Jeongguk opened the door to the terrace, his hand holding a watering can. Upon seeing Sera, he excitedly beamed his infamous bunny smile waving to the woman across. Sera returned the expression pressing her eyes in a blink of assurance. 

"It's good that you seem happy, Jeongguk-ssi. Not many people of your age are like that."

Jeongguk seemed a bit taken aback, Sera was notorious for not starting a loose-talk first, or not involving in those kinds of conversations in the first place, as per Rowoon. 

"I was not born like this. I was shy and depressed till I met Taehyungie hyung, I still am shy, but at least not depressed. And you can call me Ggukie, noona," Jeongguk babbled. "Mmm..that is if you want too, there's no compulsion, it's your—"

"Alright, Ggukie." With that Sera continued her exercise.

She couldn't help but think of Dosik every time she talked to Jeongguk. As much as she disliked it, she missed her brother.

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Sera laid lavishly, hands rested under her head, on the bench behind her humble mansion's lawn that led towards the warehouse. Her T-shirt rode up her navel, toned tummy on display. It wasn't intentional, but she had not the care in the world, of the gawks of her men or the outsiders, who came for business, standing at a visible distance by the warehouse. It was then that she felt a pair of soft lips on hers. She did not need to open her eyes to identify the abuser.

"Not a fear for them by the warehouse, isn't it?" She opened her eyes as she said.

"They should know better than to tell on us and mess with me," Yoongi winked. "But they are more scared of you than me, really."

Sera pulled him by the collar and connected their lips.

Yoongi sat on the grass after they were done. "I don't like the way they look at you, Sera."

"With respect and fear?" she joked.

"I wish it was just that."

"Like a slut? Yeah. Can't blame them though."

He looked at her in all seriousness. "Should I be worried?"

"Not until the day I'll call it off with you and finally break free."

Yoongi snickered. "If you've to be funny, do it with a laugh. I can't tell if you're being serious."

"You do the same," she spat.

"Cover it up," Yoongi said as he tried to pull her T-shirt down, only for it to bounce back. He noticed the men looking at them. "They're staring."

"It's no big deal. They would just think I'm slutting around. They'll not suspect we're dating unless you fucking stop pulling my top like a protective boyfriend."

"Remind me why I'm in a relationship with you."

"Because if it were any other bitch, she'd have slapped you and called it off just for saying that. We're each others' type, my dear dimwit."

Sera heard footsteps from behind, but didn't bother to move until she heard the voice of the interrupter. 

"Hyung," came the very sweet voice of Dosik as he excitedly rushed towards the peculiar couple.

Sera straightened up and chastised her disguise.

"Ahh, there's no place to sit down," Dosik complained when he saw Sera sitting with her legs spread on the bench.

"Said who?" Sera rushed down to the ground to lay her head on Yoongi's lap.

"Thanks, noona. Hyung, did you bring it?" 

"Bring what?" Sera enquired.

"It's nothing." "Cocaine." Dosik and Yoongi said at the same time.

"What?" Sera looked at her brother questioningly, then directed her wrath to her boyfriend. "You were gonna bring him cocaine?"

"I didn't bring it, did I? I was gonna ask your permission first," he said and Sera raised a brow. "I didn't know you'd be against the idea, so I didn't say no to him either."

"Well, next time, smartass, say 'NO'. And you, my baby brother, you have some nerve. I won't hesitate to beat you up boy, next time that I hear something like that."

"What is so wrong in trying it, noona? You smoke." The boy defended himself.

"Yo. I do it occasionally, you listening? I'm not addicted. Drugs aren't the same. You'll get addicted for sure."

"Why are you so against it? I'm sure appa won't mind," he whispered the last sentence, almost too ashamed of admitting it.

"Well, I am not your appa," Sera shouted.

"That's it, I'll see you both next time." Yoongi got up and left, but the siblings were too into their staring competition to notice.

Dosik looked away. A teardrop progressively rolled down his eye. "Nobody ever cares about what I want. Appa is too into his business and glorifying you, eomma into her status-profile, and you... you always get what you want. School is the worst. I hate them all." 

His eyes met his sister's which had perturbation plastered in the depth of it. She always had been the only Geum who was genuinely nice to him, he was aware. He wiped his tears away. 

"I'm sorry, noona. I was frustrated because of this thing that happened at school today."

Sera came up to sit on the bench next to him. She took his arms in her hand and started examining. There were bruises on his elbows and grazes on his palm. 

"Are these all?" she asked.

"ARE THESE ALL?" she yelled when she got no response. Dosik raised his T-shirt to reveal the marks on his abdomen.

Sera cupped his face. "Tell me the names, Dosik-ah."

As much as Dosik hated those boys who did it to him, he didn't want to give Sera the names. He believed in passive aggression, but his sister or father were nowhere near his ideology in life. Sera would at the least break their bones. What was more frightening than that? Just that she would do it all on her own. Even though she was capable and had proved it many a time, a brother could not help but worry.

Why everyone at school was terrified to bones of Sera but not him, was beyond Sera's knowledge. But Dosik knew. And that was what he hated the most about his life.

"Mmm...Do Kyungsoo, Kim Minseok, Kim Jongdae and Oh Sehun."

"Consider the problems at school all solved. And our parents, they don't care about me as well, but I think they love us in their kinda way, know what I mean? And you always have me. We do get you all the things you want, our prince. Drugs are a bit too extreme, though." Sera hugged him tight and caressed the back of his head. 

"I just wish everyone loved me the way I wanted them to," he said before detaching himself from the girl and storming back towards the mansion.

"But they'll never be able to love you more than I do, my dear," Sera muttered to herself.

○

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"Hyung, stop yelling. It's not like you to do that." Jimin wanted to say it plain, but it came off a bit harsh, he was almost yelling himself. He couldn't believe that his Taemin hyung had the calibre of being so of an aggressive jerk. The man was definitely having a hard time taking a piece of news even barely close to well.

"You started it first, Jimin." Taemin pointed his finger at his roommate. Grinding his teeth he continued, "And you do not get to say if I should behave or not. Not after how you verbally abused my girlfriend."

"Instead of yelling at me, go ask her like a man," Jimin yelled back. "And come tell me if she doesn't panic. For God's sake, all I did was tell on your disloyal girlfriend who went to the rooms at Etiquettes with another man."

It wasn't entirely true, Jimin might've used abusive words like bitch, slut, or whore, and he was aware of that.

Taemin slammed his hand on the table in fury. "SHUT UP!! She'll never do something like that. She won't ever—"

"It was her that I saw, hyung." Jimin's voice was calmer now. His emotion of sympathy for the poor man countervailed that of his adrenaline's effect.

"You've fucking been on drugs most of your life, Jimin. There's no way it could've been her that you saw," Taemin spat back.

Jimin was in full-consciousness when he saw her. He wouldn't have reported it to Taemin if he wasn't sure. He understood that the older was just in denial. It was all heavily weighing on his broken heart, for some reason. And without his cognizance, his peculiar wide eyes started shimmering in tears.

"They are like that, hyung. All of them. They don't really care about us. My Jandi...."

The fierce Jimin looked pathetic now. Taemin could only pause and watch. Jimin had never once opened up about his reserved past he loathed, yet so lovingly lived in, so much.

"....She left me for another dick. Never bothered to tell me anything. Just eloped. Didn't I love her enough? More than the most genuine guys out there. But they never care, hyung."

Taemin cared about Jimin, he did. He wanted to just rush to the younger and hug him. Partly, though. He was, in actuality, conflicted. 

"Just because your girl betrayed you, doesn't mean all of them will. Get over it, Jimin." The words came out half-hearted. At least, he had stopped yelling, Taemin defended himself.

The fire in Jimin's eyes re-ignited. "Fine, don't tell me I didn't tell you later." He left the place, slamming the door behind.

○◆○

Jimin was once again seated on the floor, his back rested against the table. Sera's office had been his go-to place whenever he was feeling wretched; Except those days when the reason for it were clashes with Sera. He hated how something of Sera's possession was the haven of his solace. He despised the woman, yet he didn't. And he was well aware of it.

He hated how he was living his life in the agonizing aftereffects of the ancient. He wanted to start afresh. He had been trying to enter in different music-labels, K-pop, Hiphop, really, anything. And he had faith. But it was moments like these that tested his deteriorating hope.

Sera entered the office in all dominion. She cursed as she saw the back of Jimin.

"Yo, the first shift is yours today. You've been making poor Hyunbin work a lot. And that damnit has been crying for more increase in salary lately." Sera approached Jimin only to freeze staring at the weeping man. He definitely didn't seem like he was under the influence of substance.

Sera hesitantly stretched her hand to pat his head. On receiving no complaints, she slowly kneeled to his level embracing him carefully, bringing his head to rest on her chest. On bonus to the lack of resistance, Jimin sluggishly but progressively wrapped his hands around the woman's waist.

"It's alright." Sera ran her hands on his back for comfort. "You're alright. It'll all turn out bright one day."

"I hate you." Jimin managed to say despite his whimpers.

"I know. And it's totally fine." Sera delicately kissed the top of her love's head.

Both of them were totally unaware of those piercing eyes; That of the man watching them with a sinister smirk adorning his inhumanely pale face. The spirit stretched his head from side to side with the clacks at each.

"Fascinating," he remarked.

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A/N: