Even though she still didn't feel well enough to get out of bed come Wednesday morning, she forced herself to do so. Though she was still fighting slight nausea, the thing that was making her feel ill the most was the thought of having a conversation about what was actually going on.  She told herself that she needed to put on her big girl pants and just deal with it.

Yeontan followed her about while she slowly gathered clothing for the day that would be comfy yet dressy enough for the workplace. It took her way longer than she wanted to admit to get ready, having to pause intermittently to try to get over the morning sickness she was experiencing. She had just gotten over yet another wave when she heard a knock at her apartment door.

Walking towards the apartment door, she knew who it'd be. Opening it up, she saw Jin standing there. He had some sort of pastries on a tray in his arms that smelled wonderful. If it wasn't for her continually rolling stomach, she would have more than likely snatched one off the tray. Jin stepped into the apartment before taking off what masked his face, looking at Lia with a frown on his lips.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Good morning to you too, Jin," Lia grumbled, teasing her fingertips through her still semi-wet hair as she went back towards the bathroom to finish getting ready.

Jin's frown remained as he put his pasty tray down before following her back to the bathroom, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed as he watched her try to comb through her hair to style it.

"Seriously, Lia. What's going on?"

"I haven't been feeling well," she said to his mirrored reflection instead of to him, still unable to meet his eyes fully in the glass as she tied her hair back.

"Then maybe you should stay home."

"I've been staying home. I'm going to work today."

Jin fell silent as he watched Lia finish styling her hair before she let out a sigh, rubbing her hand across her forehead.

"I'm sorry for being snappy, Jin. It's just been...it's been a rough couple of days."

Still without saying anything, he walked over to her and gently put his arm on her shoulder. She found herself taking comfort in that gesture. Words didn't need to be spoken to help her nerves settle down. Jin had a way about him that grounded her almost immediately.

"Come eat one of the blueberry pastries I made," said Jin, filling the eventual silence. "They are sure to put you in a good mood."

Lia was pretty sure it wasn't the pastries that held that power, but kept her mouth shut. She nodded her head, following him back out to the kitchen.

- - -

Even though Lia had insisted she was fine to go to work on her own, Jin had just as firmly insisted that he would go with her. Lia figured that he wanted to go to make sure she was okay and to see his father again. Not wanting to garner suspicion though if someone around the office noticed him, he had stopped off at a thrift store along the way; telling Lia he'd meet her at the office.

Jin unfortunately wasn't the best at coming up with disguises. She and his father could see right through it, but thankfully - for whatever reason - no one else could. Lia didn't know if it had to do with the faker than fake mustache that Jin wore above his lips or the tacky tourist like t-shirt that had a gigantic yellow smiley face on the front of it. As Lia sat in a sandwich shop that Jin's father had offered to take them to for lunch, Lia couldn't help but to stare at Jin as he adjusted a green baseball cap on his head. Jin noticed Lia staring, turning to look at her.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's because I can't figure out if I'm hallucinating or if you're really dressed that ridiculously."

Jin smirked causing Lia to mirror it as he looked down at what he was wearing.

"I didn't think this was too bad."

"You look older than your father in that getup," said Lia. "I half expect you to be cheering your child on at some sort of little league game."

At the mention of him having a child, the joy faded from Lia's face. Jin noticed and stared at her as Lia picked up the flimsy laminated menu off the table in front of her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm just deciding what to order."

"Lia..."

Before Jin could continue trying to deduce what was wrong with her, Jin's father returned from his bathroom visit. Mr. Kim pulled back his seat with a jovial smile, looking at the two of them as he sat down.

"Did either you decide what you want to eat yet?" Mr. Kim asked.

"No. Do you have any recommendations?" asked Jin as he picked up his own menu, unable to keep his gaze from flicking over to look at Lia on occasion. He knew that she must notice him doing so but she refused to break her gaze with her own menu, acting like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Mr. Kim enthusiastically did have recommendations. He had become a more chipper man since realizing that his son was alive and since tracking down the doctor responsible for his current situation. Lia placed an order for the same steak sandwich that Mr. Kim had recommended for Jin; the three of them soon having identical sandwiches in front of them. Jin ate his sandwich as he talked to his father but kept half an eye on Lia who took bird sized nibbles at her own. She refused to look his way at all, looking like she had just lost a pet or something. Eventually Lia excused herself to the restroom while Jin and his father were talking about potentially going fishing sometime soon. Jin's eyes tracked Lia as she moved towards the bathroom, watching until she disappeared behind the bathroom door.

"What's wrong with Lia?" asked Jin, interrupting his father's monologue about the best fishing lake he'd found in the area.

Mr. Kim paused, unaware that Jin had been watching Lia so intensely. He turned to look at the empty bathroom hallway as if that would give him the answer before turning back to face Jin.

"She's more than likely upset about the recent news," said Mr. Kim. "I'm sure Taehyung must have told her."

Jin frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. Putting down the remainder of his sandwich on his plate, he looked at his father.

"Please explain," he said as Mr. Kim nodded and proceeded to tell Jin the revelation he had shared with Taehyung about their situation.

- - -

Lia couldn't help but to notice how uncharacteristically silent Jin had become ever since leaving lunch with his father. Mr. Kim had given the two of them the rest of the day off, noticing too that Lia seemed to be off still. As Lia entered her apartment, Jin followed after her like a shadow. The only thing that broke the silence was Yeontan as he excitedly greeted them. The moment that Jin shut the door behind them, he shed the disguise he had put on to enter the building.

"Did something happen while I was in the bathroom?" asked Lia as she looked at Jin who was idling near the doorway, looking down at Yeontan but appearing to zone out doing so.

When Jin didn't answer her right off, Lia figured that he wasn't going to. When he did, she felt her blood run cold.

"What did Taehyung tell you about what the doctor did to us?"

She stayed frozen in her spot as she considered Jin's question.

"He told me that you were all like this because you had gone to see a doctor. The doctor did this to all of you to protect one of you who was deathly ill. It saved their life."

"I see," said Jin.

Lia felt terror course through her. Jin's response seemed to indicate he knew more to the story than Taehyung had told her. She began to wonder what truth Taehyung was protecting her from.

"You know who the deathly ill one is," said Lia as the realization suddenly came to her. "You know who is at risk of dying if the doctor can reverse all this."

"Lia..."

"Don't Lia me!" she snapped. "Just tell me!"

Lia knew that Jin didn't deserve her rage. She was just a ball of emotions; a volatile ball that felt like it couldn't handle anymore before it went nuclear.

Even though Lia had asked for it, she regretted it the moment the name passed Jin's lips. Sometimes ignorance was bliss. In her case, ignorance would have kept her final straw from breaking.