir. Loyalty and gratitude. Until the end."
Jason held his gaze for a long moment before the faintest trace of a smile curved his lips. He didn't need to say anything else.
Later, Jason sat at Brielle's bedside again. She was awake, fingers absently turning the container he'd brought. Her skin looked no different yet, but there was something softer in her expression.
"Do you know what it's like," she asked quietly, "to spend every day wondering if it's your last? To measure your future in months, not years?"
Jason's silence was answer enough.
Brielle smiled faintly. "Of course you do. You carry yourself like someone who's seen the end before."
Jason's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
She held up the cream. "This might seem small to you. Just business, just another product. But to me…" Her voice trembled. "It feels like a chance to be me again. Not just a patient. Not just a burden."
Jason leaned forward slightly, his eyes steady on hers. "Then take it. Own it. You don't owe anyone an apology for surviving."
For the first time, her smile reached her eyes.
When Jason finally left the hospital, the rain had stopped. The city lights shimmered against the wet pavement, casting long reflections that stretched into the night.
He adjusted his coat and stepped into the car waiting for him.
As the driver pulled away, Jason allowed himself a small breath, steady but deep.
Behind him, in that quiet suite, Braxton watched over his sister with a new fire in his chest. Not the fire of duty, but of gratitude, fierce and unshakable.
And somewhere within the Yun family's endless games, Jason had tilted the board once again—this time not with threats or schemes, but with something rarer.
A promise