•••

"ple-please let me go... i have kids waiting for me at- at home... i'll pay all your money in three days i swear!" the man pleads, already on his knees as he's wailing out tears of helplessness and fear. yet the cold eyes watching him don't quiver with any sympathy, remaining as cold as ice like he had never in his life felt anything.

the gun is pointed at the crying man, making him move back, pressing himself against the wall, shutting his eyes tight while pleadings still heave out of his lips, making the other almost laugh at the situation. before he pulls the trigger, he makes sure to lean closer, tilting his head at an angle and smirks, "your wife must be waiting for you. she was screaming like this too. what a shame your kids will have to return my money,"

"no! please leave them alone! i swear i'll do anything you say! please don't drag my kids in this!"

"you think?" he scoffs, "kids always get dragged in their parents' shit. too bad for you, goodbye,"

with a swift sound, followed by a thud even before the man got the chance to scream for his life, the bullet is already deep inside his skull only leaving splatters of his blood on the ground and staining his whole face, lying against the hard wall, lifeless;

"don't drag my kids in this, " the other grits in anger, putting his gun back in the pocket on the inside of his jacket and cracks his neck, glaring at the lifeless man, "bullshit,"

•••

next day

crime branch headquarters, seoul;

"another murder," taehyung walks in the room, earning several sighs from his colleagues who pull their eyes up to glance at him nodding in confirmation as heads further to the big digital screen in the front, grabbing the e-pen and clicks a few times to open a picture of an alley from last night, timed two after midnight.

a man is sitting dead, laden with a thick liquid all over his upper body and around him on the ground as it glows dimly with the streetlight beside the alley. the officers all hiss at the unpleasant sight, some returning back to the task they were assigned and some getting up to head out since it's almost lunch time now.

"jimin, what do you think?" taehyung asks, sitting on the desk near his friend who looks lost in thoughts, staring at the picture on the screen of the dead man.

"i don't know," he breathes out, shaking his head slowly, "but we gotta catch him this time, tae. it's the fifth murder in the last fifteen days,"

"it's jungkook, that's for sure," another voice says and jimin groans in response, lowering his head on the desk while taehyung pats his back sympathetically. the two nonetheless stand up straight, saluting the senior before slouching on the rolling chairs again.

"find him jimin,"

jimin's eyes snap up, not appreciating the elder's words as he grows frustrated every second and slams his hands on the desk, "i don't know! you have to stop treating me like i'm his accomplice!"

"i never said that," the chief shrugs his shoulders, pulling a chair in front of the two men and takes a seat, "what i mean is that you're the only one among us who might know how to reach that bastard. we need to get him, jimin, or are you okay with letting that murderer wander around the city freely killing more people?"

jimin looks down, inhaling deeply and nods slowly, "i'm sorry sir," he mutters, groaning in his hands as he buries his face in the palms, trying his best to think of something that would help him get a grip on jungkook.

"i'll help you don't worry," taehyung smiles assuringly at his friend, massaging the back of jimin's neck as he glances at the chief, "give us some time, we'll think of something."

"do whatever you want as soon as possible, we don't want more deaths, yeah?"

"yes, sir," taehyung stands up, shaking hands with the man and watches him take his leave, heaving out a deep sigh when he turns to jimin and dumps himself on the chair, "damnit min yoongi can be crazy,"

"he is crazy," jimin rolls his eyes, "i don't get him! he was the one who didn't let us arrest jungkook last time when we actually got him and now he's up my ass for it? i'm sure someone paid him!"

"i think so too," taehyung massages his temples, "now we don't have anything against jungkook, how are we gonna get to him all over again?"

"we have to," jimin grits, cracking his neck in anger, "—anyhow. i'm gonna get that guy by hook or crook. he's ruined my life enough,"

"hm that's the spirit," taehyung chuckles, following jimin out of the room as they head to the cafeteria, "i've heard he has a kid with him these days,"

"what?" jimin frowns, stopping abruptly on hearing his friend's words and shakes his head, "no, how? a kid— wait, since when?"

"i'm not sure, i've heard sources that he was seen with a kid a few days back. do you think he has a daughter or something?"

"i have no idea, tae. how does he have a child out of nowhere now?"

"god knows,"

"what if he kidnapped someone?" jimin says.

"a hamburger for me," taehyung says to the man over the counter before glancing at jimin and shrugs his shoulders, "jeon jungkook can do anything," he sighs deeply while jimin shakes his head, pulling out his vibrating phone and scrunches up his face.

"sir," jimin answers the call firmly in his police officer tone, "yes sir, right now? sure." his eyes dart towards his friend who groans silently, motioning his hand for the guy behind the counter to cancel their order.

"can't even eat now!" taehyung hisses, following jimin out of the cafeteria.

"the car is waiting outside. it's a heist," jimin informs, jogging out of the building, saluting to the chief once before taking their leave. taehyung sighs, giving his phone to the officer in the front for the tracking system and checks his gun to make sure he wasn't running out of bullets right now.

"i don't have any extra..." he nudges jimin, making him roll his eyes.

"not like we're allowed to shoot anybody, tae. it won't be a problem even if you just have an empty gun with you," jimin says, putting on the bulletproof vest and gives the other one to taehyung.

"right," taehyung sighs, "heist where by the way?"

"the mall," the officer front says, "they've held people hostage,"

"ah crap, then we do need bullets," jimin hisses, checking his gun and well and nods on seeing all six bullets in place.

"how many?" taehyung asks.

"six,"

"i got four,"

jimin glances at him, taking out two from his gun and gives them to his friend, who shakes his head, refusing to take for each of the bullet could cost a life to jimin. yet the latter smiles, placing them in taehyung's hand and puts his gun back in it's place, getting out of the car as they're already there. a few more police cars stop with them and the officers head, all staring at the building with worried faces.

"officer jeon," jimin turns to the man, nodding as he takes the walkie-talkie from him and gestures his hand for the other to stay the with the rest.

"officer kim, team delta from the second gate towards east," he instructs on the receiver, eyes scanning the whole place with precision and nods to himself once he's found an escape from where they can bring the people out if everything goes well.

"team delta fron the second gate towards east," officer kim copies.

"team bravo and charlie, take up the south and west," jimin says before turning to his own team and nods firmly, gesturing his hand towards the two entrances from the front, "team alpha from the front. any questions?"

"no sir," the men chorus in a low voice, getting a nod from jimin as he pulls out his gun, securing the walkie talkie on the belt and motions for his men to start moving.

•••

"are you done?" jungkook sighs, slowly opening the curtain and tries to peek in, only to be smacked by the kid, who whines still not being able to try the jeans she's been struggling with for the last fifteen minutes. "c'mon i told you already let me help you with that," he rubs his cheek, "and you better not hit me again,"

"i'm changing! you should not look in!" aera huffs from inside and jungkook hums faintly, finding himself smiling at aera's words as he shakes his head.

"okay fine, but then do it fast," there's a moment of silence, then she whines again throwing the jeans out, startling jungkook, "what?" he looks at the curtain and the little girl peeks out.

"it keeps tangling in my feet," she pouts, "get me another pants..."

"you wanted this one didn't you?" he sighs, putting his clothes aside and steps inside the trial room, crouching down in front of the sister and helps her put on the pants without messing up the chains and straps which they both found cool.

"i can do it but-"

"it's alright," he chuckles, pulling up the pants on her waist and buttons it up, patting her side, "you're my little baby, so it's fine,"

"no, i'm eight," she tilts her head, giggling and wraps her arms around the brother, pecking his lips.

"that's small," he pats her butt lightly, standing up and turns her to face the mirror to see pants and nods, "looks good to me. what do you think?"

"i think i look cool," aera grins, "i don't wanna take it off, can i keep wearing it?"

"we need to pay first, then you can wear it when you go home." jungkook ruffles her hair, bending down and pulls her near him, having his finger curled into the loop for the belt. "is it a little loose?" he frowns, "breath in,"

aera inhales deeply, making her stomach full and jungkook laughs at her, "okay out," he shakes his head, unbuttoning the jeans and pulls it down, letting her kick it off and gives her own shorts back.

she puts on her pants and then her shoes as jungkook crouches down to tie her laces and head out. some noises from outside make jungkook frown, but something about the way they shuffle and talk in a hushed voice feels strange to him.

aera doesn't pay much mind to the abnormal quietness outside which gains her brother's attention for he's up on his feet, cautiously peeking out from the side of curtain. his eyes catch three men, all dressed in black, with their faces covered and big guns in their hands, passing the hallway. jungkook steps back, glancing at aera and smiles at him, placing his finger on his lips, "be quiet okay? there are some weird people outside,"

"weird people?" aera gasps, whispering to him, "like- like those who came to joonie oppa's house?"

"yeah," he nods, holding her hand and down to match her height, "listen, we've to defeat these weird people and get out of here, only then we'll win today okay?"

aera nods with a grin, securing her grip on his large hand, "i'll stay with you, oppa,"

"good girl," jungkook breathes out, kissing her forehead and smiles softly, "nobody here is your friend, princess. it's just us in our team. only riri and koo,"

"it's okay, we don't need more people. you're so strong and i'll stay with you— we will win," aera whispers and he nods, holding her. he takes a deep breath before peeking out again. the hallway is empty and he glances at aera, nodding for her to follow him.

with each step away from the stall, jungkook knew they were heading closer to danger and it worried him to an even greater extent on having his little sister with him. knowing how things have been and how they usually go in his world, he was determined to keep aera hidden and safe, away from who he really was, in the normal world where she actually deserves to live.

"koo," aera tugs on his hand, making him glance down at her, giving her a look to remind her that she's supposed to be quiet.

the kid, instead of saying anything, flinches at a loud voice that interrupts her, making her whimper softly with the vibration spreading through the concrete building. jungkook looks forward, grabbing aera's hand and begins to run this time, contemplating if he should use the fire exit or not. there's a big possibility that these people must be present there and will definitely see him from there. but then using the main stairs, escalators or elevators isn't an option.

so he takes a deep breath, zipping up his jacket and grabs a big, heavy one for aera from near the changing stalls and makes her wear it. covering her till her knees and pulls up the hood to make sure no one sees her face, as the last thing he would want is for anyone to target his little sister later on.

"koo, what's happening? it's so scary..." aera hugs his torso, sneaking out the door towards the fire exit, thankfully without drawing any attention from the armed men.

"nothing, sweetheart," jungkook assures her, patting her back, while his eyes keep scanning around cautiously. he kneels down in front of the sister and cups her face, "it's level two, that's why it's a bit scary. but we know koo doesn't like to lose. so he's gonna make sure we win, okay?"

"i' be in your team..."

"of course, riri's in my team and we're gonna defeat everybody yeah?" he says, pecking her lips as they head downstairs now and aera looks around, pulling up the long sleeves to bring out her hands which look tinier under the bulky black jacket that jungkook made her wear.

her attention goes to her brother when he stops suddenly, pulling her to the side and between himself and the wall when a man walks over, "is anyone up there?" the deep voice asks and jungkook shakes his head slowly, never lowering his hood while also eyeing aera to keep quiet, "go to the second floor, we need more people there,"

jungkook nods, not moving already and lets the man walk away first, breathing out a sigh of relief and carries aera in his arms. as he heads further down the stairs, the police cars outside the building catches his eye, making him stop on his track and stare out of the creak of the window of the fourth floor they were on.

gulping thickly he nibbles on his lower lip, jogging down another floor and stops by the nearest restroom, locking the door as soon as he's inside and puts aera down on her feet. she watches him with perplexed eyes, rambling through the counter, turning the faucet on and off, scanning the walls, the ceiling, the windows, and the cubicles, before finally bringing his focus back on aera, and crouches near her, "listen to me very carefully okay?"

aera nods once and jungkook holds her small hands in his after folding up the sleeves a little, though her hands are still not really visible, "we'll go down from here, and then we're gonna switch teams for a while,"

"different team..?" the eight-year-old frowns at him, shaking her head quickly and steps in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck, "no, i'll stay with you,"

"i'm not leaving, aera. we're just going to—"

"noo! you said i'm— me and you will stay together. i don't wanna go away, koo..."

jungkook sighs softly, kissing the side of her head and pulls away to look at her face, smiling a little, "i'm not sending you away. just that i want my riri to win and for that she needs to join the stronger team for some time." he pats her back in hope to assure her of his words. however, seeing her round eyes that resemble to his, filling with tears of fear, jungkook can't help but feel helpless.

"i'm sorry, my love," he hushes out, pecking her lips, then her forehead. he gives her a hug, well aware of the separation anxeity his sister has ever since she was a baby, considering that she saw no one other than jungkook in the name of family.

another loud noise, shakes up the building, eliciting a sob from aera's lips as she sticks closer to jungkook and he takes a deep breath, rubbing circles on her back, "hey, don't cry. i'm gonna come back to you soon okay? i promise,"

"no..." aera rubs her eyes with the sleeve of the jacket, pulling away just enough to peek at jungkook's face, "don't leave me, koo... i love you,"

"i love you more," he smiles, kissing her palm and cups her face, "but i promise i'm gonna come back very soon. i gotta put this game to an end so that my riri isn't scared anymore. and for the time i'm gone, you'll stay with someone very strong. he'll protect you just like i do,"

"but you' only my brother!" aera whines, stomping on the floor as she refuses to leave him for anyone else.

"okay, listen here," he tries again, "remember that policeman i told you about?"

"the nice guy?" aera looks at him and he nods with a small smile.

"yes, you liked him and wanted to meet him didn't you?"

"yeah..."

"alright then, you're gonna meet him today and stay with him for a few days until i come to take you,"

"no—"

"just one week? then koo and riri can go home together," jungkook asks, standing up as he opens the faucet, taking some water in his hand and wipes aera's face, drying it with the handkerchief in his pocket and leans down to match her height, "i know my riri's a big girl and stronger than others. she'll listen to me and help me on the mission. she'll do that right?" he asks softly, staring at her with hopeful eyes.

"you will come back, promise?" aera pouts, sniffling softly and hugs him when he nods, "okay... i'll go..."

"that's my girl," jungkook sighs in relief, kissing the top of her head. he takes her hand, not wanting to waste more time now and heads towards the door, ignoring his sister's upset face with a heavy heart. he can't have her with himself midst this dreadful world who's always up to go against him, and he can certainly not show himself to the police either as that would mean life imprisonment for all he has done in the past few years.

glancing at aera one last time as they reach the ground floor, without much problem for the mall is way too big and out of electricity due to whatever reason, which assured jungkook that the cameras aren't working. he guides aera to one side, checking around to see a few men and some police officials trying to sneak their way in. he crouches down and hugs his sister one last time, "take care, and tell me if anyone's being bad when i come back, okay?"

aera lets out a cry, hugging jungkook, mumbling out 'no' as in she doesn't want to leave him. the brother looks away with a heavy heart, pulling himself up and makes her crouch down behind the wall, stopping her with a firm hand when she reaches out for him again.

aera cries, staring at him when he steps back. her hands clutch on the sleeves, eyes closing on their own as she's crying too much now that jungkook is away and she's sitting in the corner, all helpless and alone. the door from the side opens, making aera flinch and cry louder as she stands up quickly, ready to run back to her brother.

"koo..." she looks around, not finding him anywhere. her tiny hands balled into fists, rubbing her eyes to clear her vision, "come back... koo, i'm scared..."

a few footsteps approach the crying child, washing her little body with fear and anxeity all together, making her stumble back in defence and land on her butt.

"hey, kid are you okay?" the man asks, holding out his hand for aera as he crouches down near her. aera doesn't reply and it seems like he didn't expect an answer either, for he glances at the man next to him, clad in the same paramilitary uniform like himself, nodding at the child.

the man gives a firm nod, carrying aera in his arms, "don't cry, we're gonna get you out of here okay? everything's gonna be fine," he assures her, ducking his way back outside the building with the little girl, crying and squirming to get herself free.

"officer jeon," he stops in the parking lot at the back, holding his walkie talkie close to his mouth.

"yes, officer kim, i copy," a voice erupts from the speaker and the man's eyes automatically travel to the kid.

"there's a kid, west gate parking lot. she's alone,"

"age?"

"around seven or eight probably,"

"get her out safely, we're out from back."

"yes sir," the man nods, shoving the communication device in the pocket of his pants and holds aera's hand, not even attempting to calm her down as he just walks her to the side of the street where the police cars and van is waiting with a few officers who come forward quickly to recieve the kid.

aera looks back, tears still flowing from her eyes as she knows jungkook is inside and she can't go back to him. a pair of arms lift her off the ground, helping her up to the van and makes her sit down, checking her body for any injury and asking if she knew where her elders were.

•••

jungkook rubs his eyes, heaving out a breath of relief once his eyes confirmed that his sister is safe, sitting inside the police van and soon jimin will be there and take her with them. he steps back, adjusting the hood on his head as he turns around, jogging the other way only to end up bumping into another man.

"fuck—" his eyes widen on seeing jimin already pointing his gun at him.

jungkook lowers his head, pulling the hood down as he's certain the elder didn't see his face yet and holds up his hands in the air slowly, "don't move," jimin's voice commands and jungkook finds himself scoffing at that.

"let me go," jungkook speaks calmly.

"no," jimin says, "pull your hood down right now,"

"sorry, no,"

_________

a/n- there we go, the first part of Surrender series!! Yayyy!!! What do do you think of it? Are you excited?? 😁

Please do vote and comment to let me know if you're enjoying this or not. What do you think Jungkook might do now? and will Jimin know about Aera? A lot of questions like that are yet to come up. So stay tuned and keep showing your support. Follow me more! ❤️😌

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