"-and will you get me a new nerf gun?"

"alright, but let me get there at least," jimin chuckles on the line, as he frees his phone from the stand and holds it in his hand instead, keeping it close to his ear while his eyes stare at the back of another car which is ahead of him, stuck in the traffic too.

the suns's almost down, which also means that it's time for people to get back home from work, creating this regular evening-buzz on the streets especially in the main city where most people had 9-to-5 jobs. street lights turn on eventually, glowing with a bunch of headlights of vehicles, all honking desperately to get away from the dread. even jimin felt more excited to go home these days, having his little baby waiting for him in his walker, cackling loudly and clapping his hands as soon as jimin would open the door and step inside. it was one of the purest forms of love jimin had ever seen in his life.

his wife would welcome him with a warm hug and kiss lingering sweet on his lips, and during these seconds, the six-months-old jiwon would babble out for jimin to notice him too and carry him. then sometimes a little more surprise awaited him as he would make his way inside, briefly letting haewon know how his day was, until aera would jump on him for a hug, eager to show something related to her school, or just wanting to meet him because she was missing him.

that is a lot of love;

just a few days back aera had stayed over for the weekend when jungkook was overseas for work. and aera sworn to him that it was the best time of her life— getting tasty food all the time, a company of a girl, which she rarely ever got, and of course the little baby, jiwon. jimin loved seeing them happy, his wife, his son, his sister and brother. for him it felt like he had gotten everything a man could be blessed with- supportive siblings, a lovely wife, a cute little son, a company under him flourishing to the top, and understanding friends— in short, jimin's is a well settled life anyone could dream of.

the smile on his face sparkles through the sincerity in his eyes, a little damp with the weight of time, but still beautiful as the sky too, illuminates him with it's glorious evening lights. then a sweet voice fills in his ears again, pulling him out of his train of thoughts, "oppa are you listening or not?" the pout on his sister's lips is evident in the tone of her voice, not yet whining to him completely.

"i am," he hums, "we'll go to the mall tomorrow, then you can get whatever you want. is that okay?"

"that's super okay!" aera chirps, "y'know koo just straight up said no. he's been a little grumpy these days. i think there's something wrong with him,"

"he's just a little stressed, sweetheart. nothing's wrong with him," jimin says, his lips parting in a smile of relief as the car before him starts moving and traffic gradually washes away into speed.

"hm, right... he doesn't even have time to eat sometimes,"

"you didn't tell him skipping meals is not okay?"

"i did! he doesn't listen,"

"oh, so i guess we need to have some serious talking hm?" jimin pretends to huff, making aera laugh as she hums in response, and jimin just knows that she's nodding at the phone, making him chuckle. he crosses the main square, listening to aera ranting about her new math teacher now, who apparantly hates her already and keeps trying to give her extra homework, then even made her sit away from her friends. jimin sighs at that, having a feeling that it's not the teacher's fault but probably his little sister's, who knows how to act innocent after disturbing the whole class with her mischievous approaches and talkative nature.

moreover, it won't surprise jimin a bit if this math teacher is crying to him on phone, complaining about how his sister doesn't let him teach and keeps talking in class. but one thing he had seen the teachers agreeing with too, was that no matter how much of a playful student aera was in their class, her one smile could melt them and save her from long detentions. her grades were never bad, so that was a plus point too.

"-and then i was like, but sir x and y is not what i wanna do! and jake started laughing, then mr. park told me to do what i want. and i said i'll change the variables. it's so fun to irritate him," aera laughs.

"you should not bother your teachers, kiddo," jimin sighs, "one more complain from anyone, and you're in trouble."

"i don't do anything, oppa. they just like putting up a fight between us,"

"yeah?" jimin shakes his head, glancing at his side on hearing a loud honk, making him gasp as he slams his foot on the break, wanting to let the trolly pass first. however, a force hits from back of his car, making him groan at the hard impact, until he slowly turns back, finding a car smashed into his as they go further with loud screeching of tires, finally coming to a halt when the car crashes into the trolly.

"oppa? what's that noise?"

jimin tries to speak, his mouth opens but nothing comes out other than a pool of thick, warm liquid, flowing down his jaw and neck, staining his office suit in dark red, while his body is being crushed between the steering and the seat. a sharp pain arises in the left side of his head from where the shattered glass of the window is hurting his skin, pulling a painful groan as the uneasiness cripples further, sending an intense spasm to his body, until it slowly fades away and his eye lids drop close.

"oppa? what's going on? hello?"

•••

aera stares at the screen of her phone, not liking the uncomfortable silence, especially after those crashing sounds. gulping down her fear thickly, she dials jimin's number again, waiting for him to answer, but this time nobody answers. she tries again and the line finally goes off, making her frown, but she forces up a smile, trying to convince herself that everything must be fine and it's probably just a network issue.

even after a few minutes when the uneasy feeling still resides, clenching her heart in a weird fashion, she tries again, calling jimin's number for the twentieth time. to her relief, the call is recieved, "hello, oppa what happened? there was some weir-"

"uh hello?" this voice isn't jimin's. aera frowns, staring at the screen in confusion as the name reads jimin, but the person who's talking to her isn't him. "i'm so sorry to tell you the person this phone belongs to has gotten into an accident. they took him to the city hospital,"

"what... wh-who are you?" aera mutters, "where's my brother?"

"he's your brother? i'm sub-inspector chang. will you please tell me your name and age? we might need you in the police station for some documentation regarding the car,"

"uh i'm aera... i'm fifteen," she mumbles, holding in a sob as the man's words slowly make their way through her brain, stimulating the tear gland in her eyes until the tears are coursing down her cheeks.

"oh, you're a kid, well, is anyone home? your mom or dad?"

"uh no," aera nibbles on her lip, getting up from the bed and rubs her eyes, "i- i'll call jungkookie, he's twenty-six, he's my brother too,"

"yeah, that'll work. please tell him to speak to me,"

"okay... uhm sir, is my oppa okay? where is he?"

"he's... well, they must've arrived at the hospital right now. take someone with you and you can talk with the doctors. i can't say anything right now, i'm sorry,"

aera nods, hanging up quickly and dials jungkook's number, breaking into a sob just by the ringing sound filing her ears. when jungkook answers, his cheerful voice changes into a worried one on hearing aera crying on the line, for she couldn't control herself thinking about jimin getting into an accident and he might die.

"hey, what's wrong, kiddo? why're you crying?"

"koo... oppa... ji-jimin oppa-"

"yes, what about him? you miss him suddenly?" jungkook chuckles, and aera cries more, "alright, stop crying first, take a deep breath and tell me what happened,"

aera rubs her eyes, gulping down thickly and takes a deep breath, "he- oppa got into... into an accident. they took him the hospital..."

"what?"

"yeah... i called him and a policeman answered. he said that jiminie oppa got into an accident... koo what do we do? he must be hurt..." aera cries on the phone, "i wanna go to him please..."

"yeah, don't worry nothing will happen okay? jiminie oppa's very strong," jungkook says, followed by some shuffling noises in the background before it's his breathing again, "i'm coming in fifteen minutes. do you know the name of the policeman you talked to?"

"inspec- no, sub-inspector chang," she mumbles, "he said they took him to the city hospital. let's go there now..."

"we will, baby. but you need to stop crying first hm? we don't want oppa to see riri crying and be sad right?" he speaks, then a door is being closed and it's all quiet in the background, letting aera know that jungkook's already in his car and on the way back.

aera hums softly, putting on her shoes while tears keep flowing from her eyes until a thought struck her mind like a big truck, making her gasp, "koo, what about haewon unnie? what will we tell her?"

jungkook goes silent for a moment, then he speaks in an unsure voice, "ri, will you do one thing for me?" aera hums, glancing at the phone and stands up, heading downstairs, "i'll probably take some time to get home, so you've to wait okay? i'll speak with the officer, take noona and go to the hospital."

"i'll go with you," aera whimpers, stomping her foot on the floor, breaking into a cry, "please... i wanna see oppa..."

"i can't come to you right now, honey. i'm heading to jiminie's place, it's gonna take long if i drive back home now. please try to understand sweetheart," jungkook says softly, "you're my strong girl aren't you?"

"no, i'll come alone! i can take a cab,"

"no, aera. listen to me, you've to wait at home for now. i'll tell you when you can come alright? now i'll hang up- and, please don't cry okay? i love you,"

"but—" aera stares at the phone as the call ends, leaving her alone in silence with only thoughts circling her mind and questions flaming in her head— is jimin okay? is he hurt too bad? is he going to die? what if something happens to him? why didn't jungkook take her too?

she sits down on the couch, folding up her legs till her chest, crying to herself with her lips frequently mumbling out jimin's name.

•••

"yes, officer," jungkook nods, "i'm jeon jungkook, jimin's brother,"

"ah mr jeon, i'm really sorry about the accident. your brother is in the hospital right now, i happened to talk with your youngest. i hope she's not taken it too badly," jungkook sighs deeply, not commenting on that, so the policeman continues, "actually sir, we needed you for some documentations—"

"i know, i understand that, but can we like— hold that for a while?" jungkook asks, heading inside the building jimin lives in with his wife and son, mentally preparing himself to hold haewon through the big shock. "i can't come to police station right now. jimin hyung's wife is here. i have to stay with her, she needs someone."

"i understand that, sir. but this is important— we just need five minutes from you,"

jungkook takes a deep breath, walking out of the elevator and finally gives in, needing the call to end before he's at the door, "alright, send someone with the documents tomorrow. i'll be in the hospital,"

"sure sir, thank you."

jungkook slides the phone in his pocket, sweat trickling down his locks as his finger presses on the doorbell switch, and he hears haewon's voice as she comes to open the door, "oh hey, jungkook," she greets hin with a smile, that sends a pang across his chest, just by the thought of how he's about to wipe that smile off his noona's lips. "come in, how are you here at this time?" she asks, letting him in and sighs deeply on hearing the baby crying.

"god, yes i'm coming," she hisses, gesturing jungkook to sit while she picks up the toy his son had dropped on the floor and gives it back to him.

"noona," jungkook starts in a low voice, his eyes glancing at the nephew who's smiling now, playing with his toy car.

"hm?" haewon turns to face jungkook, "what's wrong? you look stressed,"

"yeah," he nods, gulping down thickly and makes her sit and joins next to her, "listen to me carefully, i... hyung— jimin hyung got into an accident. he's in the hospital right now, i'm here to take you there,"

haewon stares at him with a frown, and as jungkook had guessed, the smile on her lips is gone now as she gasps, covering her mouth and eyes filing with tears, "wha- how? i- i-is he okay?" she stands up quickly, not even noticing the tears that are already flowing from her eyes and jungkook embracing her tightly, letting her cry in his arms. "tell me he's okay..."

"i don't know..." jungkook breathes out, ignoring the headache that keeps increasing, blinking his own tears which he felt now for the first time ever since he heard the news, as it was only now that he actually got some time to think about the mishappening and realise that his hyung's life is actually in danger. he rubs his eyes, pulling away and wipes haewon's tears too, "let's go, i'll take you to the hospital," haewon nods subtly, suppressing in her sobs as she carries her son, hugging him close to her chest. "he'll be fine, don't worry,"

jungkook drives towards the hospital while haewon is holding her son, sitting on the passenger seat, staring blankly out of the window in the thick silence inside the car. jungkook's mind keeps going back to home where he's left aera alone in such a situation, having no other option, and deep down he still knows that she must be scared and crying; in need of some comfort and assurance; but he's not there.

they arrive at the hospital in no time, inquiring about jimin and standing in front of the room, where jimin is still being operated. haewon is sitting on a waiting bench nearby, her eyes going back and forth from her son to the door of the operation theatre (ot.). meanwhile jungkook is standing beside her, leaning against the wall for some support, his arms crossed on his chest and nibbling gently on the inside of his cheek.

the red light on top of the door goes off, gaining jungkook and haewon's attention as they both stand straight, waiting for the doctors to come out and update them with jimin's health. jungkook takes jiwon from his mother, saying that he'll look after her and she doesn't need to stress too much, earning a soft smile of gratitude from haewon, and jungkook nods assuringly.

the door opens and walk out two surgeons, clad in their normal green attire required inside the ot. one stops by jungkook and haewon, "how's jimin?" haewon asks instantly, staring at the man with moistened eyes, pleading them to say the positive.

"the condition is stable. he's out of danger, but there's a lot of blood loss. so if you can arrange a donor soon, it'll be great. or else, let us know, we'll contact the blood bank. but please make it within an hour," one of the doctor says.

"me," haewon blurts out, not caring for anything at the moment, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, "i- i'll do it,"

"is that your child?" the doctor asks, pointing at the baby in jungkook's arms and haewon nods, "i assume you're still breastfeeding him, so i'm sorry ma'am but you cannot do that. it's not good for your health." he says when haewon confirms that her son is still feeding on her milk rather than some solid food.

"what do you mean not good for my health?" haewon frowns, "there's husband dying— he needs blood an-and you're saying i can't do it? no, please, i'll be fine just... just save my husband please,"

"noona," jungkook places his hand on her shoulder, "i'll do it don't worry. me and hyung have the same blood type," he says and looks at the doctor who nods in response.

"you have to go through a few tests, after that you can donate the blood if everything's fine."

jungkook nods, handing jiwon to his mother and follows the doctor to another room where a nurse attends him and makes him sit. haewon accompanies him into the room, staring at jungkook with teary eyes as her hand reaches out stroke his hair, "i'm sorry... i'm so useless, i can't even help my own husband..."

"don't think like that noona," jungkook sighs, glancing at the elder girl, ignoring the needle sticking in his arm and draws out some blood in the syringe. the nurse leaves them alone after that, going to study the blood sample for any possible infection or unsuitability.

jungkook touches his forehead, closing his eyes a brief moment before looking up at haewon again, pretending that he's not dying from the throbbing pain inside his head. his eyes land on jiwon, who's abnormally quiet today, looking around with his dark brown eyes and mouth parted slightly, probably in confusion for this place must be feeling oddly familiar to him. he hates the vaccination days.

"hey buddy," jungkook speaks to him, almost like a whisper but jiwon hears him, leaning down with his tiny arms held out, so that jungkook would carry him. "you wanna come here?" jungkook asks taking the baby and makes him sit on his lap, patting her back slowly.

"you should be at rest jungkook," haewon sighs, trying to take jiwon back but the baby keeps sticking to jungkook, making him smile softly.

"it's fine, noona. let him be," he says.

"sir," the nurse arrives in a few minutes, a form in her hand which she doesn't give to jungkook yet, "you have a fever sir. you cannot donate your blood until you're fine."

"i..." jungkook looks down as the headache now makes sense to him and he sighs. haewon touches his forehead, and he gives her an assuring nod, "i'm okay, noona." he says then turn to the nurse, "is it too bad?"

"102°, so yes," the nurse says, "is there anyone else?"

jungkook was about to say no, then aera comes in his mind, "yes, our sister," he says and stands up quickly, fishing out his phone from his pocket.

"how old is she?"

"fifteen— wait... she needs to be eighteen right?" jungkook stops, groaning when the nurse nods. "what if she's completely healthy and has the guardian's consent?"

"then yeah, sure in that case," the nurse says, "call her as soon as possible,"

jungkook nods as the nurse leave and he turns to haewon, "i'll go home and bring aera here," he says, leaving jiwon with her and jogs towards the elevator, calling on aera's phone. the ring is heard, however the call keeps getting transferred to her voicemail.

it takes more than half an hour for jungkook to reach home, though he stops nowhere before the living room of the house, where aera is curled into a ball, sleeping alone. he sighs softly, approaching the sister and strokes her hair, feeling bad when his eyes find the dried stains of tears on her cheek, reminding him that he wasn't here to wipe them off her rosy cheeks.

"aera," he calls softly, shaking her arm a little, "get up kiddo, i'm here. you wanted to go and see jiminie oppa right? let's go,"

aera stirs in her place, eyes fluttering open gradually, she leans towards jungkook, hugging him loosely, "oppa..." her voice mumbles, which is when jungkook realises that aera's mistaking him for jimin, and probably forgot about the accident. "i thought you're hurt... it was a bad dream..."

jungkook hugs her back, leaving a soft peck on her shoulder as his hand rubs her back, "it's me, princess,"

aera pulls away with a frown, looking at his face, then around the room and down at her feet, seeing the shoes she put on earlier. her eyes fill with tears again, nuzzling into jungkook's chest once she's known that it wasn't just a dream. jungkook pats her back, whispering to her that it's okay and jimin will be fine in no time, but the sister doesn't seem to believe him.

his phone rings, showing haewon's number and he answers quickly, holding aera with one arm, "yes noona?" he says, "yeah, i'm coming. nothing will happen to hyung, trust me. i'm on my way." he states before hanging up and pulls away from aera, wiping her tears and secures the laces of her shoes, taking her hand then. "let's go jiminie needs you,"

aera rubs her eyes, following jungkook quietly and sits on the passenger seat, putting on her seat belt while the brother drives, furiously fast on the street, replaying haewon's words in his head, they said he needs the blood urgently, or he might fall into coma.

"how's oppa? did you see him?" aera mumbles, sniffling a little as she turns to face jungkook.

"no, they were operating him. the doctor said he's out of danger, but still needs blood for recovery."

"blood? what does that mean?"

"means he lost a lot of blood and someone needs to donate," jungkook nibbles his lower lip, "noona can't do it, she's lactating. and i kinda have a fever so they said i shouldn't do it either, and—"

"i'll do it," aera says without any second thoughts, getting a glance from jungkook to which she nods, "he'll be okay if i give him blood?"

"yeah," jungkook nods slowly, not really liking the idea of making their youngest donate the blood, especially when she's just fifteen.

"i will do it then. my oppa has to get well,"

jungkook stares at her with a soft gaze, taking her hand in his and presses a kiss on the back of her hand.

___________

a/n- it's been a long time since a chapter like this. do you like it?

sorry the update took longer than i wanted to. actually a lot happened today, family stuff yk, a lot of drama so yeah. anyway here it is, please vote and comment if you like the chapter. i'm having a tough day, it's gonna make me happy if you do. ❤️✨ take care

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