"-and then oppa, oppa! listen to me!"

"yes kiddo, i'm listening." jimin nods, keeping his eyes on the counter where he's preparing some sandwiches for the himself and the boys after losing the game of rock-paper-scissors.

aera jumps beside him, head tilted up and her gaze desperately lingering at the brother's face, "what did i say?" she interrogates him, earning a soft chuckle as he glance down at her.

"that you were going to kookie but slipped and fell on your butt?" she gasps, staring at him for a second, making him scrunch his face as he leans down, bumping his forehead against hers, "oppa's always listening." he winks at her, and she giggles.

"yes," she says, going back to continue her story and starts from where she left, telling him how jungkook and taehyung laughed at her. "they're so mean, my butt still hurts, oppa."

"so, kookie and taetae need some scolding hm?"

"yeah," aera nods, "and beating- oppa, you're hyungie, so you spank koo and taetae and make their butt hurt!"

jimin laughs loudly at the idea from the ten-year-old, dropping the butter knife from his hand as he clutches the counter instead, leaning on his side while laughing his guts off.

"what's so funny?" the eldest arrives, placing an empty tray on the counter, glancing at the grinning girl and then at jimin who is apparently dying from a laughter attack.

"oh god, hyung-" jimin starts but soon breaks into another fit of laughter, not even completing his sentence.

jin frowns in amusement, staring at jimin clutching his shoulder and throwing himself on the elder, "did you tell him a really nice joke?" he asks, glancing at aera.

"no," she shakes her head, "i said koo and taetae are being mean, so jiminie oppa will spank them make their butt hurt. because- because they laughed at me when i fell down."

"my goodness, spank them?" jin laughs, turning to jimin who shakes his head, wiping his tears that formed all this while of laughing.

"aish!" jimin breathes deeply a few times, gaining himself together, but fails and ends up laughing again on seeing jin laughing his world famous windshield-wiper laugh.

"stop laughing, it's not that funny." aera says, "where's my juice oppa?"

"there..." jimin points at the yellow cup with a straw and a lid, on the side of the counter, still busy laughing with jin. "hyung stop, my stomach hurts..." he says in between trying calm himself down.

"spank them" jin says and bursts out laughing again. "oh my god! this kid is amazing!"

aera nods, sipping on her cold mango juice and giggles, "i'm amazing."

"aera!" yoongi's voice calls from outside, "come here, you wanted your floaty right?"

"yes!" the girl replies, placing the cup on the counter and runs outside towards the pool where the rest of the boys are, some sitting under the shade, some swimming or just enjoying a cool drink under the sun.

"what's taking them so long?" hoseok asks.

"oppa's laughing," aera says.

"why?"

"because they wan' spank kookie and taetae."

"what?"

"they're mean so punishment!" aera says impatiently, keeping her focus on yoongi as he inflates her ice cream floaty, not minding the laughs from hoseok and namjoon and a minor chuckle from yoongi too.

"ah because they laughed at you?"

"yes," she nods, and points at the huge ice cream, "is it done? can i go in the water now?"

"go and change first," yoongi says.

"okayyy" she sing-songs running back inside, noticing jimin and jin are not laughing anymore. "appa told me to change, where's my other clothes?"

"help her out." jin says, taking the tray of drinks and sandwiches from him.

"alright, come." jimin nods, motioning his hand for his sister to head upstairs as he follows her to her room. rummaging through her disheveled closet drawers, he grabs a tiny pair of yellow fabrics, a small crop top and a skirt with briefs attached to it, both having little teddy bears printed on it.

"when did you even get this?" he asks.

"i don't know, koo said it's cute."

"well, yeah, it is." he chuckles, "now go and change."

aera smiles at him, quickly taking her swimming outift and runs into the bathroom, while jimin sighs, looking back at the closet and takes out a few clothes, folding them properly, and hanging the jackets and the school uniform in the hangers, making it look a bit more presentable.

"done!" aera jumps out, posing with her hands raised in the air and lips smiling widely. "how do i look?" she asks, spinning around once, dressed in a tiny skirt beneath which the briefs are visible if she bends or sits down, and a matching crop top, revealing a little part of her tummy.

"aw my child," jimin cooes, pulling her into a hug, "you look like a cute little doll."

"a doll?" the sister tilts her head, "barbie?"

"cuter than barbie."

"ah i know!" she chirps, "because i'm a good girl!"

"yeah," he chuckles, "now let's go, i'm sure appa got your floaty ready?"

"yes, he did." she nods, holding the brother's hand as they head out together with aera busy reciting her plan to jimin about how she will push jungkook and taehyung in the water and then hide behind yoongi's chair.

"hey, aera and hyung, come in the pool!" jungkook calls, swimming along the length as he splashes some water on her and jimin.

"yeah, come on everyone, it's called a pool party for an obvious reason. there's no way y'all are just going to sit there." taehyung says, getting out from water and grabs his towel, hanging it on his neck.

"i know right? i'm joining you, let these old people sit." jin says and jumps right in after throwing off his t-shirt.

"i'm coming too!" hoseok announces and gets in, followed by a big splash as taehyung jumped after him.

"me too!" aera chimes getting near the side and sits on the edge, slowly going in the water as she's still scared of jumping straight away.

"ayee, come on." jungkook swims towards her and takes her hand, "stay this side okay?" he says, nodding towards the left side of the pool where the water is less deep when compared to the right and bigger side of the pool.

"but i wanna swim with you." she says.

"you can swim with me, but stay this side. the deeper is one isn't for kids."

"i'm not-"

"i know, but still." he sighs.

"okay..." aera nods eventually, "you stay this side, i'll stay this side."

"bad girl, riri." he huffs, "but okay, if that's how you're gonna listen."

"bad koo," she sticks her tongue out at him, "oppa said i'm good."

"are you? i don't think so."

"i don't think koo is good."

"oppa is always good." he grins.

"koo's not good." she laughs, splashing the water on his face and quickly tries to swim away, making the brother huff at her, following behind pretty slowly to let her be contented with her swimming skills instead of catching her in a second and have her sulking the entire time.

she looks back to see jungkook coming towards her and laughs, going behind jimin to hide, "koo will catch me! hide, oppa! hide me!"

"got'chu!" jungkook laughs, grabbing her hand and pulls her towards him, "see who won again?"

"i'll beat you when i'll be twenty!" aera declares.

"that's ten years later." he laughs and swims away, leaving the sister alone with her floaty as she started trying to climb on it, but ended up falling back into the water again and again.

she smiles for a moment, almost getting on top of it, then the disaster happened. the shiny, star bracelet on her hand got stuck on one end making a little tear from where the air escaped. aera gasps, pouting at the ice cream that looks like it melted under the sun and pulls her hand back, noticing the bracelet is still stuck in the material of the floaty.

"oh no!" she gasps, going down quickly to save her bracelet sinking along with the rubber floaty to the bottom of the pool. her head pops out once, inhaling deeply and disappears under water again, going for her life's first ever dive.

her eyes flutter a few times, looking around under the water, admiring the sun shining in rays in the blue-ish water, forgetting about her bracelet for a moment. she opens her mouth, turning back to call jimin and show the pretty scene to him, but ends up coughing and choking on the chlorinated water. she goes up again, coughing a few times and gives herself a mental note to keep her mouth shut no matter what.

with another dive, she keeps her focus on getting her bracelet back instead of admiring the beautiful water. the deflated ice cream is halfway to the bottom now. aera forces herself a bit more deeper and manages to get a hold of the pink cream that looks delicious when it's inflated. her eyes scan around the area and a smile a tugs her lips when she spots her bracelet attached on the next fold.

she tugs on the material, bringing it closer, holding it still with her legs and tries her best to save her bracelet that jimin got her just a few days back. even after a few seconds when nothing happens, the girl decides to pull it up and take help from one of the guys. she kicks her legs down against the water, hoping to go up. but when she doesn't, and falls deeper instead, with her right foot stuck between the material, a wave of panic washes over her.

she tries again, kicking her legs to get herself free and moves her arms, pushing the deflated rubber ice cream away from her. the water just keeps surrounding her, forcing her to breathe. she opens her mouth to call for her brothers, eyes expanding in horror. no voice comes out. instead she feels her mouth getting filled with the water, forcefully down her throat, making her choke and bash her limbs frantically, fighting the water against it's will.

__

"where's aera?" jimin asks.

"i don't know, she was playing with her floaty." jungkook says, wiping his hair with the towel, standing at the side of the pool.

"jungkook-ah, face that side." taehyung says, holding his phone in his hands, "the sunlight is better from there. your fans your gonna love this."

"of course." the younger laughs, posing as taehyung said, with his hands wiping his wet hair with a white towel, leaving his abs and chest on full display for a perfect picture, only wearing his swimming shorts, just like the rest of the boys.

"perfect!" taehyung explains, "one more,"

"aera?" jimin calls, rolling his eyes at the younger boys as he walks past jungkook, earning a hiss from the two for spoiling the picture. "where are you champ? let's stop playing now, it's getti-" his feet halt, staring at the pool where a few bubbles come up and a faint figure catches his eyes.

"fuck!" he curses, throwing the towel in his hands aside and dives right in, scared of what it might be.

"jimin, what happened?"

his fear comes true on seeing aera moving weakly, her eyes half closed, almost giving up against the force of the water. he grabs her hand and pulls her towards him, quickly swimming back to the surfaces, but stops on realising her ankle is stuck in the floaty material. having no time to waste, he grabs the ends, ripping it off and successfully pulls his sister out with him.

"he's- no! shit! that's-" taehyung gasps.

"aera?!" the boys freak out, gathering at the side of the pool where jimin lays her down, giving a few compressions on her chest, making her cough out water. her eyes fill with tears as soon as she opens them, looking for jimin in the group of seven faces.

"oppa..." she whimpers in a hoarse voice, reaching out for him.

"yeah, i'm here." he assures, bringing her in a hug as he sits on a chair near by, taking aera in his lap. he rubs her back while she sobs in his chest, trembling against his skin. "get a towel," he tells jungkook, who nods immediately, handing one to his brother and wraps it around aera's body to keep her warm.

"you're okay now," jimin says, patting her back.

"i was so- so scared, oppa... i thought i'll die.."

"my baby, you didn't die. look everything is okay." he smiles softly.

aera sniffles softly, nodding her head and hugs jimin again, "you're superhero, you saved riri..."

"of course, riri's oppa's princess right?"

aera nods a little, wiping her tears and looks around, suddenly remembering her reason of going in the water in the first place, "where's that... my floaty?"

"oh yeah that deflated. what were you doing?"

"my bracelet was stuck in it, so i was trying get it out. but it kept sinking in, and then my foot got stuck in it too." she says.

"my goodness, aera," jimin exasperates a sigh, glancing at the rest of the boys who sigh deeply, "you were drowning there and risking your life for a bracelet?"

"it's my favourite!"

"god, kiddo you can get hundreds of bracelets like that. you shouldn't have gone there like that." yoongi says, "or if you really wanted it back then you should've told one of us."

"i wanted to do it myself..." she mumbles.

"and what about i told you not to go in that side of the pool?" jungkook voices.

"my bracelet was going there, so i had to."

"jesus, what even is that bracelet?"

"the stars one, jiminie oppa got it for me."

"alright, fine." jimin sighs softly, staring at the little girl, "all of this just because i got it?"

aera nods, looking at him, making him break into a smile as he hugs her again, "i love you so much, baby. we'll get as many bracelets as you want, just promise me you won't be risking your safety again, okay?"

"but you save me." she giggles.

"still. this is not a good thing. so promise me, your safety will be your first priority."

"okayyy" she nods quickly for him, kissing his cheek and smiles widely.

__

"ouch! that is mine! oppa got it for me!" aera whines, chasing jungkook up the stairs as he kept running with her new ball.

"stop running on the stairs!" jimin scolds, grabbing aera's top from the back, making her stop. "you promised me something today, i hope you remember that?"

"yeah...?" she glances at him and then at jungkook who sticks out his tongue at her, showing the ball as he plays catch with it. "oppa! koo's not giving my ball back!"

"did you hear what i said?" jimin asks, crossing his arms on his chest.

"yes i know, but koo-"

"aera," he says in a firm voice, "it's just a ball. he's not doing anything to it."

"no, it's mine. you gave it to meeee!"

"aish! stop-"

"i love you oppa, i want my ball back. he's saying he will take it and then it'll be his gift. you love me more, and it's for me."

"i don't love anyone more. gifts don't decide how much we love someone." jimin sighs, and turns to jungkook, "and you, i've been watching this since morning. better stop annoying her before i have to do something."

"i'm sorry." jungkook says quickly, giving the soccer ball back to his sister.

"yes! thank you oppa!" aera smiles at jimin, giving him hug with one arm while holding the ball with the other one.

"hmm, go and play. be careful!" he chuckles, seeing her running down the stairs again, heading towards the backyard.

"you keep scolding me" jungkook mutters, earning a glance from the elder.

"what?"

"nothing, i'm saying you love me so much."

"sure." jimin nods, heading to the kitchen where jin and yoongi are sitting, having their evening coffee in peace. "i think i'm making some banana milkshake, if someone wants to join." he says loudly, glancing towards the stair seeing jungkook smiling instantly.

"he's such a baby" yoongi laughs silently.

"aish! he's the youngest after all, if he wouldn't be like that, then who?" jin says.

"sit," jimin says to jungkook while chuckling at the elders' words, as he goes to grab the ingredients. after grinding everything together and putting some ice cubes in the drink, he pours it out in a glass, handing it to the younger brother.

"where's yours?" jungkook asks.

"i'm good," jimin smiles, "i just had a coffee."

"oh okay." the younger nods, taking a sip and pulls away with a 'ah' sound. then looks at jimin with wide eyes, "it's great! thanks, i love you hyung!"

jimin laughs at his action, shaking his head subtly as he pats jungkook's hair, "i'm glad, enjoy."

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a/n- birthday special!!!!!!!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳  for those who don't know, it's my birthday. your authornim's birthday ^^  so i made an update! yussss!

please vote and leave your lovely comments, that will really make me happy (because i'll take it as my birthday present lol). 🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️

also thank you everyone for your best wishes, y'all realy made my birthday special. so this chapter is kunda a thank you chapter for that.

ps: now i'll see you all after my exams, which means after december 20 as i told you earlier.

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