•••

"jimin!" taehyung rushes to his friend, holding him by the arm as he drags both of them to the side, landing with a hard impact on the floor. groaning, jimin frowns, his head snapping hack in the direction of strange man that he was certain was a member of the clan trying to wreck this mall and hold people hostage to get their demands heard by the higher authorities.

"are you okay?" taehyung skims up to his feet after the blast near the hallway where jimin had been standing with the other man, having him on gun point.

"that guy— he got away!" jimin sneers, hastily trying to find any of the similar men other than those who he'll get to see later as his force has arrested a few. both jimin and taehyung were sure, they'll be made to lead the interrogation along with their chief commissioner who's no less than a sadist and often stays back just watch the criminals and sometimes accused ones to be tortured into confessing guilty by his officers.

taehyung hits hard. even jimin agreed to that along with their whole department whoever had seen kim taehyung in the room with a 'person' under custody. he had no mercy. but he looks rather sweet— with his fluffy hazelnut hair, bread cheeks and thin lips that often shaped into a rectangle when he smiled— than being the kind to shear off someone's flesh only because they were lying or not saying what he wants to hear.

jimin on the other hand was known to play by words, although he would use violence frequently but not like his friend. he believed tricking people in words was smarter and he could just do it without much difficulty. although that doesn't jimin was any soft of a police officer, he had a firm arm like any other man in the department and a thick head to avoid emotions running unnecessarily and giving him s hard time.

taehyung drags him out of the building as the rest of the people are already out. the citizens being sent back after being rescued and three of the criminal members arrested. taehyung cracks his neck at the sight of them being shoved in the service van, sitting with some lower ranking officers.

"officer jeon, officer kim," a voice calls as they head in the direction of the black suv waiting for them. however the sight unfolding before them, leaves them a bit perplexed, failing to understand why a child is so desperate to go back inside the building as she keeps crying and struggling against one of their officers, reaching out towards the mall building, which is on the verge of lighting up in flames.

"what's going on?" jimin asks, taking off his vest and puts the gun down, staring between the little girl and his junior officer.

"she's saying someone's inside,"

jimin and taehyung frown at that, glancing back at the burning ground floor and the flames emerging from the second and third floors as well, "there's nobody," taehyung says.

"no, koo's in there... i know..." the little girl keeps crying, rubbing her eyes as she wants to go back.

"hey, there's no one in there. we checked everywhere before coming," jimin says, tugging up the fabric of his pants from his thighs a little before crouching down in front of her.

"no..."

"okay fine, i'm sending someone to see again alright?" he assures, patting her head as she nods, sobbing quieter as she probably believes jimin, who smiles weakly, glancing back at taehyung who sighs deeply, knowing nobody's back in they're sure they escorted everybody out. "what's your name?"

"aera," the eight-year-old mumbles, rubbing her eyes as she holds jimin's hand without much thought, not seeing him as a stranger at all which surprises the elders a bit. jimin says nothing though, helping her in the car and sits with her, shifting a little to make room for taehyung as well.

"i'm jimin," he says to the child, "and this is my friend, taehyung,"

aera nods slowly, glancing at taehyung briefly before fixing her eyes on jimin's uniform, studying the stars on his shoulder, the badge and that familiar face of his. she had seen it all and heard of him in the stories jungkook told her. she gulps nervously, fiddling with her hands in silence for a couple of minutes, until her curiosity takes over and she shifts near the man oddly familiar man, not having the courage speak to him yet though.

jimin glances at her, convincing himself that the child is still young must be scared of all that she witnessed today. so he doesn't think much and lets her be comfortable in whatever way she feels. the car soon stops in front of the crime branch headquarters and aera frowns outside, spotting so many more men and some women in the uniform similar to jimin and taehyung's.

"come," taehyung says, holding out his hand for aera, however she stares at him with an unsure look, shaking her head. "what's wrong? come out," when aera still doesn't move from her place, taehyung heaves out a slow breath, pulling himself straight to tug on his friend's sleeve, gesturing his hand towards the child, "get her out. she's not coming to me," he groans.

so jimin leans near the door, holding out his hand for aera, "come on, we'll go in and talk. you can tell us about your family so we can take you back home?"

aera takes his hand, slipping out of the seat, but her brows pinch together in confusion for she remembers jungkook telling her very clearly that she'll be staying with the nice police officer. and jimin is the nice police officer. she nods still, walking beside him as they head inside the building, passing a few more people who bowed to jimin and taehyung , some saluting and some giving them subtle smiles of acknowledgement.

"tell someone to get a juice and something to eat," jimin orders one of the men and walks straight, opening a translucent glass door into a big office, leading aera in with him and taehyung following behind.

"sit here," he smiles at the little girl, gesturing towards the couch and goes straight to the shelf on the side, grabbing a file from top third row and stands by the desk, picking up the receiver of the telephone in his hand, "tell officer kang to collect the file later. they're re-opening the case. he might need it,"

nodding once firmly, he places the file distinctly and takes a deep breath, focusing his attention back on his friend and the child sitting on the couch. neither of them look awkward, taehyung's busy on his phone and aera's entertained watching around his office. seeing her, jimin feels a little strange, considering that she's still very young and not looking much bothered about being separated from her family. even her cries from earlier, asking for her brother are gone now and it looks like she's okay with everything.

jimin shakes the weird feeling as it makes no sense to him and takes the spot next to his friend, looking at the girl with a small smile. he opens his to mouth to speak, but a knock on the door is faster to interrupt. when he tells the person to come in, it's a man dressed in a somewhat ragged dark overall, not the uniform which the police officers and staff of the crime branch wear. he must be the peon or something. he places the tray on the table, having a glass of orange juice and a sandwich.

"go on, eat up," jimin says, nodding at aera. she stares at the food for a moment, gradually giving in to the hunger developing inside her little tummy and picks up the glass of juice with both her hands holding it carefully.

"you said you were there with your brother?" taehyung puts his phone aside, awaiting an answer just like jimin. aera nods and he continues further, "what's his name— and how old is he?"

"jungkook," aera takes a bite of the sandwich, glancing at the elders' faces and gulps down, "how old are you?"

the two exchange glances, thinking she might be confused about her brothers age and might need a reference to get an idea. so taehyung tells her their age, "twenty-six,"

"no, my brother is not twenty-six," aera shakes her head, "he's twenty-four,"

"oh..." jimin feels uneasy at the little information he recieved about a guy named jungkook, who's miraculously twenty-four as well, "what's your full name again?" he asks, clearing his throat, still forcing his brain to not form a wrong image.

"jeon aera," the kid answers, sipping the juice.

"jeon..." jimin gulps, turning to taehyung who doesn't seem to think too much, probably because there could be hundreds of more people with the same name in korea.

"what about your parents?" taehyung asks.

"they died— my mamma and daddy. it's only me and koo,"

"koo?"

"my brother, jungkook. i call him koo,"

"oh alright," taehyung smiles nervously, nudging jimin, virtually asking if he had a sister or something, making jimin roll his eyes.

"if i show you a picture, will you tell me that's your brother or not?" jimin says, facing aera and she nods. so he nods at taehyung who instantly unlocks his phone, going to the gallery, scrolling through some pictures of the people from different cases and find jeon jungkook at once.

jimin takes the phone from him, showing it to aera who gasps, "my koo! that's my brother! do you know him?" aera leaves the juice, taking the phone after vaguely dusting her hands and stares at his brother's photo in a stranger's phone.

the elders are shocked.

no, they're questioning their whole existence and their sanity at this point, for they couldn't decide if it was good to have this kid with them here right now, or feel threatened knowing that jungkook won't hold back from doing anything if this child really means to him that much. but apart from that, jimin felt weird to a point where he could physically experience the chills running down his spine, staring at the little girl who is supposed to be his sister as well if she's claiming jungkook as her brother.

he shakes his head at the thought, refusing to believe that his own parents kept such a big news from him for all these years. she must be mistaking this jungkook to be her brother. yeah.

"look carefully, kiddo. this is not your brother," jimin says again.

aera frowns at him, "no, it's my brother..."

jimin stares at her with an unreadable expression, nibbling on his lower lip, before dragging his gaze back to his friend who's more than just confused, "are you sure you didn't have any extra sibling?" taehyung whispers, eyeing the child, "not to mention so young...?"

"god! no!" jimin exasperates, standing up and takes a deep breath, fixing his eyes on aera, "what's your mom's name?"

"jeon eunmi,"

"dad?"

"jeon jaehyun,"

"jimin stop it, it's your family...!" taehyung nudges his friend while jimin glares at him, still refusing to believe that a child who just randomly showed up is actually his sister. "fine!" taehyung looks at the child, taking her hand and stares at jimin, "we're gonna have a medical test and then we'll see what happens,"

"there's no need! she's just a kid. she must be mistaking him for her brother," jimin mutters, making aera sit down and heaves out a deep sigh, "look, aera, i think we're having a misunderstanding. who you're saying is your brother, cannot be your brother—"

"he's my brother!" aera whines, "he's my koo! i know him!"

jimin massages his temples, interrupted again before he said anything as the door swings open on it's own and walks in their chief commissioner, min yoongi. brows scrunched and eyes pinned on the youngest figure in the room, yoongi approaches his officers, earning salutes from them and nods briefly, "is it true?"  he asks.

"what?" taehyung questions back.

"this kid," yoongi nods at aera, "—is related to jungkook?" jimin closes his eyes, inhaling slowly and trying his best not to burst out in frustration at the elder man, who is also his senior. yoongi snaps at him, giving a displeased look, "and you hide this from us? to protect your brother isn't it? of course," he chuckles dryly, nodding his head and jimin glares at him.

"i don't have a sister," jimin speaks, pretty firmly for anyone to believe him. but something in yoongi held an exception, "i swear to god—"

"hey you," yoongi ignores jimin's upcoming rant, turning to the child and leans down, "tell me you know this jimin here, don't you? he's your brother,"

"no," aera shakes her head, "koo's my brother! you' all so stupid! i'm saying koo's my brother, that's it!"

"yah! you won't talk to me like that!" yoongi snaps, making aera flinch. her lower lip gradually puckers out into a pout and eyes fill with warm tears. a sob rolls out of her lips, causing taehyung and jimin to sigh in disapproval, while the commissioner panics on having made a child cry.

"h-hey shut up," he tries and aera moves back, crying for her brother.

"done? you made her cry. she was doing fine just now," jimin hisses, not even caring about the fact that he was talking to someone at a higher authority than him. taehyung clicks his tongue as well, shaking his head at the elder.

"not acceptable, sir," taehyung mocks.

"shut up you two," yoongi grumbles, gulping as he stares at the crying little girl, rubbing her eyes with her tiny fists and frequently mumbling for jungkook's name in between, "hey, i'm sorry little one. i didn't mean to scold you— do you... maybe want a chocolate?"

"min yoongi offering chocolates? that's new," taehyung sniggers.

"and someone can be suspended for a week," yoongi glares at taehyung, making him shut his mouth at once, "that's what i thought. now listen here, both of you morons— take this girl to seokjin. get her and jimin have a dna test, if they're related. we can get a hold of jungkook."

"what are you saying— no, okay! so you guys really think i wouldn't know if i had a sister?" jimin presses on with a disbelieving stare fixed on the two males who shrug their shoulders very casually. "fine! let's go and lemme prove you wrong," he huffs, cracking his neck and stomps out of his own office, leaving yoongi and taehyung alone with the eight-year-old still sobbing lightly.

"come on, aera. let's go," taehyung sighs, patting ger back gently and takes her hand, walking out, while yoongi takes his leave, going returning back to his work in his office.

aera stops crying eventually, glancing up at taehyung with her doe eyes, looking a bit red and her lips appearing glossy and a darker shade of crimson due to all the crying. taehyung notices her gaze, raising an eyebrow at her and asks, "do you want something?"

"water,"

he hums faintly, grabbing a bottle of water from the nearest table and hands it to the girl, who tugs on his hand to make him stop, "now what?"

"i have to drink water, wait," she says, twisting the lid open and drinks like a baby, making taehyung smile as he realised that she probably couldn't drink and walk together or might end up spilling the water. he ruffles her hair, thinking about the wild possibilities of what she might have been exposed to, given that she's been living with jungkook for so many years. her innocence might only be true from outside, and maybe— just maybe, she wasn't as happy and pure as she seems to be.

"done," aera says, putting the bottle back and wipes her lips, holding taehyung's hand again, walking out of the building, straight to the car with him where jimin is already waiting for them.

aera climbs inside, sitting next to jimin, staring at his face, trying to read past the sculpted pissed expression. she sighs softly, not understanding what's making him throw such tantrums at this age, and looks outside the window. the shops and streets change constantly as they're driving towards the hospital. things aren't exactly new or exciting for aera as she has been this way a few times before, when she was sick or if it was her vaccination day.

jungkook would lure her with different kinds of treats all the way to the unpleasant place just to avoid any tantrums and convince aera to get the shot like a brave girl. on the way
back, he would usually stop by aera's favourite café to reward her with a cheesecake and milkshake or sometimes a frappuccino for being his strong little princess. she pouts unconsciously at the sight of the café, touching the window glass.

a gasp leaves her lips, leaning closer as her eyes suddenly spot someone too familiar to ignore, "koo!" her lips let out, body shifting forward to the edge of the seat and hand tapping on the window, "open it— i wanna go home!" she turns to jimin with a desperate look.

"wha— jungkook? where?" jimin asks, sounding more desperate than aera herself and so is taehyung. telling the driver to stop the car as they both hop out and pull their guns, scanning the street with hawk eyes for the criminal that has been slipping from their hands for a long time now.

"koo..." aera frowns, staring near the café across the street and points in the direction, tugging jimin's shirt lightly, "there,"

•••

"you jerk! didn't you tell her not to say anything to the police about us?!"

jungkook shakes his head, supressing a smile as he watches aera, wanting to run through the street and come to him. his heart relaxes though as he knows she's okay now and probably understood that they're fine and it's all to complete jungkook's hypothetical mission. the boy turns to the elder male, giving a pat on his shoulder and nods towards the counter, "go on, this is your café you have to act normal hyung," he mutters, "i'll handle them. don't worry,"

"i swear to god, kook if you—"

"just go," he clicks his tongue, straightening his sweatshirt and fixes his hair, taking the seat on the very corner of the café, being full aware of the fact that jimin must be having hundreds of questions suffocating him. especially about aera.

his eyes travel to the front counter, nodding at the man assuringly and sighs deeply, not even attempting to hide or run away from the two officers making their way into the café for he was certain that they won't do anything ridiculous without solid proof, most importantly in front of a child.

"oppa!" aera's voice, draws his attention towards the entrance, where the little girl is standing with jimin and taehyung. all three of them scanning the place to see the same person. just that aera's eyes are more hopeful and happy, whereas the two elder men look fierce.

jungkook takes off his baseball cap for a minute, letting his sister spot him and come running into his arms, and also for the elder brother to see that he wasn't any scared of them or the law.

"koo!"

jungkook chuckles silently, biting his lip as aera yanks her hand from jimin's grip, running towards jungkook with a wide smile, leaving the policemen too stunned to react. although when they snap back to reality, jimin's first instinct is to grab aera's arm, stopping her from going near the criminal, who must've kidnapped her at a young age and made her believe that he's her family.

taehyung too, steps forward, glaring at jungkook, not taking out his gun as there are  people in the café as well. they walk to jungkook's table, gritting their teeths in anger on seeing the boy smiling at them.

"long time no see," jungkook chuckles darkly, staring at the uniform-clad men. then glances at his sister, "ah riri looks fine to me. i thought you'd be crying,"

"i was crying," aera nods, pulling her hand away from jimin and taehyung and goes to jungkook, hugging him tightly, "i missed you, koo... don't leave me again. they's so bad..."

"who?" jungkook gives a look to jimin and taehyung, patting aera's back as he makes her sit on his lap, "who made my princess cry? taehyung? or jimin?"

"no, that other guy. he was shouting at me," she mumbles. then points at jimin, "he was saying you' not my brother... tell him koo's my brother,"

jungkook smiles at her, nodding his head before turning his head to face the raging elders, "i am her brother," he says, "have a seat, i'm sure you guys wanna talk, don't you jimin hyung?"

"don't you fucking dare, jungkook," jimin grits out in anger, stepping forward until he's quite fairly towering over him. his gun presses on the younger's neck, making him hiss slightly, "get up,"

"are you arresting me?" jungkook cocks up an eyebrow.

"stop wasting my time. get up. tae, take the kid away,"

"wait—"

"nooo!" aera whines, hugging jungkook tighter and his jaw clenches, dragging his firm gaze from taehyung's hands that are holding aera from the side, to his face.

"back off," he says calmly, ignoring the muzzle of jimin's gun on the side of his neck. it angers him when taehyung doesn't leave aera, and jungkook's forced to stand up swiftly, grabbing the man's collar at once, earning several gasps from the people around, "you do not touch my sister like that. get it?" he pushes taehyung behind, cracking his neck and sits back on his chair, hugging aera gently, "he's not gonna do anything okay?"

"you said they's nice policeman," she mumbles with a pout, "i don't like them. they keep saying koo's not my brother and taking me away from you,"

"it's alright, i'll talk to them," jungkook says, making her stand up on the side and pats her back, "go and get whatever you wanna eat. lemme talk to jimin and taehyung,"

"okay," aera nods, walking to the counter where jungkook's friend is.

"now," jungkook sighs deeply, "sorry kim taehyung, it's just i can't see my sister being treated like that. anyway, please have a seat,"

"what are you trying to do?" he snaps.

"talk? isn't it obvious?"

"jungkook," jimin laughs dryly, shaking his head, "look if you think i'll let you go again, then you're so wrong. we might not have anything against you right now, but very soon i, myself, will put you behind the bars."

"cool," jungkook says with zero interest, "don't you wanna know anything about aera? about our sister?" jimin stays quiet at that, taking a moment to glance back at the child, gulping down his saliva slowly and jungkook chuckles, "exactly, so hyung, please sit down. let's talk. i'm here only because i thought you must be very confused,"

___________

a/n- ahhh istg this series made me suffer a lot. i just couldn't get the plot down 😭 but now i'm happy with this. i hope you guys enjoy it as well ❣️🥰

did you see the new run episode?? i'm so happy they're backkk!!!!! 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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