Joon Su's hand rested gently on Jiho's forehead, his eyes searching hers for something—anything—that could tell him she felt what he felt. "Tell me, Jiho," he whispered, his voice tinged with pain, "do you even love us?"
Jiho remained silent, her mind tangled in thoughts she couldn't untangle. What was love, truly? What did it mean to love someone? She had married these men; they were her husbands, and now, they were the fathers of her child. But what else were they to her? She didn't know.
Love—did she feel it? It wasn't like the stories she'd read, where hearts raced and the world faded away at the sight of the one you loved. She didn't feel any of that. She cared for them, yes, but was it because they were her life partners? If someone asked her if she could love someone else in their place if she had married another mer, she might answer yes.
