jimin stares at the bedsheets tied to one leg of the bed, going towards the window and hanging down from there. he can just picture how aria must've struggled to get down from there, since she has never really been a sporty person, especially doing things like these. her whole life has been spent inside the premises of this mansion, besides the days when she was allowed to go out, but that too either with jimin or at least two bodyguards with her.

the most freedom she received was when she moved to her own apartment, where thankfully she did not have many restrictions other than the parents visiting her once in a while to make sure that she wasn't doing anything to harm their reputation. jimin never really worried for her that much when she moved out, for he too, always stayed in touch with her and knew that whenever aria talked to him she wasn't lying. even if she decided not to tell him the whole truth, at least she wasn't making up lies.

today, however, staring at the state of the room, knowing that his little sister ran away, it actually shakes him a bit. leaving him to wonder if she's doing fine, if she'll manage herself out there, and if her boyfriend will be kind enough to take care of her. he desperately wants to believe that she's okay wherever she is, but the big brother complex inside him doesn't let him take a breath of relief, dying to call her one last time and ask if she's really okay.

sighing softly, he calls on aria's number, standing against the window, not surprised that her phone is turned off. so, he dials another number, nibbling on his lip and closes his eyes, internally thanking god when the call is answered. "yes, hyung? ari's fine. we're both okay." just as jungkook says that, jimin opens his eyes, releasing the breath that has been caught in his throat.

"take care of her." he lets out as a concerned brother, "and make sure she knows that i love her no matter what."

"of course, hyung. don't worry." jungkook says, and jimin can hear the sincere smile on his lips in his tone. "uh does anyone else know?"

"not yet. mom and dad will come back in the evening, and i've to go pick yoona from her parents' house."

"oh okay, that's cool. we'll have some more time at least."

"yeah, where will you be? if i wanna see my sister?"

"we're heading to jeju. i'm ready, just waiting for ari."

"alright. let me know if you guys need anything. i'll get it arranged."

"thanks a lot, hyung. i would've never thought you, out of all people, would step up to help us. help me take aria out of that hell hole."

"i'm not enjoying it, jungkook. but at least i know you love her and she's happy with you. convincing our families against the marriage is next to being impossible, and it would've created problems for ari the most. dad already doesn't think before yelling or hitting her. even if i do stop him, i'm not always at home to make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt her... it's better that she went away."

"no offence, but i hate your parents, hyung. the number of times i've had to console ari after your father hit her, is actually insane."

"i know." jimin sighs, "anyway, go ahead and drive to jeju. and make sure you keep in touch with me, yeah?"

"yes, hyung. thanks again. i'll get ari to talk to you once we reach jeju."

"oh, yeah please." jimin hums. "bye, have a safe drive."

"yeah. talk to you later, hyung."

with that jimin hangs up, feeling better about his sister not being in the wrong hands. she's a sweetheart even though she's got some temper with specific people, and jimin would never in his right mind wish anything bad to happen to her. he loves her dearly and can see right through her how this whole marriage thing was hurting her.

he looks around one last time, picking up a picture of aria smiling on her desk, and smiles softly at the thirteen-year-old girl, wishing he could change some things from the past. taking the picture with him, he leaves the room, closing the door just as it was before he came. going back to his room, he sets his sister's picture on the last drawer of the nightstand, not wanting anyone else to see it and be suspicious. not even his wife for now.

he enters his bathroom, getting rid of his clothes and stand still under the shower, lost in the thoughts from his own childhood, with images of his sister, his parents and one single image of the bedsheet hanging from aria's room now. shutting his eyes close, foam flowing down his locks and jaw along with the water, jimin convinces himself that jungkook will take care of his sister, and this decision will be worth every single tear that aria has ever shed.

after the shower he returns back to his room, finding his phone buzzing on the table. the name and photo on the screen makes him sigh softly, answering with a soft smile, "good morning, my love." he greets in a tender voice.

"mm'morning..." yoona replies, sounding too sleepy which makes jimin chuckle.

"hey, get up now. i'm coming to pick you up today."

"i know. i miss you so much." she mumbles, "can i stay in bed with you till the next week?"

"of course. but that's after i lock mom and dad outside the mansion." he jokes, laughing when yoona whines. "alright, baby. let's go on honeymoon again?"

"mm'hm, where?"

he smiles, feeling her smile through her voice. "le'mme guess, somewhere in my... heart?"

"okay, mr park. i see you've got a low budget, huh?"

"low budget? everything i own is yours first, so technically it's you, mrs park yoona, who should be taking me out and managing my expenses."

"god, you can never stop with that!" she laughs, making jimin chuckle silently to himself. he walks to his closet, entering the space and looks around all the clothes he owns, wondering what to wear when he has to pick his wife up from her parents' house.

"hello? jimin?"

"yeah, i'm here." he hums, "just looking for something to wear. so, you can drool when you look at me."

"yeah?" she chuckles, "well then, wear that blue shirt and black pants with it. the one i made you buy."

"hm, not bad." he nods, picking out the said clothes, placing them on the sofa in the middle while he dries his hair and body nicely with the towel, putting the phone on speaker nearby.

"and how's everything there? mom, dad, aria?"

"they're fine. mom and dad went to busan last night, and aria's in her room. probably sleeping."

"you didn't see her?"

"no. i just woke up and started getting ready to go to you, darling."

"okay, but you should meet your sister. i heard from mom that she's staying in the mansion till the wedding day. make it special for her, jimin."

"i know, i'll try." he sighs, hating that he has to lie to his wife. "anyway, how's your family doing? are they ready to let you go yet?"

yoona chuckles at that, "i guess? i stayed for quite some time this once. dad is kinda unhappy, but lovie wants me to stay for a few more days."

"she's precious." jimin smiles at the mention of yoona's little sister, who's just ten years old, but acts like she's an eternity older than the rest of them. she's not that close with their parents, but with yoona everyday is her favourite. when jimin and yoona got married, lovie (real name: yumi) got real emotional and refused to let yoona go.

jimin remembers promising her that he'd take care of yoona at every single step of his life, hold her hand and never make her feel alone, to gain yumi's trust. ever since, the ten-year-old has been particularly close and talkative with him. jimin can often see his own sister in yumi sometimes, which scares him that this young girl might also lose her light by the time she becomes an adult and will have to wait for her prince charming to come and take her out of the mess her parents created for her.

jimin is yoona's prince charming, and jungkook is aria's, hopefully.

but the truth is not that simple. who guarantees a prince charming to the princess? nobody. it's all by luck and chance. she gets lucky, she gets a fairytale love. she doesn't get lucky, she gets stuck with manipulative and destructive people for life.

"jimin?"

"hm?" he clears his throat, "yeah, i'm sorry i got too invested in choosing the right watch. what were you saying?"

"lovie wants to talk to you." yoona says.

"of course, is she there?"

"yeah. she's been sleeping with me ever since i came home." she says between some shuffling noises, "she just woke up." she whispers to jimin, before switching towards her sister, "lovie, it's jiminie oppa. you wanted to talk?"

"yea'," the kid mumbles, just as sleepy as her elder sister was a few minutes ago.

jimin smiles at that, stopping everything and sits down, listening to the girls as yoona tells her to wake up and talk if she wants. "hey, little birdie. still sleeping?" he cooes.

"no... i'mmmup," she slurs her words out, "oppa?"

"yes, kiddo?"

there's silence for a while, then her voice breaks in again, "oppa..."

"yes, princess? what is it?" he encourages. "did your unnie not listen to you or something? do we need to punish lovie's unnie?"

the girl giggles at that, doing her signature 'nuh-uh' where she shakes her head with a wide grin on her face, while yoona just stays quiet, probably blushing, "then what is it, tell me?" jimin insinuates.

"i don't want unnie to go away so soon." she says.

"right, that's a serious problem. but think about me, lovie. i've been away from her for so many days, i miss her too."

"but, you're a big guy. you're an adult. i'm small, i need her more." yumi pleads. "can i keep unnie here for one more day? please?"

"i would say yes, but please try to understand, kiddo. she needs to come back now."

"but-" she's cut off by yoona, telling her that it was okay. "i have to go back, lovie. jiminie oppa is my husband, and i'm going back to him. you don't have to be sad."

"but i miss you when you're away. mom and dad don't even let me play."

jimin's eyes soften on hearing that, and he quickly sucks in a breath, "hey, you don't need to be upset. you're a princess and whatever you want will happen, okay?"

"what?" yoona sounds perplexed, while yumi giggles happily.

"yes. if lovie wants to stay with her unnie then she gets to stay with her unnie." jimin smiles, "i'm coming in a few hours, get her ready to go with you. is that okay, miss yumi?"

"yes! i wanna go with unnie to her new house!"

"wait, but what about mom and dad, jimin? they won't like this." yoona protests, "they're already unhappy with me staying home for two weeks. i cannot bring this naughty kid with me to make it any worse."

"don't say that, honey. lovie's a wonderful little girl, and she wats to come here. if you want, i'll talk to your parents about it. they won't say no to me."

"yessss! i love you jiminie oppa! i love youuuu!" yumi cheers.

"my goodness, thank you, madam." jimin laughs as well. "be ready, okay? we're gonna have a lot of fun here."

•••

"jungkook, let's stop there!" aria pouts, staring outside the window as something catches her eyes. jungkook pulls up at the side, not minding that they're outside the city making their way through the most beautiful of routes through the countryside.

the beach is not the far, and they can clearly see the horizon connecting the water and sky. it's almost four in the afternoon now. they stopped for lunch and get freshen up in between for a short break in the six hours long drive, but finally they've almost reached the destination. jeju is not so far anymore and awaits the young couple with lots of love, adventure and hope, and it has started to show in aria's face.

she opens the door quickly and gets out of the car, taking careful steps towards the side of the street as jungkook joins her as well, his brows furrowed in confusion, not knowing what got her attention. but when she crouches down near the electricity poll, close to the poor fences, the view makes jungkook smile amusedly. there are three kittens huddled up together and one brave one playing alone with a small bush.

"aw, little babies..." aria pouts, reaching her hand out for them, but none of the kittens come to her. instead they retrieve back. "hey, i'm not gonna hurt you." she cooes softly, trying not to scare the poor little kittens and tries to touch them again, earning a tiny whimper from one of the three. "okay okay, i'm sorry. i just thought you're so pretty, that's all."

it's fascinating for jungkook to watch her talking to the kittens as though they understand what she has to say. quietly, jungkook pulls out his phone, opening the camera app and captures the moment forever with him, saving it in his heart and his phone with countless other times where aria made jungkook realise that she has gotten him falling for her over and over again without even knowing it.

he sends the picture to jimin as well, hoping to be the one to soothe some of the pain life has caused an elder brother of a girl. then he crouches down beside aria, smiling as he cups her hand, holding it out with his own, letting the kitten lick his finger before moving to place its paw on aria's palm, since she managed to break the little ones' shells. "oh my god, they're so cute, jungkook!" she squeals, leaning onto him, gushing with happiness, eyes fixed on the tiny cats.

"they are." he hums.

"look at that one!" aria gasps, laughing as the bravest kitten tries to jump down from a rock but ends up falling down. she quickly goes to rescue, making it sit up again. "hey, you okay?" she pets its head slowly before picking it up and looks at jungkook, showing him the cute black kitten sticking to her chest and trying to climb up to her shoulder.

jungkook takes another picture and a few more, smiling and admiring aria having her time. it's been a while since she has been this happy, and jungkook is in no hurry to take it away from her.

"do we have something that they can eat?" aria asks, glancing back at the car and up at jungkook, who gets up now. "uh can you get some milk for them? please?"

"milk? here? i don't think there's a shop anywhere nearby." jungkook says, walking back to the car and grabs a new pack of beef they just bought when they stopped a while ago, to use it when they get to their new house. he opens the plastic from the side and approaches aria, tearing tiny pieces of the meat to feed the kittens.

they like it for sure, instantly gathering around jungkook's hand that offers them the treat. aria smiles as she watches the babies feast and jungkook closes the lid once he thinks they've had enough. yet the kittens keep trying to climb up his shoe, demanding more meat. "alright, that's all for you guys. now this is for us." he mocks at them, sticking his tongue out, making aria laugh. "ready to go now?"

"yeah. thanks for stopping here." aria smiles while jungkook quickly washes his hands before settling back inside the car.

"anything for you, sweetheart." he replies. "now let's go. our new house is waiting for us."

"of course!" aria grins, joining her hands in a keen manner that shows just how willing she is to go and see her brand new house where she'll get to live with jungkook.

it barely takes another hour for jungkook to pull up in front of a house, not that big, just enough for two people to live in. it sits a little away from the beach, giving the pleasant view of the ocean and the breeze that probably flows throughout the day. there are a few more houses nearby, all of them are well maintained and most definitely costed a fortune from the owners at a location like this one.

aria's excitement keeps bubbling as she stops to breathe in the calm breeze of the beach, the smell that always hits home. "it's so refreshing." she gushes, overflowing with joy and links her arm with jungkook, making him smile at her. "imagine waking up to this every single day. me and you here in this beautiful place! i could die right now."

"i'm not letting you leave me that easily." jungkook jokes, hoisting her up in his arms and kisses her lips, "first kiss with my love in jeju, and she looks gorgeous."

aria smiles fondly at that, not saying anything for jungkook starts walking, carrying her in his arms, wanting to step into their new house like this. jungkook opens the door with one hand quickly and enters inside with a smile, checking aria's reaction for she's too busy looking around, trying to take in and memorize the place as much as she can.

"i love it." she tells him, pulling his head down to kiss her cheek, "you're the best boyfriend in the whole world, jungkook."

jungkook laughs at that, letting her down in the living room with wooden flooring, which is covered with a big, soft rug for most part of the room. there's a sliding glass wall that leads to the balcony outside and provides the uninterrupted scenery of the beach and palm trees. a set of brown leather couches face the wall with a big television, below which is an inbuilt fire place and shelves either side. above on the ceiling, is a chandelier, just the perfect moderate size for the room.

"ari," jungkook's voice pulls her out if her dreamy thoughts of her life from today onwards, how she'd spend time on the couch cuddled with jungkook while watching a movie, or they could be sitting outside in the balcony in the evening and have a warm cup of coffee as they talk about their day, and on sundays jungkook would make special barbeque while she'd make his favourite mocktails to enjoy the beach together.

with a smile dancing on her lips, she faces him, surprised by how fast he closes the gap between them, picking her up by her waist and aria gets the message. she wraps her arms around his neck loosely, lowering her head down to be taken by his lips. her eyes are closed, enjoying jungkook's mouth on hers and her strong arms holding her body like he could do this every day. too lost in the moment, a sound of faint shutter, catches her attention, making her frown and tilt her a head a little, realising jungkook set his camera on the shelf to get a picture of them kissing like this.

"first kiss in our new home." she whispers, feeling a little out of breath with jungkook's deep kiss. "and my jungkook made it my favourite one ever so far."

jungkook smiles at that, placing her down again and turns to the camera. it's a polaroid and the picture comes out with anticipation from him. shaking it a little, he finally takes a look, "you look so strong." aria gasps, staring at the picture, "look at your hands." she laughs, glancing down at her waist that was snatched by jungkook large hands.

"you're just tiny." he chuckles.

"no, i'm not. i'm huge, jeon jungkook." she huffs, taking the picture and grabs a marker that was kept on top of the shelf for some reason, and scribbles something on the picture. then grins as she gives the picture back, making jungkook smile and hug her from the side.

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a/n: hello everyone! i'm back! missed me? 🥰