You are a singing star,

You are a singing star.

But I see no star...

-BTS, 'Airplane pt.2'

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Lawyer Seo Jin-hee; Noelle's mother, was a perfectionist.

She was stunningly beautiful and looked as if she were still in her early thirties, even though she was a middle-aged mother of two. Everything had to be immaculate for Lawyer Seo to be satisfied-  even her own appearance. 

Straight ebony colored hair, cropped short in a bob-cut and steely determined eyes that would make her opposing lawyers and prosecutors admit defeat, Noelle had always seen her mom carry herself with a certain noble grace which she could never imitate. 

Noelle sometimes wondered with amazement how her mom juggled both work and home, even if she had help from the ajhumma who cooked meals for the Lee family and was in charge of cleaning the apartment they lived in. 

Still, her mom always made dinner for the family after returning home from work and dismissing the ajhumma, no matter how tired she was except on days when she had to work late or go on a business trip. 

The Lee family had an iron-clad unspoken rule, and that was that they would eat at least one meal together as a family at least thrice a week, be it lunch, breakfast or dinner.

 Noelle's parents had followed this rule no matter how busy they were. No matter how much swamped with work they were, they had always made sure to regularly check up on their children and their lives. 

The Lee family would catch up with one another at the dinner table, which mostly included Noelle's mom asking her about her studies and her dad rolling his eyes while listening, sharing a stolen chuckle or two with Noelle whenever her mom reprimanded her younger sister Maya for sneakily using her phone while eating, which occurred pretty often.

There was also another rule which everyone in the Lee household had to follow without fail, and that was that no one was allowed to use phones while eating together at the dinner table. Even the most important late-night work calls for Noelle's dad who was a public prosecutor would have to wait. 

However, Noelle's tenacious younger sister was never the one to follow rules, unlike her. And this often got the middle schooler in trouble, even though the said girl would easily weasel out of trouble as easily as she got into it.

"Lee Maya! For goodness' sake, take out those wireless earbuds. And don't give me that oblivious face, I can clearly see them." Noelle's mom pinched the bridge of her nose and glared at her wayward daughter.   

"The devilish racquet you play all day in your room is not enough for you that you just have to listen to it at the dinner table too? I seriously do not understand what kind of music they make these days. The lyrics do not make sense at all! You are in middle school Maya, concentrate on your studies like your sister. These years are your foundation years." 

Lawyer Seo sighed exasperatedly at her youngest daughter. Her mom was seated in her usual seat at the dinner table beside Noelle's dad, who had just returned from work and was loosening his tie. 

Noelle's father stifled a laugh, his hazel eyes dancing with amusement when he locked gazes with Noelle whose own hazel eyes which she had inherited from her father mirrored his, although she could see tiredness looming in his orbs.

 He must've had a long day at work as was evident from the slight droop of his shoulders. Noelle knew her father well enough to know that even though that must have been the case, he never brought home his troubles from work. The moment Prosecutor Lee stepped into the house, he completely shed his work attitude, transitioning into a gentle salt-n-pepper haired father of Noelle, who was his pride and joy.

When it was evident that Maya wouldn't comply, Noelle saw her mom sigh again and nudge her dad, who paused the process of piling steamed rice in his bowl, albeit a bit hesitantly. 

"Maya, you know the rule." he reminded his youngest daughter gently yet sternly. His words had an immediate effect. It was Prosecutor Lee's specialty- he was a man of few words but when he did speak, they carried weight. 

 With an annoyed huff, Maya reluctantly handed over her earbuds to her mom, who pocketed them. Noelle knew that Maya won't be getting those back anytime soon, at least for a few days before the girl sneakily stole them back and her mom would forget about this little incident.

Noelle was relieved for a short second when her mom started eating after reprimanding Maya. This seldom happened- her mom not asking about her studies over dinner that is. 

But Noelle had been rejoicing too soon because after a few minutes of comfortable silence which had descended while they all ate their dinner, her mom turned to her,

"So how are your studies going on, Noelle? Are you prepared for your midterms? They are only a little more than a month away." 

This was the usual question and she always answered with a an affirmative nod, "Yes I am."

If Noelle was unlucky enough, the follow up question would be, "How much did you score on your mocks?" 

And alas, that was the case that evening.

"I messed up Calculus and Physics slightly." Noelle winced internally when she saw her mom's mouth turn down at the corners at that. 

She didn't tell her mom she had got perfect scores in other subjects, the highest in her entire grade- no, she was pretty sure her mom had already seen her performance report which must have been uploaded on the Parents' Portal of her school website as her mom religiously monitored for her performance in class tests.

Noelle knew that when her mom already knew her score whenever she asked her about her marks. She also knew that how her mom really wanted Noelle to answer that question. She wanted an explanation, a reason if you may, for the  slight dip in her score.

Her mom didn't want to know which subjects her daughter had topped in- No, Lawyer Seo would have already gotten messages of congratulations from mothers of other children studying in Seobeom whom she knew. 

What Lawyer Seo wanted to know was which subjects were Noelle lacking in.

Perhaps 'lacking' was too strong a word, for Noelle knew her scores were good enough even in subjects she was weak in (some would even call them perfect), but not good enough for Lawyer Seo as she was a perfectionist and expected her children to be the same. 

The problem though was, Lee Noelle wasn't one. She was an ideal student yes, some would even say that she was an ideal daughter but it was all because she strived to be one. 

However,  Lee Noelle was not a perfectionist. 

Yet people perceived her as one. What they did not know was that she had flaws and made mistakes too but she had mastered the art of hiding those flaws from others. 

Others except for the woman who gave birth to her that is.

It was always nothing except one hundred percent for her mom and while others would regard this behavior as stifling, toxic even, Noelle was used to it.  had convinced herself over the years that this was what was the best for her.

 It helped motivate Noelle to strive to be the best and after all, wouldn't her mother want what was best for her?

"By how much?" her mom prodded when Noelle didn't answer, a scowl beginning to bloom on her face. 

Noelle knew her mom already knew her score, she just wanted her to admit her shortcomings and mistakes out loud. According to Lawyer Seo, it was the first step in improving oneself and while that reasoning wasn't faulty at all, Noelle still did not like it.

"I lost five marks this time." She replied, wringing her hands underneath the table anxiously and gauging her mom's reaction.

 Noelle clenched her hands into fists, making her nails dig into her palms when she saw a flicker of disappointment looming in her mother's eyes. 

Whenever she was under stress or duress or was worried, her nails would automatically dig into the skin of her inner palms. It had started of as an unconscious action but had now become a habit of hers, and the crescent scars all over her inner palms were a witness to that fact.

Disappointing her family was Noelle's worst fear. She hated that expression on her parents' faces. It wasn't very often that this happened and she could count on one hand the number of times it had happened in her life but when it did, it left a sour aftertaste in her mouth and a sinking feeling in her chest.

"It's alright honey, this happens to everyone. I'm sure you topped in your grade even if you did lose a few marks in two subjects." Her dad spoke up after a few beats of silence. 

"After all," her dad pushed up the round glasses he wore on the bridge of his nose and gave Noelle a slight encouraging grin which relaxed her clenched fists slightly, "you're the best student in your school right?"

Her mom's eyes softened at that, when she recalled that her daughter was still the top student in Seobeom High.

"Your father is right Noelle." Her scowl slipped away even though her mouth was still turned down at the corners,

 "Use this as something to motivate you to do better in your midterms, okay? Getting into SNU is hard enough as it is and this is the only year you get. This year can make or break your future, keep that in your mind dear."

Noelle knew that. She knew that even though she gave her all, she wasn't the only one who was doing that and the tough competition to get into the prestigious law college of her country was too much. 

She also knew that everyone expected her to succeed. There was a lot riding on her, and while any other person may have felt smothered by the pressure if they were in her shoes, she didn't. She wasn't someone who shied away from hard work or responsibility. She gave her all.

So Noelle simply nodded.

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Jungkook had learnt a few things about his uncle during the course of the couple of months since they started living together, and the most important one was to not disturb Min Yoongi while he was sleeping or doing whatever it is that he did in his room.

He was barred from entering his uncle's room which was also the only proper room in the small small apartment which his samchon lived in. 

He had been a bit taken aback to say the least when his uncle offered the room to him when he moved in, on the grounds of Jungkook being a high schooler and needing his own personal space but he hadn't argued when the boy arrogantly declined the favor. 

\Yoongi had merely shrugged and told him to suit himself.

There was another small room in the apartment but it was obvious that that room was being used as a storage room before his arrival. Still, Jungkook had thought it would be better than crashing on the living room couch so he had moved his sparse belongings there. Yoongi had graciously given him a floor mattress, bedding, a pillow and a quilt.

His uncle's apartment was a typical bachelor pad; only filled with the bare essentials but Jungkook did not mind it. He was even a bit grateful that his uncle seemed to be a person who respected his privacy, but he would never admit that aloud.

Min Yoongi was a man of few words and Jungkook appreciated it. He was relieved by the fact that his uncle did not feel the need to fill silence with mindless chatter- a habit he thoroughly loathed.

His uncle did not nag him like Officer Choi back in Busan, nor did he try to pry into his life. He gave Jungkook space and freedom and seemed to be as uncomfortable as him whenever he had to talk to him, at least at first.

He was surprised that the man who was supposed to be his legal guardian did not even shout or scold him when Yoongi saw Jungkook smoking one evening. It had only been a week or so since he had arrived in Seoul.

He did not lose his shit like any other adult would have if they say their kid or nephew or whatever smoking and that too underage; the pale young man languidly raised an eyebrow at a startled Jungkook who did not know what to expect from his so-called samchon.

 He wasn't scared or anything, he was just wary of another long-ass lecture. But what his uncle did next was just the opposite of what Jungkook thought would happen.

To Jungkook's amazement, Min Yoongi stepped into the balcony where he stood and dug into his own pockets to produce a pack of cigarettes identical to the high schooler's. 

"Let me borrow your lighter kid." and a pointed look was all Jungkook received from his uncle.

 No nagging or 'you're too young to do this shit' or 'this will harm your body' speech but his legal guardian just asked him if he could borrow Jungkook's lighter of all things!

Noting a flicker of surprise cross the young boy's face, his uncle shrugged,

"You are not that young to not know about the consequences and that this shit is bad for your body. If smoking is your choice, so be it. It's your life anyway, who am I to say anything when I know you won't listen even if I do? Might as well smoke together."

That was the most Jungkook had heard his uncle speak to him even till this date.

 Both fell into a comfortable routine shortly as the weeks passed by, an unspoken agreement on not to disturb each other. Jungkook would knock once on his uncle's door to remind Yoongi to eat whenever the latter was home which wasn't very often- his uncle worked shifts during the day and then at night too so even when he did return home, he was always curled up asleep on the living room sofa or holed up in his room. 

Although his uncle wasn't a bad or negligent guardian, Jungkook had to admit that at least albeit grudgingly. Yoongi gave him an allowance weekly for cafeteria meals and sometimes, if his uncle miraculously had a day off or woke up early, he would pack lunch for his nephew.

 Jungkook wasn't someone who was empathetic, but he knew it must have been hard for his uncle. The man was just a decade or so older than Jungkook and he now had to suddenly feed and house a nephew whose existence he had only recently discovered. 

It was only fair that Yoongi did not know what to do and how to raise a teenager. Especially someone who was Jeon Jungkook. 

For Jungkook was anything but a liar so he couldn't claim that he was the most cooperative or well-behaved teenager out ther.

His uncle tried in his own way and Jungkook could see that. He had learnt by now that like himself, his uncle too was someone who found talking to others and expressing his feelings difficult. 

The resemblance between the two of them made him cringe and shudder every time he thought about it.

But for the first time in his life since forever, Jungkook found himself unconsciously growing used to living with someone who was his kin, after living alone without any family for years. He found himself unable to completely hate his uncle as he had planned when he left for Busan.

Strangely, he did not feel awkward in his uncle's presence, like he used to when he first discovered of his guardian's existence. 

Jungkook almost felt comfortable around Min Yoongi, as baffling and ridiculous as it sounded. And this scared him somehow.

But he hurriedly shrugged the errant thought away as quickly as it had floated into his mind, unwilling to admit it even to himself but he knew it was true. Instead, he snapped his attention back to the game he had been playing on his phone and restarted it, eager to pass another level. 

Not even a few minutes had passed when a long-drawn-out yawn made Jungkook look up from his phone screen to see his uncle leaning against the wall next to the doorframe of his room, rubbing the corner of his eyes sleepily. 

Jungkook let out a hiss when he narrowly missed the first rank he had been aiming for in the game due to the distraction.

"What time is it?" his uncle croaked, his voice thick with sleep as he ran a hand through his pale blonde locks, brushing a few strands away from his eyes and blinking.

'About  damn time for you to wake up' Jungkook thought with an eye roll but aloud he curtly said, "Eight."

"Don't you have evening study at school?" his uncle mumbled almost to himself and Jungkook heard him open the fridge in the kitchen. 

He didn't bother to answer his uncle- he knew Yoongi didn't mind it. Even if he did, it wasn't like Jungkook gave a fuck about it anyways.

When Yoongi started pulling out a few side dishes from the fridge and heating them in the microwave, Jungkook took it as a cue to get up and check up on the steamed rice in the cooker- whether it was cooked yet or not.

Both young men helped themselves to the food, wordlessly laying the dinner table, their own respective bowls and cutlery. It was their usual routine. 

The occasional clanking sound of the steel chopsticks and spoons against each other and against the ceramic bowls were the only sounds that were heard in the whole room as the two ate their dinner quietly.

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A/N

Anneyeong! (Hello)

So this is a filler chapter too (kinda sorta) but it is very crucial to the story because you get to see the contrast between the Lee family and the Jeon-Min family. Yes, Lawyer Seo is very hard on her daughter and people may regard this as toxic but from Noelle's mom's POV, her mom wants what is best for her even if her behavior is a bit controlling. 

Anyways, who was your favorite in the Lee family, her dad or her sister or maybe her mom? lol ;P

Also, I just wanna say dedicate this chapter to my best friend and partner in fangirling over kpop idols and kdrama actors. Alls, if you are reading this, you know it is you right?
And special thanks to Angel for helping me out with Noelle's sister's name. I love you guys to Saturn and back ♡

P.S.- How much did you guys stream Butter? I stream it every single day haha. If only I dedicated this much time for my studies... *sighs wistfully* 

Love,

Milli