"mrs song?"

"yes, that's me," she stands up, fixing her hair and gives a small smile to the assistant lady who nods briefly, telling her that she can go inside and the doctor will see her now. mrs song heads inside the modern looking office of the doctor. he smiles at her, standing up with his hand extended out, "i'm song yana, i—"

"yes, dr. heesung told me," he nods, "please have a seat, mrs song. heesung is an old friend of mine. he told me about your daughter and the family situation," he says as mrs song sits down, nodding slowly, "first of all, ma'am, i want you to be comfortable and tell me everything from the beginning, from your husband's death and when your daughter started taking drugs,"

mrs song nods, taking a deep breath and speaks, "my husband, soowon, had a stroke last year. he was aera's step dad. i married him when she was thirteen,"

the doctor nods, noting down something before he asks, "what about your first husband?"

"he was abusive," mrs song says, "he used to get drunk, hurt me and aera too. he never loved us. now you might ask why i even married him... it was because our families had arranged our marriage. he loved another woman but he was forced to marry me by his parents, and i was forced to marry him by my parents. he was rich, had a job of  charter accountant in a big firm. he looked like a nice package to my family,

"after getting married his family started persuading us to give them a grandchild because they were getting old and they wanted to see their son's children before they died. he was drunk one night and forced me into having sex so that i would get pregnant and his parents would shut up. that's how i had aera, my daughter," she says, glancing at the dr. kang who's just as indulge in listening to her as she's telling.

"he never really behaved like a decent husband or a father. he would yell at me in front of aera, hit me sometimes, and hit aera as well if she cried too much or if she didn't leave me. it took me a lot of time to gain enough courage to step up and finally leave him... most of aera's childhood was already ruined by then. she was already ten, grown very introverted, barely ever spoke to anyone other than me. i had a hard time taking care of her after the divorce because then i had to work and leave her alone,

"i worked as a librarian for a few months, where i got a lot of time to study and i started applying for better jobs which paid enough for me and my daughter to survive. i got accepted in a company as an assistant. they paid a decent amount and i managed aera's school fee from that. for two years i was only focused on bringing home some money and bread on the table. aera never had any extra interests like other kids, she never asked me to buy her anything, never asked why i didn't cook her favourite food... never. she would take whatever i had for her without any complains.

"she was thirteen, and i was still working in the same place when i met soowon for the first time. he had moved in the same apartment complex as us. we started talking and he eventually came to know about my past. he never withdrew himself from my life like most people did... he met aera and i still remember, the first thing he told her was that she had pretty eyes just like her mom," mrs song, rubs her eyes, taking a deep breath and looks down at her lap, "aera opened up to him eventually. he had some sort of magic in our life. i saw aera smiling and laughing like other kids after years, all thanks to him. he loved her like his own daughter,"

"aera became so attached to him that when he got sick she cried the most. more than me. she wouldn't let go of him and sat by him the whole night. soowon laughed at her the next day, saying that it was only a fever. but it wasn't. that was the first sign we ignored of his tumor... within a year his health was getting worse and worse. aera used to ask me if he's going to die, and i told her that he won't. i never had the courage to tell her about the cancer even after we came to know...

"then before her fifteenth birthday— soowon was at work when i got a call. they said he collapsed all of a sudden. i rushed to the hospital with aera... he was no more. he had a stroke," a tear slides down from her cheek, nibbling on her lip as she continues, "aera looked at me and she was like, 'you said he was fine!', 'you said he won't die!'. she wanted to spend more time with him... she said that maybe if she knew he was going to leave so soon, she wouldn't have slept, instead spend some more time with soowon,

"i wasn't ready either, but from that day i knew i wasn't getting my daughter back again... aera completely isolated herself from me, from everyone after soowon's death... she went back to the kid she used to be, no talking, no playing, just staying alone. on her birthday she cried in her room, i could hear her..." mrs song takes a pause, glancing at the doctor, opening her mouth hesitantly while her hand motions towards the glass of water on the table. the man nods quickly, letting her have it and waits patiently.

"it's alright, mrs song. please take your time," he assures.

"i'm fine..." she says, "last year aera started high school. i had doubts, but she had to continue her studies. things were getting back to normal eventually. aera never really talked to me other than the times i asked her something, but around october i noticed her behaviour changing. she wouldn't even listen, just stayed like she couldn't hear me. i thought she was ignoring me at first, but then her teachers called one day, complaining that a few students were found doing drugs and aera was one of them,

"i couldn't believe my ears. i tried talking to aera right away, cried in front of her because i was scared that i was going to lose her too if she kept doing it. she listened to me that day, cried with me as well but then within a month i found a small packet of heroin in her bag... i asked her about it and she said she forgot to throw it away. i knew she was lying, so i decided to throw it away myself. she never stopped taking drugs though, i had no idea where she got the money until one day a few guys came following her and asked if she was home.

"she never talked to me about it, even when i tried to ask, she just wouldn't respond. we started having arguments because of that. i said i was working hard to pay her school fee and she was wasting money like this. nothing changed, i tried to put her in a rehab but she would fight me to let her stay at home and promised that she wouldn't do it again. the only time she genuinely looked calm was when she had her headphones on... this group, i don't know, bts, she likes their music and loves watching their videos.

"someone from work told me that those guys are nice and if aera's watching them, she's fine. so i never stopped her from seeing those seven guys. i got her a pillow with the bts logo on it and she loved it. that was the first time she had hugged me after soowon's death. despite the bts thing, she never stopped taking drugs, she just did it more secretly. i didn't even know until she had an overdose and had to be rushed to the hospital. she woke up and asked where her brothers were..."

"brothers?" the doctor asks, "she never had any siblings, did she? step siblings or half..?"

"no," mrs song shakes her head, "the doctor we were seeing then said that she was doing drugs to escape the reality. she never really got any love and affection in her life, and when she did it was snatched away without a warning... so she was trying to look for that love in her dreams... in her imagination... my daughter— she was taking drugs to feel more loved..."

"the doctor talked to her later. they had a few sessions and we came to know that she was imagining herself being the sister of two elder brothers... two bts members... and she kept taking drugs because whenever she was high, the imagination felt more real. in her head, her family was these seven guys, no parents. she said they died when she was six and her brothers raised her..."

dr. kang gulps slowly, letting out a breath as he glances at mrs song, "and she had an overdose again?"

"yesterday. please help me, sir... i can't see my daughter like this. she doesn't even recognise me when she wakes up from such heavy doses of drugs... i know exactly what's going to happen when she's conscious again. she'll ask me where her brothers are..." mrs song cries silently, "how am i supposed to tell her that she doesn't have any brothers? how should i tell her it's all in her head? she'll die, doctor... please..."

the man hums, "i'd like to talk to her first. i've to know more from her point of view, what she sees in all this,"

mrs song nods, glancing at her phone that starts ringing and she realises it's from the hospital. she answers the call right away and clears her throat, "yes, doctor?"

"mrs song, aera's up. she's crying and asking for someone, do you perhaps know anything?"

mrs song stares at the doctor in front of her, shaking her head and the man asks if it's dr. heesung. she nods once and he asks her to him on speaker, "hello? heesung, it's me," kang says.

"ah dr. kang, actually aera's up and i don't really know what she's asking for. we cannot inject her again,"

"can she talk right now? i'd like to talk to her,"

"yeah, sure. if she calms down and lets you, then yes,"

"okay, perfect. i'm coming there with mrs. song,"

"yeah, okay,"

the call ends with that and dr. kang gestures mrs song that they should get going. the lady smiles thankfully at the man, walking outside the office thinking of getting a cab probably but kang already told his driver to get the car ready. they get inside and mrs song takes the opportunity to thank him again, "it's my job, madam. i'd be happy if i can help you and your daughter," kang says, glancing at her briefly.

"still," she says, waiting patiently for the driver to pull in front of the hospital. it wasn't that far but the traffic at this hour made the drive feel like an eternity. by the time they did make it to the hospital and arrived to see dr. heesung, he told them that area was pretty calm than when she woke up.

on dr. kang's request, heesung got the staff to move aera into a private room free of extra charges. this new room sucked a lot less than the previous one where all she wanted was to not breathe in the toxic air or move an inch to accidentally touch some extra germs than she was probably already in contact with.

however in the new room, she stares at the lady, still strongly opposing the fact that she is her mother. there's another man with her now except for the doctor who drugged her to sleep. they remove the oxygen mask, asking if she has any trouble breathing and she shakes her head. the familiar doctor looks at the unfamiliar one, stepping back and gestures him to sit by the bed.

"hi, aera," he starts with a smile, "i'm kang sejun. i'm a psycho therapist by profession,"

aera frowns at him, not liking his presence allready and shoots a glare at her mother, hating her more every second for assuming aera to be crazy. "he's gonna help you, aera," mrs song says, "please talk to him,"

"i'm fine," aera lets out in a hoarse voice, "you're not even my mom. she— she died years ago,"

"i'm—"

"mrs song," dr. kang says, "please can i talk to her alone for sometime?" he asks, nodding assuringly at her as he gestures heesung to let the lady stay near by, just out of aera's sight. the mother agrees with a sigh, walking out of the room but then heesung tells her to stay back in the small waiting room just outside the door where she can hear everything going on inside.

"she's not your mom?"

aera hesitates in denying for a small part of her knew the truth but something inside her also screamed that her parents died in a plane crash when she was six. jimin was crying because he was close to them and jungkook was just there, feeling uneasy like aera's feeling right now. "why are you here? i'm fine, i don't need therapy," she mutters.

"i'm sure you're right, but your mother is worried about you. so just for her sake, let's do this?"

"she's not my mother," aera grows irritated by his words, sending a displeased look his way.

"then who is she?"

"i... i don't know," she mumbles, staring at the ceiling, "i've seen her... i know her, but i can't tell who she is exactly... why are we doing this? where's my oppa? i wanna go home— i don't like this place... it's so dirty... everything is so dirty,"

dr kang sighs softly, "you can go home once your doctor thinks you're fine," he says, "so, aera, tell me about yourself,"

"why?"

"because i think i should know more, especially since mrs song claims you to her daughter,"

aera shakes her head quickly, looking at the doctor, "i'm not. my name is jeon aera. my daddy's name was jeon jaehyun, and mamma's name was jeon eunmi. they died in a plane crash when i was six,"

"oh... so who did you live with after that?"

"my brothers,"

"younger or...?"

"elder," aera says, "they're both elder than me. jungkook is ten years older than me and jimin oppa is almost thirteen years older than me,"

dr. kang nods eventually, feeling curious as well as sympathy with the young girl. he smiles softly, "do they love you a lot?"

"yes. they love me the most," she smiles to herself, "if i get sick they're first ones to know. if i'm hurt they'll be hurting with me. i wasn't feeling good last night and i was crying, i thought i was going to die. so jimin oppa stayed with me the whole time. koo even made everyone watch finding dori with me," she chuckles, "i kept hugging him and fell asleep,"

"really? that sounds lovely,"

"it is," aera stares at the man with interest in her eyes, "y'know me and koo always played a lot, he would tease and make fun of me sometimes, then jimin oppa scolded him. it was so funny to see him getting scolded," she laughs, "and that one time when i was younger i wanted to get tattoos like them so i drew all over myself,"

dr kang laughs with her, but it doesn't hide the pain for he feels his eyes moisten at the mere thought of what might happen when this girl comes to know that she doesn't have any brothers and no one loved her like that. all these memories she feels so real are just in her head.

"all of my oppas love me actually. they call me their princess," she grins happily, "even their wives, my unnies love me a lot,"

"they're married?"

"yeah, koo and tae aren't married yet. but otherwise the rest are married and have kids. it's a lot of fun when everyone's together,"

"and what about mrs song? she isn't a part of your memories?"

"...no," aera becomes quiet, the smile lost between some thoughts, "i don't remember. she was never there... just me, koo and jimin oppa and the other oppas. that's all. we're a happy family,"

"aera, i'll show you some pictures okay? i'm sure you know them," he says, opening his phone searches the famous boyband, clicking on the picture of the seven men smiling at the camera. aera looks at it and smiles instantly, nodding her head.

"they're my oppas," she says, and points at jimin and jungkook who are fortunately standing together in the picture, "this is koo and this is jimin oppa. they're my brothers,"

"aera, do you know they're idols?" he asks and watches aera fall silent as she frowns at him.

"businessmen... koo and tae have their studios, and hobi oppa owns a dance academy. but the rest are businessmen,"

"no, kiddo," the doctor smiles softly, "they're idols. their group is called bts. you like their music right?"

aera's eyes fill with tears, "bts..." she repeats in a small voice, "music... yeah..."

"do you remember now, aera?" he asks, scrolling through some posts in his phone shows a picture of the group at their concert. "you thought they were your brothers, little one. they're idols and you love them for their music. your mom told me how happy you became on receiving a merch of them. do you remember?"

"no..." aera touches her forehead, massaging gently as tears slip down from her eyes. "my head..." she whispers like a pant, clutching the bedsheet tightly with her free hand, breaking into a sob.

"it's okay, aera. it happens. we often mistake others for being someone else. it's alright,"

"no... stop, please—" she chokes on her tears, holding her head where it hurts too bad all of a sudden. mrs song rushes back into the room with heesung trying to see what happened to aera.

the mother cries silently, staring at her daughter as she whines and struggles in pain, only calling for her oppa and someone whom she refers to as 'appa'. as they inject her to sleep again having no other option, heesung sighs deeply, walking to mrs song and dr kang.

"her blood pressure is too high. i'm sorry to say mrs song, but this is getting too much for aera. the drugs have already weakened her a lot. i can't say she'll be able to make it out alive if she keeps getting these types of panic attacks. it's damaging her brain. she might get a stroke at that pressure or her heart might just give up,"

mrs song shakes her head, crying uncontrollably as she sits on the chair nearby, buring her face in her hands, not knowing what to do anymore to save her daughter. dr kang sighs as well, feeling bad for the woman and says, "her imagination is pretty strong in her mind. she really believes that her brothers do exist and they love her a lot... it's disheartening to see someone as young as her so deprived of love that went craving for it in their head..."

mrs song rubs her eyes, taking a few deep breaths as she looks up, "she— she likes bts. maybe she'll be fine if she meets them?"

the men frown in confusion, "how? they're idols mrs song. they wouldn't have time for—"

"i'll bring them. i'll tell them everything, convince them beg them even... if it means that my daughter can get better, i'll do anything," she hushes out, wiping her tears and stands up, nodding her head, "i'll do everything within my hands to save my daughter. just please don't give up on her, i'll arrange the money for the treatment as well..."

"ma'ma," dr. kang says softly, smiling with empathy, "i'm not charging,"

"what— but—"

"no, really. i just genuinely want to help your daughter. kids these days are so vulnerable to things like these. i wanna help all i can,"

"thank you," mrs song joins her hands, "thank you so much..."

heesung nods as well, smiling at his friend and colleague,  nodding his head subtly to assure the woman that they do wish for her daughter's betterment. she leaves after that, speed walking out of the hospital and hails the first cab her eyes find, not sure if she should head to the entertainment agency of bts or some venue where they might be performing right now.

nonetheless she reaches the agency building, tall and elite with a few people making their way in or out. she pays the driver, following a man who is supposedly headed inside. on the reception, he fortunately asks something that involves the word 'bts'. mrs song takes a deep breath, catching with the man and asks, "excuse me, sir," she speaks, making him stop and turn around, questioning her if she was speaking to him "yes, uhm do you happen to know bts? jeon jungkook, maybe?"

"yes, but are you a fan?" he frowns, eyes subconsciously travelling down her poor state of clothing and messed up appearance.

"my daughter is a fan. i have something really important to talk about. please let me see him...? it's—"

"i'm sorry, ma'am. fans are not allowed here," he says, "you should leave,"

"sir, please try to understand. i swear it's really important... my daughter is on the verge of losing her life... please. i gotta talk to them," she pleads, eyes moistening as aera's poor health crosses her mind again. the man shakes his head, apologizing and calls for the security to lead the lady out.

although mrs song breaks into a sob, trying her best to convince the men to let her meet jungkook just for a few minutes. the people passing by stop eventually to see the ruckus created by a woman crying and pleasing the guards, repeating over and over again that she has to save her daughter's life.

•••

"jimin hyung?" jungkook laughs amusedly, "oh there's hobi hyung as well!" he claps his hands, throwing his head back as he laughs, seeing the elders having a whole conversation in the comment section of his live.

among the attention on the boys, one comment catches jungkook's eye, followed by a few notifications on his phone. he frowns at the comment, reading it quietly then picks up his phone and asks, "what lady? what are you guys talking about?"

a few more comments pop up and he reads them, "here? ah... okay," he nods, not reading it aloud for he didn't know if it would be okay to openly tell the situation to the fans yet. he ends the live soon, telling the fans that it's nothing to worry about and now he has to workout. however it doesn't matter that he actually went down to the ground floor of the building, frowning at the sight of a lady actually crying and begging the guards, taking his name that she wants to meet him.

judging by her state, jungkook could tell something had to be more wrong than her just being a sasaeng and pulling all of this for some attention. it looked like a genuine problem since the lady was ready to do anything and also said that it's for the sake of her daughter. jungkook walks up to her, the bodyguards quickly taking their place around him as he stops near the manager, "what's going on?"

the manager sighs, gesturing his hand towards the woman who's on the floor, about to be dragged out by the guards, "hey, let go of her," jungkook says, and the men obey in a blink, leaving her alone. he gulps softly, holding out his hand and helps her up, "are you okay, ma'am?"

"ju— jungkook...? jeon jungkook?" mrs song, stares at him with wide eyes, wiping her tears and he nods, smiling a little.

"that's me,"

"jungkook, i— i'm really sorry. i'm really sorry, but i had to meet you. please can i talk for a while? just five minutes, i won't take much of your time. just five minutes... it's really important... i don't wanna lose my daughter forever..." she sobs, joining her hands in front of him.

"yeah, sure. just please don't cry," he says, giving a gentle pat on her arm and leads her to an empty meeting room. the agency staff doesn't say anything, but the manager and the bodyguards linger close by, following them inside the room.

a person shows up with a bottle of water, handing it to mrs song as jungkook told them to do and sits across her on the couch. the lady takes a deep breath, wiping off the tears and looks at jungkook, "thank you so much, jungkook," she says, getting a nod from the boy and she starts off, "i'm song yana. i'm a single mother. my daughter is sixteen years old... she had an overdose yesterday,"

"overdose?" jungkook questions confused with her words.

"drugs..." she mumbles, and jungkook's eyes widen in shock, "but she's not a bad person, jungkook. she's still young and just hurt in life... please before you think of anything about my daughter or me, i want you to hear me out,"

"uh i'm listening," he says.

mrs song smiles weakly, staring at her lap as she fiddles with her fingers, explaining everything from the very beginning to avoid any misunderstandings and make sure that jungkook could understand as much as possible. when she glances at him eventually, he's actually quite absorbed by her story, quietly listening to her, sometimes looking away due to the empathy or could it sympathy? that he feels for her and her daughter.

jungkook never dares to ask anything in between, just taking in what mrs song's words told him, leaving it all for him to think and wonder why this world would be so cruel to a kid. although it did warm up his heart to know that the girl found comfort in their music, how she loved her voice and actually felt happy when she thought of them, yet it doesn't shake off the heaviness inside his chest. something in his gut churns, imagining just how hard it must be for the sixteen year old and her mother who's already in front of him, letting out their life story all for the hope of getting the daughter back.

"i know it's a lot to ask," mrs song hesitates, sighing softly as she looks at jungkook with an unsure gaze, "but please, can you and... and maybe jimin can come visit aera? just for sometime? a few minutes is fine too, whenever you're free. the doctor said she can't make it... but at least she'll be happy for the last few minutes of her life if she sees you... she really loves you like you're her brothers,"

jungkook looks down, tears pooling his own eyes as he hums softly, clearing his throat, "i'm really sorry for your daughter, mrs song," he starts, taking a deep breath, "i truly hope aera gets better. please don't lose hope,"

she smiles a little, nodding her head although it's more like a forced one, "will you come? can you please call jimin?" she asks and catches him glancing at the manager, making her sigh, still trying to maintain a stable voice without bursting in tears, "i-it's okay if you can't. i won't force you..."

"no, i'll come," jungkook says, "and the rest of the guys too,"

"really?" mrs song stares at him, releasing a breath of relief and lowers her head, silent tears streaming down her face as she mumbles repeatedly, "thank you, thank you, thank you... thank you so much... i owe you my life. thank you so much. you have no idea how much this means to aera... and me,"

"it's nothing, mrs song. this is the least i can do as a human. i really hope i'd meet her before, but nevermind. we'll go see your daughter, okay? please don't cry," he says softly, nodding for the manager to call the rest of the boys and explain the urgency of the situation.

within half an hour five members were already there, all of them having supportive smiles with mrs song as namjoon constantly assured her that it's nothing to thank them for. the rest two members due to their work at some distant location, said that they would join them straight at the hospital.

"uhm mrs song, is there anything in particular that aera likes?" jimin asks.

the woman thinks for a moment, recalling how she once drew herself, jimin and jungkook at a fair, jungkook holding a cone of ice cream in either of his hands while she (thirteen or fourteen years old) was on jimin's back, smiling widely. it was almost like she had actually lived that picture, felt the joy and portrayed it as it was in her painting making it look and feel more real than just her imagination. "she really likes ice cream... but i don't know if she's allowed to have any right now," mrs song sighs, getting a slow nod from jimin and she assures him quickly, "don't worry, she'll be more than just happy to see you. you don't need anything else,"

jimin smiles softly, stepping forward and asks politely, "can i give you a hug, mrs song?"

she looks down at herself, the clothes creased and looking dirty by with all the commotion she's facing since yesterday, not knowing if the boys being such huge celebrities were okay with it or not. she smiles nervously, shrugging her shoulders and jimin proves her wrong with a warm hug. she smiles softly, looking down under his tall body when compared to hers, standing quietly until he pulled away and said, "let's go? i wanna meet this kid,"

mrs song nods, heading out and glances at their manger who asks her to stay with the boys than going to find a cab. the guards help them escape the public that has already gathered in front of the building with some pictures and video clips being released as well as jungkook ending his live suddenly.

"it's gonna be all over the news," jin shakes his head in disappointment, "we're sorry, mrs song. but please don't worry, nothing will get in the hands of the media,"

"thank you," she nods, "and i'm sorry for getting you all involved in this. your fans might not like it..."

"aera's our fan too right? she'll like it," jungkook says briefly, "please don't think about the internet. they'll quiet down on their own,"

the way to the hospital feels shorter than when mrs song first came, although this time she's already leading in the tall males inside in just half an hour. silence persists in the elevator until mrs song remembers something, but decides not to say anything right away and talk to the doctors instead. just as they step on the floor where aera is, they're met by heesung and dr. kang.

"mrs song..." he's shocked to see bts actually there and eventually smiles at the lady, "you really did it for your daughter, ma'am. hats off to you,"

mrs song shakes her head, "uh i'm not sure about how they'll even meet her... i mean, you told her they're not her brothers..."

"it's alright," he says, facing the boys and smiles, shaking hands with each one of them, "i'm kang sejun. aera's therapist. nice to meet you all,"

"nice to meet you," the boys bow to the obviously elder male, getting a warm smile from him before he leads them to the room where aera's been sleeping for the past few hours, "she's inside," he says with a deep breath, "alright, i want you guys to know a few things. please don't tell her anything extra than what she talks about. if she thinks that you— jungkook and jimin— are her brothers, then please for her sake, just play along. and if she doesn't, then you can assume that she knows the reality,"

"i feel so bad for her," taehyung mumbles, staring inside the room from the glass window on the door.

"and at last," dr. kang adds, "just be gentle with her,"

mrs song looks at jungkook and jimin, gulping nervously as she says, "please don't pull away if she hugs you... she barely lets anyone touch her. and you won't believe me but there have been times where she cried herself to sleep because the person she wanted a hug from wasn't there. first soowon, and then her imaginary brothers... i apologise in advance, but please if she hugs you, just let her,"

"yeah, it's fine, mrs song," jimin says, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the tears and smiles at her, "she thinks of us as her brothers, then we are her brothers, okay?"

mrs song nods slowly, stepping aside as dr. kang opens the door for the boys to go in, which is when the left two members of bts also arrive. yoongi and hoseok, looking worried and approaching them with a confused frown. they bow to mrs song and dr. kang first, joining the boys. "yoongi," mrs song says, glancing at the rapper then at dr. kang and then back at him, "aera will be very happy to see you specifically. i'm not sure about this, but from what her last councellor told us, she sees you as a father figure. a friend of mine said that aera's is in good hands when i told her that she likes bts. i trust you all,"

yoongi smiles at her softly, giving her an assuring gaze before following his boys inside the room along with dr. kang and mrs song. heesung joins them shortly, exchanging quiet looks of greetings with the idols before he goes near aera. he checks her heartbeat, sighing softly and checks the pulse, glancing at the mother, "her heart rate is still too high," he says, "the blood pressure might shoot when she wakes up,"

"can you not do something?" she asks, "just for sometime?"

"it's hard," the doctor admits, injecting a little bit of a drug in the liquid attached to her drip. then he nods for them to wake her up.

"not me..." mrs songs steps away, "she doesn't react well to me,"

"jimin," dr. kang nods at the said male, "she'll be happy if it's you,"

jimin gulps, nodding slowly and sits on the stool near by, finding himself smiling at the babyface of the girl, sleeping peacefully as though she didn't have a care of the world, as though she was enjoying her dream, completely unaware of what the reality holds for her and her mother. he leans forward a bit, releasing a soft breath, "aera," his voice comes out as a soft one, just like he always spoke to aera in his head. the girl nuzzles in her sleep and jimin finds that cute, trying again, "hey, wake up, aera,"

"riri," mrs song whispers quietly and jimin nods, the rest of the boys noting the nickname.

"ri, look who's here," jungkook speaks up before jimin did, acting as if he already knew her for a long time. his hand meets hers gently, shaking it a little and he sits down on the edge of the bed, his own heart racing with nervousness as the girl hums softly, moving a little before her eyes flutter open.

she looks around lazily, letting the dizziness wash away and meets the faces she has being craving for ever since she woke up. gasping under the oxygen mask, she tries to move, tears welling up her eyes as soon as the sight of jimin and jungkook and the rest of boys is clear. she breaks into a sob, struggling against the machines she's hooked too, groaning in pain to go to her brother.

jungkook looks away, blinking his tears away and takes a deep breath, smiling at he girl, "hey," he holds her hand gently in his large one, "don't move too much. you're gonna hurt yourself, aera," he says with a small smile, leaving himself surprised along with everyone else in the room with how fast aera listened to him.

she stops moving, looking at him with her dark, round eyes, opening her mouth and mumbles, "koo..."

jungkook almost chuckles at the cute nickname from the girl and nods, "yes, how are you feeling?" he asks.

"bad..." she mumbles, "where were you? i missed you..." then her eyes move to jimin, pouting at him as well, trying her best not to sob, "i missed you... why'd you leave me here? it's so scary..."

"i... we're sorry," jimin says, catching on and nudges jungkook to do just play along.

aera says nothing, scanning around the room, sending weak smiles to the rest of the members like she knew them for years, and they smile back at her. then aera's eyes land on dr. kang, suddenly remembering his words from earlier and it hits her hard, "this... you..." she whispers to herself, gulping down her fear and looks down at herself, seeing the drip on her hand, the machines next to her bed and the lady— her mother in the distant corner of the room.

"aera? are you okay?" jimin asks, stroking her hair, shifting the stool closer to the bed, earning a glance from aera.

"you... jimin oppa, you're real right?" a tear rolls down her eyes, looking scared all of a sudden, "you're real, right koo? it's not a dream or— or those... those drugs..." she closes her eyes, crying to herself, "i hate this... i want my brothers for real... i don't wanna wake up. please don't let me wake up, i'm gonna die..."

everyone in the room watches with moistened eyes as the girl cries, her trembling hand making it's way up to her forehead, "i don't wanna leave... there's no one when i open my eyes... i don't wanna wake up..."

"aera, calm down, kid. relax, alright?" heesung says, adjusting something on the monitor beside her bed and turns to check her pulse again. the girl whines, pulling her hand back which accidentally tugs on the drip, making the needle leave the skin.

"ah... no— don't touch me," she mutters, rubbing the back of her hand where the iv was attached and turns towards jimin, "tell him to go away..."

jimin hugs her carefully, being mindful of her state and glances at the doctor unaware of what next to do. he looks down, feeling her relaxing close to him even though he bares holds her. his hands move to her back, hesitating with every little movement that he might hurt her, but manages to give a gentle pat, "it's okay, aera. please let him do his work," he says.

the weak hold of jimin doesn't go unnoticed by aera as she pulls away, staring at jimin with bloodshot eyes, "you're not my brother..." she hushes out, still having difficulty breathing as she rubs her eyes, pulling herself back and looks around the room, then down at her hands, "you're not... i— i'm sorry... he really loved me and he held me so— so safe. you're not him... i woke up... i don't have him anymore," she mumbles to herself, turning to the bedside table, looking something with her hands shaking.

"aera—"

"no, you're not him," she repeats, gulping thickly, nibbling on her lip as she cries, "where's that— i wanna go home. i wanna go back to my oppa... i don't wanna stay here. why did you wake me up?!"

"aera," dr. kang steps forward, moving the boys aside and holds aera's hands, "what? what do you want?"

"my—  no..." she shakes her head, "go away all of you. i'm— i wanna go home. i'll go home. i'll go back to my koo, he loves me so much. i wanna go back,"

jungkook cries silently, turning to mrs song and clears his throat, "how long has it been? a year?" he asks softly, "i don't even know her, but it kills me to see her like that... taking my name... while i can't do anything," mrs song closes her eyes, letting the tears flow silently.

"okay, relax," dr. kang says, "you wanted to see jimin right? and jungkook? they're here,"

aera shakes her head, sobbing to herself, unable to firm words for a while as her hand holds a firm grip on the sheets, never looking at the boys anymore. "you don't wanna tell them anything?" kang asks, rubbing aera's back and she shakes her head.

"i wanna go home..."

"with your mom? you'll go when—"

"my home! not there— not with that lady! i was so happy there... ajhussi, i— i told you right? koo and i played a lot. he fights everyone for me... everyone... nobody loves me so much but he does. jimin oppa's always there and he— and he hugs me tightly. it's so safe... so warm and happy... i went to him whenever i was upset and he would make it better... i'm— i'm so scared right now... i don't know what's happening... i wanna go to him, please..."

heesung glances at the monitor, the lines of the ecg fluctuating and he springs into action, securing the oxygen mask that she wouldn't put otherwise. her hand moves to her head, shutting her eyes tight against the pain that seems too paralyse everything else. all other movements are hard to notice and no sound  other than her own heavy heartbeats, makes her eyes feel drowsy. the breathing falls shallow despite the oxygen mask working at its full efficiency.

"please go outside," the nurses usher the boys and mrs song, closing the doors of the room as soon as the last person steps out.

"is she gonna be okay?" jimin asks, watching the doctors doing something around aera. he takes a deep breath, staring at his trembling hands and a tear slips from his eye, "that kid... i couldn't hold her... i'm sorry. she's so vulnerable i was scared that i might hurt her..." her turns to mrs song, who's too tired of crying, looking like all the tears drained out of her and she has accepted the harsh reality. "i'm sorry, mrs song—"

"it's okay," she says, staring at the door of aera's room, not looking at anyone else, "it's okay. i understand all of this is overwhelming for anyone. i never managed to hold my daughter... you're still almost a stranger," her voice is hoarse with all the crying, exhausted even. "anyway, thank you for coming. and i'm sorry if i wasted your time... thanks to you too dr. kang. i'll pay your fees as soon as possible,"

"there's no nee—"

the door of the room opens and heesung walks out, looking at mrs song who seems like she already knows the bad news. "i'm sorry, mrs song... aera's no more," he hushes out. a soft puff of breath leaves the mother's mouth, eyes devoid of tears and body too exhausted to react. she looks away, outside the window, sitting down on a bench nearby and sighs quietly.

"mrs song, please hold yourself together. we're really sorry for your daughter," heesung says, to which song yana only responds with the tiniest nod. dr. kang rubs his eyes to clear his vision, glancing back at the young girl's dead body on the bed, covered with a white sheet, feeling like he had the biggest failure in his career so far.

the sixteen year old whose only wish happened to be a little bit of love and affection from people around her. from her mother, from her father when she was younger, then from her step father. unfortunately the former man sucked at being a man and the other was too good according to god to live in this world. aera tried getting used to it and on the way ended up finding these seven guys, never knowing that they would mean the world to her.

the first puff was a reminder that she wasn't alone.

the second one felt good, as though her brother smiled at her, "careful, princess. you'll hurt yourself,".

the third and fourth time the imagination was real, she saw them, touched them and hugged them for the first time. she held their hand and they said they wouldn't let go of it ever. "i love you more than anything, baby,"

then it became her home. away from reality in her brother's arms, the safest place she knew of, "riri will always be oppa's little girl, right?" he chuckled, nuzzling his nose against aera's, making her giggle, nodding her head.

"yesss! i love you soooooo much! you don't know, oppa,"

"i know, kiddo. i know,"

and today's just a day that won't ever leave the seven boys, especially jimin and jungkook.

_________

a/n- that's how it ends. many of must've understood what happened, but for those who don't, no need to worry. i'll explain.

aera like many other kids in the world were deprived of love by their family, unfortunately born to parents who didn't deserve kids at all.  her father's emotional unavailability and abusive nature turned her into an introverted kid with low self esteem and underdeveloped personality. her mother was there she was busy being a victim first and then engaged herself in getting a job and working. she was always there for aera and loved her but failed to make the exact effort of reaching to her daughter. when she met soowon, who showed both her and aera love, what they were missing in their lives, they both grew to love him a lot. aera became attached to her step father, soowon as yana married him and they made a small family. as aera started being happy with soowon, he unfortunately got diagnosed with cancer and eventually passed away. aera was upset with her mother because she never 5olf her about his health and had to lose him all of a sudden.

the grief was too much and being an alone kid she became an easy target of drug abuse. the dosage was minor first, barely having any major effects until she couldn't feel them anymore and leaned that she needed to heighten the dose. the first time she imagined herself in the state of euphoria, later the feeling was accompanied by familiar faces of her favourite people. she grew accustomed to thinking and imagining jungkook and jimin as her brothers. eventually the doses got common and everytime it felt better. a mild dose was like giggling sheepishly to have jimin feed her during the dinner. a little higher felt thrilling like jungkook was about to call the tickle monster. each dose, each snuff, was an imaginary of jimin hugging her and jungkook putting the world aside for her. she lost the ability to stop, only wanting more of her dream, for jimin to hold her again, maybe scold jungkook for not letting her win in the game that goes on in her head. that made her have frequent overdoses, chasing the imagination that felt more real reality itself.

and that's how aera aka riri dies my friends. the book was basically a compilation of what aera saw in her imagination or 'hallucinated' when she was high, craving for love.

it's been an incredible journey. i never thought i could write a book, have people waiting for me to publish something and looking up to me, loving my work. but you guys made it possible. thank you so much. i really really love you all and each one of you mean a lot to me. thank you for your support and your constant love 💜 you're the best audience! ❤️✨😭 i'm gonna miss you guys and miss this book a lot. (yes i know there are four chapters left. but let me be dramatic because later i'll arrange the chapters and place this at the end. so this emo message is for the future readers lol look at me rambling sigh )

anyway please comment and tell me whether you liked the chapter and the book or not. do not forget to vote and yeah stay safe, stay healthy, love yourself and let's manifest another sibling book 💜✨>>>>>

aw are you still here? i love you some extra 😭❤️✨

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