Chapter Text
"Hey, you need to drink some water."
Lola grumbled. "Was sleeping."
"It's 10 a.m."
Lola bolted upright and regretted it as her body screamed with pain and dehydration, dropping back against the pillows with a groan.
"Mhmm, drink," Keely said, helping her sit up enough to take a drink from the straw put to her lips. "Your bosses called me about you missing a meeting. Aunt Ria wants you to take two weeks off and Uncle Luke wants proof of life. Dad would also like to talk to you, and Trevor says the files you sent were perfect. Mike sent the files you need and Jinnae would like confirmation on something or other."
"That was quite the phone call, " Lola said, wondering why her body hurt so much.
Unless...unless she was like both of her parents.
Damn.
Double whammied.
"Yeah, well, good thing I did a stint as your secretary. Speaking of, why is Mike working in the States? He's always worked alongside you. Same with Jinnae. I haven't seen either of them in months."
"No offices, I'm working from home, and Jinnae prefers to be stateside. They're able to do what's needed from where they are, so if they want to be there, who am I to argue?" Lola dragged herself out of bed.
"And the real reason?"
"If Tiffany and Mike aren't engaged by Christmas, they're hopeless and we're locking them in a closet together."
"They may not even be soulmates." Keely grabbed her and eased her back onto the bed.
"Right, and I own a TARDIS. Either way, until the reno is finished, Mike and Jinnae are stateside because they aren't necessary to me working in my home office. Now, it sounds like I have work to do."
"Lola?"
"Hmm?"
"I think you have a fever," Keely murmured, looking worried.
"I feel fine aside from hunger and thirst. I probably slept too much." Lola took another sip of the offered water.
Keely hummed. "Song is grabbing the thermometer. I'd rather be certain. Please?"
"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Lola asked, grabbing her phone and looking through some of her missed messages. "I'm fine."
"You passed out yesterday," Keely said, glaring. "What if you'd been alone? Also, since when is Jimin allowed to touch you?"
"Since yesterday," Lola answered simply. "Am I done being interrogated?"
"You need to take better care of yourself. What are you going to do if I'm...what happens if I'm no longer able to be here?"
Lola paused, a streak of cold anxiety hitting her. "What happened."
"New verdict from my doctor," Keely grumbled. "So you need to promise me that you'll take care of yourself no matter what happens. Whether I'm here or not--care for yourself. For once."
"I always take care of myself; I just happen to be good at multitasking and that includes taking care of my ducklings. I can't do anything about my migraines except try to do the things that help prevent them. Sleep. Drink water. Avoid take-out."
"I got it!" Song sang triumphantly, bouncing over with the thermometer. "Time to be a good patient and cooperate."
"Yeah, that's never really been my strong-suit," Lola said, looking dubiously at the thermometer. "I'm fine, really."
"Great, then confirming that shouldn't be very hard, now should it?" Song rebutted and it sounded suspiciously like something Lola would say to her or Keely.
"Unless you want to provoke us to plan B," Keely added, a tad too cheerfully.
"I'd rather hear the new diagnosis from your doctors," Lola said, giving Keely a pointed look. "And when this new diagnosis was delivered."
"They don't like my liver numbers, but I'm so close to going home that they just sent the test orders to Dr. Kemp and he's going to run them when I get back. They called yesterday to discuss it, you know, while you were here. Passing out. Happy? Thermometer."
Lola begrudgingly let them take her temp, leg jogging restlessly as she waited for the results so she could go address the things for work and send proof of life.
It took an age to beep and Lola hopped up as soon as Keely took it. "I'll be in my office--oof!"
Song had tackled her to the bed. "You're going back to bed after taking medicine."
"Oh come on! It can't be that bad."
Keely frowned at the thermometer. "Remember that time when you had undiagnosed pneumonia and insisted you were fine, went to your dive meet and almost drowned? Mike had to fish you out and give you CPR and he ended up with pneumonia, but you were in the hospital for two weeks before you were able to breathe fully on your own and it turned out when you insisted you were fine you were actually running a fever in the hundreds?"
Lola shifted Song so she wasn't being dug into with a bony part. "Your point?"
"101.8," Keely read, then gave Lola a loo. "You're sick. I'm going to tell your bosses."
"Nooo, I'm already behind."
"Yeah, right," Keely countered, rolling her eyes. "I better tell Jimin and Hoseok to watch for any symptoms of illness. I have to go to the restaurant, but I can take a cab. Song, keep checking her. I'll get the first dose of meds for you."
Song looked perplexed. "I'm...supposed to be meeting Jin-oppa's brother tonight."
"Then go. I'll be fine," Lola said easily. "If I really have that bad of a fever, then I'll be on my best behavior. We all know that the last thing I want is to go to a hospital."
"Fair enough," Keely agreed. "Okay, medicine. Song, you might want to get off her and disinfect yourself. You, troublemaker, had better text me every hour."
"Why am I being punished?"
"I'll accept every two hours, but only if you're sleeping."
"And how am I supposed to let you know that I'm not responding because I'm asleep?"
"I thought logic was forbidden," Keely pouted.
"Get me the medicine, I'll probably just watch movies all day. I'll order food and I'll be fine. I'd rather you two don't get sick, so keep your space." Lola pushed Song off of her. "Go sanitize yourself."
Song sighed and hurried to do as she was told.
Keely was still staring at Lola, looking worried. "Your condition is getting worse, isn't it? You haven't been dancing in a while. You're normally at the studio like clockwork."
"Keely..." Lola rubbed her face. "I've kind of been busy."
"What are you going to do when I die?"
Lola flinched. "Keely Lark Danielle, don't talk like that."
"I lied earlier. For Song. Doctor Kemp is going to run more tests, but it's because the doctor called me back with the results and said he'll clear me for my flight home, but that I should plan to stay there."
Lola felt like someone had ripped the floor out from under her. "I...don't understand. You...you've been getting better...."
"We both know that that can mean nothing. And since the tests are indicating beginning stage liver and kidney failure...."
Lola couldn't breathe, wanting to let out a string of curses, but instead just staring at the floor.
It took her a minute to get oxygen back to ask, "define beginning stages?"
"Doc gives me about three months to live, and that was the optimistic outlook." Keely sat down. "We knew...that they weren't happy with my last tests. And...at least you've been preparing the restaurant for me to no longer...you always had a sense for these things."
Lola tried not to focus on that, because that was far too painful. "Does Dad know?"
"I talked to him this morning. I'm going home sooner than originally planned."
"Which is why you're going to the restaurant tonight."
"Yeah."
Lola nodded slowly, trying to cap her emotions. "You have to tell Song."
"I know."
"It's not fair."
"Hmm?"
Lola took a shaky breath. "Why do I always have to give up the ones I love the most?"
Keely quickly snatched her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Lola did her best not to cry, scream, clench her jaw and teeth, beat the bed and throw the pillows....
"I should have waited to tell you tonight, when I could stay with you."
"No. It's fine. You should go. You don't really need to be sick on top of everything else." Lola gently forced the hug to end. "Go. We'll talk more later."
Keely kissed her cheek. "Love you, Mari."
"And I you, Lark," Lola whispered, choking up. "Go! Last thing I need is a crying headache."
Keely giggled and left to get Lola the medicine.
Lola lay in bed for a good half-hour after they had both left, assessing her physical state and getting the nerve to call her father.
"Hey, Marinette."
"Dad," she choked out, losing her grip on her emotions the moment she heard his voice. Tired. Sad. Almost resigned.
"Keely told you?" He asked gently.
"Yeah."
He was quiet for a bit. "She told you the outlook?"
"Positive, three months. Negative, less than that. Didn't specify."
"Two weeks. The way her body works...come home with her?"
Lola bit her lip. "I'll make the arrangements. But Dad...Song...."
"I know. I know," he murmured, distress audible. "Oh, Mari."
"How am I going to do this Dad? How are you?" Lola asked, starting to panic. "Losing Luke--"
She took a breath to push that away. "Why does it always feel like I make a positive step forward and I lose something in return?"
"Step forward?"
"Hoseok knows. I took after you and mom, by the way."
"That's...ugh. I'm proud of you but also apologetic." He sighed. "Have you explained--"
"It just happened last night. Mostly by accident."
"That would explain a high fever."
She didn't bother asking how he knew about that. "It would?"
"Yeah, it's an aching thing. Again, sorry."
"Great. Let me guess, I'm going to be in pain until after we have...relations."
"Mmm, sorry."
Lola sighed. "This stinks. I'm...I don't...what do I do about...how do I...? Dad...."
"I know, my love. See if you can come back with her. If you can't, then don't worry about it."
"I'll find a way to come home."
"I'll tell Johnny your trip is cancelled?"
"Better. I'll...talk to Song and...Hoseok. Make a plan."
"Going across the world from your soulmate is going to hurt. More than you're accustomed to."
"So will losing Keely, but what else can I do? It would hurt me more to not...be there." Lola fiddled with her blanket.
"I love you, Mari."
"Love you, Papa," she murmured, then ended the call.
She dialed her boss, Luke, next.
"So, you're alive."
"Yeah, sorry about this morning."
"No problem. We would have been visiting more than anything. Everything okay?"
Lola hesitated, wondering how much to share. But he was her godfather, the namesake of her twin brother. "Uncle Luke...did Dad tell you about me?"
"Oh dear, one second. No. And I didn't think to ask about it. Why?" She could hear the background noise reducing significantly. "Is your condition getting worse?"
"No. Yes. Complicated. Um...I have the Aching. But the same type as my parents."
"Oh. Oh dear...yeah...that tracks...I take it you've met them, then?"
"Yes. It's...not...it shouldn't change my ability to do my job--"
"Forget that for a moment. We're talking as family. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"He...he's an artist...with another company. BigHit. I sent a report on them a month or so back."
"Anyone I would know?"
"I...haven't told anyone except Dad."
"Ah. Ok. Well, when you--"
"So if Keely finds out from you, or any of my siblings suddenly figures it out, I know where you sleep and where your guns are kept."
"Death by firing squad. Interesting. I would like to point out that I have no prior history of spilling the beans. It's why your father and I get along so well."
"Jung Hoseok. BTS's J-Hope."
He was silent, then she heard a soft thump. "Please tell me you're joking. Don't answer that. I know you're not. Okay. So you need me to...what? What do you need me to do?"
"I haven't fully decided yet...it's very new. And messy. I'm probably coming home soon, though, so we can discuss it then and you can get back to your family. Send my love."
He hummed. "Fine. Also, you're on enforced sick leave for two weeks. Wife's orders. We're honestly lucky she isn't threatening to hop on a plane right now."
"Fine. I do need to answer some emails, though, so don't come at me for giving my employees instructions. Love ya, Uncle Luke."
"Love you too, Jellybean. Send Keely and Song our love. Feel better, travel safely."
"Will do. Bye."
"Bye."
She had half a dozen missed texts that stressed her out by existing.
She opened the ones from Mike first.
'Don't make me come over there. I will. You just watch me.'
'Seriously, though, you okay? You don't normally go awol. Also, I was with Johnny and Tiff when you missed the meeting, so you'll prob get messages from them (sorry)'
She ignored that and turned to Jinnae's text, which said that she sent the list of details that needed confirmation for a project and to feel better--attaching an emoji they used to ask the other to respond for a more personal conversation when the risk of others reading the messages had passed.
That could wait, too.
A joking text from Tiffany asking if she needed to find a new muse-model, to which Lola responded, "I wish you would." And then Tiffany reminded Lola that she was in it for the free clothes.
She left Tiffany's question about Dad trying to organize a family get-together out of the blue on read.
Johnny had sent her a series of emojis to hint he was suspicious about her wellbeing, to which she responded with the head-bandage emoji and the sleeping emoji.
Hoseok had sent a simple, "Keely said you're sick?!"
She groaned and flopped into her pillows. At least he couldn't see that she'd read the message.
Jimin's message was far longer, forcing her to open it.
'Hey, Song was super worried about you so I told her I'd check on you later cuz you owe me another movies and I said I'd send photo evidence of your wellbeing??? Sorry for inviting myself--and she already did the whole 'but we don't want you getting sick' speech, but if you are sick then you were probably sick last night in which case, me and hyung were pretty thoroughly exposed. I'm bringing lunch, so send requests.'
'Also, depending on your condition, Tae might join us for dinner and another movie.'
Lola let her face drop back into the pillow. She should be hungry, but nothing sounded good. She was in pain, she had a million things to work out and plan, her baby sister was dying, yet her brain kept circling back to Hoseok.
He was going to get the wrong idea if she told him the truth. Everything was too new. He'd had all night to think about everything and become disgusted with her. To realize that she was weak and pathetic and cold and weird. So freaking weird. She couldn't even hold a proper conversation with him. Or anyone, really.
Pathetic.
She rolled over with a frustrated sound at the spiraling thoughts. "We don't talk like that, Lola Marinette Step. Practice what you preach. Can't expect Song to try if you aren't."
She sent a brief response to Jimin requesting a smoothie and fried chicken, adding on a 'not sick, explain when you get here'.
To Hoseok she sent, 'Talked to a doctor, it's actually a symptom of the Aching. I'm not really sick, I don't think, just a bit feverish. It'll pass."
And then she glared at the sent message with disgust because she hadn't meant to send it yet and it sounded so detached and uncaring. Cold and stilted.
He sent a red heart emoji right away, followed quickly by, 'I'm glad it's nothing serious, you've had enough hardships for a few years. I'll check on you later? Rest well <3 and don't let Jimin stay if you don't want him to.'
She read it a few times, feeling like she was missing something important but finally assumed the fever and her anxiety were mixing.
'Ok, <3' she replied.
'<3 <3 <3'
Obstacle cleared?
She still felt like she'd missed a step or a word or something.
But it would have to be good enough for now.
She showered, feeling better just with that, and went out to make sure the house was decent before turning her attention to the emails she needed to respond to. Mike and Jinnae had made quick work of informing her underlings that she would be out for the next two weeks at least, allowing for some last communication today, and she set out further instruction that Mike was in charge while she was away.
Jimin smiled and held up the bag of fried chicken, his incredulous looking manager holding the smoothies. "Well, you don't look like you feel sick."
She gestured for them to come in, but Jimin set the bag of chicken down an took the smoothies, seeming to dismiss his manager instead. "Yeah. I'm a little tired, and my thoughts get muddled from time to time, but the fever has gone down."
He closed the door on his manager. "You said you didn't think you were actually sick."
"Side effect of the Aching. How'd you get out of work?"
"No schedules. I just have a few songs to work on, but there's no deadline for them. Just...trying to get them done."
"Mmm, for me that's always a double-edged sword. On one hand, there's no anxiety or pressure to finish on time. On the other, there's no real pressure to keep you on the project to finish it. My bosses don't pay attention to the deadlines they give me, because they only give them to me because I asked them to. Something about it being pointless." She took the smoothies because he wouldn't let her take the bag of chicken but he couldn't carry it all.
"Always beating your deadlines? How shocking," Jimin laughed lightly.
"Honestly, they should have less faith in me, I still haven't gotten our Korean division up and running yet and it's been...two?...years. Granted, we had to renovate our offices and all, but still. It hasn't put out anything to generate revenue: no songs, no videos, no actors working--just what I put out." Lola set them down on the coffee table and went to grab napkins and plates and cups. "I'll still sit separately, just in case it is more than the Aching."
Jimin was standing near the coffee table when she came back, watching her with confusion. "Um...what?"
"What what?" Lola asked, tilting her head.
"Where...do...you work? I mean...songs? Actors? Videos?" Jimin asked, then his expression softened. "Is that why you don't talk about your other job? Because you work in the industry.
Lola frowned, scrunching her nose and wondering where those questions came from. "What...why...."
"How's that fever? You were just telling me about your job, your bosses? Deadlines?"
"Oh...." She sat down, going over the now-fuzzy conversation and realized she had spilled the beans. "Crap."
"You gonna be okay?"
"Don't tell the others."
"Sure. But why?"
"Don't want the fuss or the extra work."
"Fair enough. What company?"
"Siren records," she answered, resignedly sitting to eat the chicken.
"Cool. Never heard of them."
"Great. Not that surprised. Haven't been very active in Korea since...ooh...2004? Management here was...terrifying, and when the bosses found out about some of the...undesirable behavior and activities, they all but shut it down. Mostly it just...helps with distribution here in Korea. But we have a few artists coming up for debut, an aspiring actor or two."
"So...you don't work under your real name?"
"No. Never."
Jimin closed the box of chicken again. "So...your home office is actually a studio? Can I see?"
Lola rolled her eyes, huffing fondly and led the way to the small studio.
He stepped in, looking around it but immediately gravitating toward the collage of framed photos on the wall. "So this is where you've hidden your personal pictures."
Lola sat at the desk, spinning a bit in the chair. "Mmm, haven't really taken the time to transport many photos, or put them up. Most of them are on my phone if I really want them. These were in my office supplies, though. Keely hoards more photos. Mostly I find that I miss them too much to look at photos of them."
He hummed thoughtfully, lingering on one photo. "Is this you?"
She leaned on the desk to see around him, drawing in a breath. "Yeah. Me and my twin brother, Luke."
He looked over the other photos. "He...isn't in any newer photos. Unless that's him there...." He pointed at the photo from her sister, Amaya's, wedding.
"No, he died a week after that photo was taken," she answered quietly, getting up and going over to see who he was pointing at. "That...is Timothy Laurence. He's like a brother, but not really. Younger than me by...two years? Same age as my sister Elizabeth."
"And which ones are your parents?"
She tapped the photo of her parents. It was one of her favorite photos because it showed her mom as she remembered her. As she remembered them together.
"They're...both blonde."
"They are," she agreed. "This is one of my favorite photos of them."
"How did two blonds end up with black-haired kids?"
"Genetics are weird. Lots of dark hair on my Dad's side of the family. Lots of blond in my siblings. Six blonds, three brunettes, three black, and a red-head." She pointed to each of her siblings in her sister Amber's wedding photo. It was the last photo they had taken as a whole family, before her mother died.
"You must be sick," Jimin murmured. "You're sharing more."
"Or maybe I don't see the point of hiding it."
"She isn't in any of the newer photos either."
"She died the next spring," Lola said, shrugging. "I was seven. Keely was four."
"How did she die?" He asked softly.
"Drunk driver. My brother, Will, my sister, Amaya, and I were in the car. Will sustained a bad concussion and broken leg. Amaya had to get stitches for a couple cuts on her arms. I walked away without so much as a scratch. I was on the same side of the car as Mom. And that's the side that was hit."
Jimin looked at her with wide eyes.
"I was shown the case when I was older, and by all rights I probably should have died as well. But there was a defect in our vehicle that wasn't in any others, and it saved my life."
"That's...."
"A God-given miracle. Not that I understood that until I had looked at everything myself. Not that I expect you to believe what we do, but...for the...horrific nature of that crash...for all three of us to walk away with such minor injuries...it was a miracle. One we all know my mom would have prayed for." She hugged herself. "But it doesn't always feel like a miracle."
Jimin just nodded. "How did your twin die?"
She stared at that picture for a long time, then pivoted on her heel and went back toward her chair. "Some things are best not talked about."
"Sorry, I--"
"You know what's stupid? I should have died the day I was born. I wasn't breathing, me and and my brother were in the NICU. I should have died when I was three and almost drowned. I should have died when I was five and I wandered away into the forest at night. I should have died when I was seven in that car crash. At nine when I was shipwrecked with some of my siblings. At eleven when...," she sat down hard, forcing herself onward, "when Luke died. At fifteen when I almost drowned again because of pneumonia. At seventeen when I was in a plane crash. At nineteen when I stopped Song's mother from kidnapping her. And at twenty-one when.... But every time...I walk away. Sometimes with crutches or casts, and sometimes it take a long time, but I always end up on my feet again. I would give anything...to do that again in the place of...."
"Uh...ok...um...crying...uh...here," Jimin stammered, then wrapped the afghan from her loveseat around her. "Why don't we just...sit. You sit and I'll sit too."
She let out something between a scoff and a laugh at his obvious panic over her stupid meltdown. "I might actually be sick."
"Should I call Hoseok-hyung? Cuz I feel like he should be the one hearing all of this, and--"
"I'll recap later," she muttered, wiping her tears away with the blanket. "Don't bother him with me being stupid because of a fever."
"I don't think you're being stupid."
"I am."
"I'm calling him."
"Don't."
"Too late." He shook his head, holding his phone to his ear as she heard it ringing. "Hyung, you should come over. Nah, she's crying."
She stuck her tongue out at him, curling up in the chair and hugging the blanket closer.
"She's pouting because she told me not to bother you. Hyung."
She huffed and went to go find her smoothie before it completely melted, sitting on the floor and sipping it sullenly.
He followed her out a few minutes later. "He wants us to check your temperature."
"No. And no, I'm not going to the hospital. I would rather die. Or eat pickled herring, but that's about the same thing in my book." She folded her arms defiantly.
"He says if you don't take your temperature, he'll tell Keely about you and him."
She tried desperately not to break at the thought of how little time she had to tell Keely about that herself. That was something she had to do.
She set down her smoothie and fixed him with a calm stare. "If he does that, he'll never see me again."
Jimin looked surprised at how serious she'd gotten, all of it before having been teasing and light. He relayed it in a much quieter voice, adding, "I think she really, really means that, hyung. She's gone all stony."
She turned her gaze back to the food and her smoothie, suddenly feeling too nauseous for anything. Even water sounded disgusting.
"He wants you to know he was teasing," Jimin said softly.
She nodded. "I'll talk to him about it later."
He finished the phone call in a whisper, then sat down as well. "Lola?"
"Pick a movie," she whispered, not looking at him. "I can't...just pick a movie."
"Okay," he murmured, doing as he was told.
Today had to end eventually.
It just had to.
