Winfred rested his hope on the doctor.

However, the doctor told Dolly that they were temporarily unable to find any cure for Winfred's disease.

Dolly looked at Winfred while gnawing her lips, eyes filled with tears.

Winfred realized that it was even worse than he had thought. However, he didn't have the time to ponder over it in front Dolly, who was weeping. He could only coax her in a flurry. "Anything else?"

Unexpectedly, Dolly burst into tears again because of his question.

She was younger than 25 back then. However, she clearly knew how it felt to lose her beloved, which was no less painful than to get her body cut.

She didn't mind suffering the pain. She just couldn't bear losing Winfred.

Dolly kept sobbing, not able to utter a word. Winfred had to go to his doctor with her.

Dolly stood aside watching Winfred calmly ask the doctor about his disease.

Finally, the doctor told Winfred, "We can't find the cause or any cure for your disease for now. We suggest that you stay in the hospital so that we can take care of you and rescue you at any time."

Dolly held Winfred's hand to tell him that she would always be with him.

To her surprise, Winfred didn't overreact to it. He managed to stay calm soon after a tremble and held her hand.

"Doctor," Winfred asked, composed, "when do you think it will become worse? Do I have to stay in the hospital from now on?"

The doctor looked at Winfred with admiration. "You're good at adjusting your attitude. Just keep it up. You can go back to your normal life, but remember to receive regular check-ups here. You'll have to stay in the hospital once we find anything unusual."

Winfred asked the doctor for a business card. He thanked him politely as he took it.

"You're welcome." The doctor looked at Dolly with a smile. "You're very calm, but your girlfriend is frightened. It was wise of her to tell you about your disease."

Winfred quietly held Dolly's hand. "Excuse me, doctor, we're going now."

Winfred handed his wallet to Dolly after they left the doctor's office.

Dolly asked in a daze, "Huh? What are you doing?"

"You were crying just now. You didn't pay the hospital bill, did you?" Winfred touched Dolly's head. "Go and do it now."

Only then did Dolly realize that she had lied that there were too many people lined up at the artificial payment desk on the first floor. She hadn't gone there at all.

Because she wanted Winfred to stay in the hospital.

Dolly simply stood there clutching the billfold with embarrassment. Winfred asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"The doctor said that you'd better stay in the hospital." Dolly compressed her lips and grabbed Winfred's sleeve. "Just stay here. I'll bring you what you need."

"My little fool." Winfred touched Dolly's head with a helpless look. "The doctor didn't say that it would become worse soon. I can still live like before. I only need to receive regular check-ups."

"But I'm worried." Dolly looked at Winfred with tears in her eyes. "Winfred, I'm afraid that..."

Winfred held Dolly in his arms with one arm. "Take it easy. We can't drive my disease away with bare hands, but we can fight against it. Don't worry, I'll try my best to defeat it. I promise you we'll marry in Las Vegas. I don't want to leave you."

Dolly leaned her face against Winfred's chest and sobbed, "Promise me that you'll come to the hospital whenever you don't feel well. Also, take good care of yourself when I'm not with you."

Winfred nodded and held Dolly with all his strength in despair.

Winfred went back to work in the afternoon after he was discharged from the hospital.

Dolly disagreed with him at first. However, he found a way to convince her. In the end, she had to let him go.

Dolly went to the university to submit her temporary absence form the next day.

Dolly didn't tell Winfred about it until she went through all the formalities.

Winfred asked with a puzzled frown, "Yun Jin, why did you quit school?"

"I want to take care of you." Dolly said leisurely, "Oh, by the way-do you remember the company I worked for during my holiday? I'll work full-time there in the marketing department!"

There was a deep frown on Winfred's face. "What's your job?"

"Marketing." Dolly said with studied understatement, "I'll get a high commission if I work hard, although the basic salary isn't high."

Winfred suddenly held Dolly in his arms. "Yunjin, you don't have to do this for me."

He knew why Dolly had decided to quit school. Their bank balance wasn't very large, and they would have to pay a lot for his medical treatment. Dolly changed her job just to get herself prepared for their future.

"What are you talking about?" Dolly complained, "I only have you in this world. I'll do everything for you. You deserve it."

"But I..."

Dolly interrupted Winfred before he could finish his words. "You've been working hard for our future. Now it's my turn to do that. Winfred, don't stop me. Compared to my schooling, I prefer you safe and sound."

"I'm sorry," Winfred said with a guilty look, "Yun Jin, I'm sorry."

"Don't say that. I'll do anything as long as you don't leave me." Dolly looked up at Winfred with tearful eyes. "Winfred, for my sake, you must hold on. Never, never leave me."

"I promise you." Winfred kissed the top of Dolly's head. "For your sake, I'll never give up easily."

Dolly burst into tears again as she nodded, but she no longer looked hopeless.

She and Winfred had managed to live a better life by striving together.

They thought that Winfred would be able to recover from his illness if they worked harder.

Thus, the two continued to strive together to survive.

Originally, Winfred lived like before, balancing his career and life well. Dolly also took good care of him. She forced him to keep regular hours and exercise regularly, and he was full of energy every day as a result.

Dolly managed to negotiate a good deal soon after she adapted herself to work in the marketing department, which made her a rising star there.

However, Dolly had never been arrogant because of that. Winfred once told her that as a newcomer, she should remain modest and keep learning from her experienced predecessors no matter how capable she was. He also told her never to lose her self-esteem because modesty didn't mean that she was inferior to anyone.

Dolly became popular in the marketing department and made a lot of business deals due to the career wisdom Winfred had imparted to her. Even the department manager thought highly of her.

Winfred was feeling well those days, so he worked as hard as before without telling his colleagues about his illness. His manager told him to contest for the post of the deputy manager because the present one would work abroad three months later.

Everything went well, and they got a larger balance in their checking account. Dolly finally felt secure and even forgot about Winfred's illness.

However, Winfred didn't wake up after the alarm clock rang on a June morning.

Dolly was cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Upon hearing the continuous ringing of the clock, she turned off the heat and went to the bedroom with confusion only to find that Winfred didn't respond to the alarm at all.

Dolly was overwhelmed by a sudden rush of panic as if she had been entangled in an endless vine that had crept up her body. She couldn't think straight and found it hard breathe.

Dolly rushed to the bed and called Winfred repeatedly, as if she had gone crazy. He finally opened his eyes after she kept patting his face hard for a long time.

Winfred noticed Dolly's tears in a daze. He touched her face with a smile. "My little fool, I'm fine."

Dolly burst into tears as if she had survived a disaster as she gazed at Winfred who had finally woken up. She hugged him with all her strength while weeping bitterly.

Only then did Winfred realize that Dolly was frightened. It made him sad. He held her in his arms and said, "My little fool, I'm fine. I just overslept. Don't cry."

Dolly sobbed, "Winfred, I'm afraid that..."

Words couldn't express her despair just now.

She would have chosen to end her life to leave the world with him at that moment if Winfred hadn't woken up.

She couldn't bear losing him, nor could she live on in the world without him.

Winfred's chest was soon moistened by Dolly's tears. He realized for the first time that tears could burn his skin and muscles like fire, which caused a sharp pain within his heart.

It was the first time Winfred had ever felt helpless.

He had lived a different life from others since childhood in an orphanage, and he had overcome all the reproaches in his life.

However, he failed to fight against his illness.

He would leave Dolly at any time. It was likely that he would never have the chance to keep his promise.

However, he still couldn't let go of Dolly. He didn't want to break up with her, although he knew that it was selfish of him to do so.

He had little time left in his life. He would cherish every minute with Dolly for the rest of his life.

"I'm sorry, Yunjin." Winfred patted Dolly on the back. "I'm sorry to scare you."

Dolly was still crying, not able to utter a word. She sobbed for a long time before she finally asked, "You said you overslept. Are you telling the truth?"

"... Yes." Winfred hesitated before he said, "I overworked yesterday."

Dolly had known Winfred well since they were in love. She could tell from his hesitation that he hadn't overslept at all.

She was sure that there was something wrong with him!