<not edited because i was busy with chemistry :')>
•••

"hey, what's riri doing here all alone?" hoseok beams at the girl, although his smile dies down slowly on realising that she's upset, "oh my, what's wrong aera? are you okay?"

aera looks up at him, shaking her head and licks her lip before speaking, "appa's mad at me. i didn't do anything on purpose hobi oppa. i was just asking that boy which question jinnie oppa was doing, and he thought i was disturbing the class. and i forgot to do the homework joonie oppa gave us. and then tae oppa said i was passing notes in class— i wasn't passing notes, oppa, i just got one and i opened it to read. i was giving it to sungho so that he would throw it in the dustbin later,"

hoseok nods gradually, sitting near aera smiles softly at her, "so now they're mad at you?"

"yeah," aera sniffs, rubbing her nose as she looks down on her lap, "they think i'm bad... i'm not bad... appa's so angry, he said he'll deal with me later— what if he gives me away to someone?"

hoseok suppresses his laugh, shaking his head as he wraps his arm around aera's smaller figure and brings her into a hug, "he won't give his baby away just like that, don't worry,"

"what if appa and jiminie oppa hate me forever an-and they think riri's not nice, and they're so fed up of me...?"

"ah, it's not like that, princess," hoseok kisses her cheek, "they love you a lot, and that's the reason they want you to grow up into a nice person rather than a troublemaker,"

"i'm not a troublemaker..." aera pouts at him, "don't say that, hobi oppa..."

"aw i'm sorry, i didn't mean that," he chuckles nervously, "but you get what i wanna say right?  they love you and they want their aera to be a good person,"

"i'm already good,"

"a little more good,"

"yeah," aera sighs, and hoseok tries not to laugh at her, patting her back to show his sympathy, "will you tell appa not to be mad at me? i'm so scared to even look at him... i won't talk to him,"

"i'll talk to him, don't worry okay?"

"and jinnie oppa and joonie oppa and jiminie—"

"i'll talk to all of them, now smile,"

aera looks at hoseok, hugging him tightly and kisses his cheek with a smile, "thank you hobi oppa! i love you so much! you are my favourite!"

"i heard that," they hear another voice and see jungkook squinting his eyes at his sister as he enters the office, "not a good choice to go with hobi hyung over me, but okay. maybe some people don't like frappuccinos that much," he shrugs his shoulders casually. "who's your favourite now?" jungkook smiles smugly.

"we can get frappuccinos too," hoseok says and aera smirks at jungkook, sticking out her tongue at him.

"yeah yeah," jungkook shakes his head, "where's yoongi hyung?"

"why? so that you can complain to him about me?" aera mutters, "stop it, you're so silly,"

"you're silly," jungkook scoffs, "and what exactly did you do that makes you think i'd complain to him?"

"maybe i was breathing too much?"

"now this is what i don't like," jungkook sighs, kneeling down in front of the couch and makes her sit straight, "no attitude with me, yeah?" aera grumbles in response, kicking her leg to hit him away and snuggles back in hoseok's embrace, earning a stern look from the brother.

"go away," she mumbles, "everyone keeps scolding me,"

"because you do things that deserve scolding,"

"no, i don't!" aera frowns at him, looking more pissed every second and jungkook glares at her, "koo, nooo!" 

"stop it," jungkook warns, grabbing her hand and makes her face him as he cups her cheek, "is there anything wrong or you're being like that for no reason?"

"jin, namjoon and tae complained about her," hoseok sighs and aera stares at jungkook with teary eyes, then at her hand which he is holding to restrain unnecessary movements.

aera pulls her hand back, shifting to the corner of the couch and folds her legs to her chest, "go away... you keep scolding me... appa is so mad at me, i said sorry so many times. i told him don't be mad at me, but he didn't listen..."

"i'm sorry," jungkook sighs softly, sitting next to her and pulls her closer, but lets go when aera whines, smacking his hands away, "hey, don't be like that. c'mere, koo's waiting with a hug,"

"no..."

"then who'll give me a hug?"

"i don't know..."

"yes, you do," jungkook smiles softly, leaning near aera and presses a soft kiss on her cheek, "i can feel riri's smile is on the way," he whispers, bringing his arms to pull her forward, "look here, le'mme see if it's coming or not,"

"no," aera turns away and jungkook takes a deep breath, adjusting her skirt properly and hugs her from the side.

"you should pay attention to your skirt, kiddo," he hums, making aera look down and realise that he was probably talking about the fabric riding up her thigh. but she huffs, not minding it and moves her leg swiftly, hoping to kick him, though jungkook is faster to hold her feet and turn her to sit facing him, "see who's stronger?" he smiles smugly, while the young girl huffs, "exactly, now c'mon stop being so grumpy and give me a hug,"

"no,"

"i just helped you,"

"when?"

"just now— with your skirt,"

"that's not help. why were you looking at my skirt?"

hoseok laughs loudly at that while jungkook gasps in disbelief, staring at aera with a betrayed look, "are you for real? isn't it better that i told you to take a look at it, rather than letting the whole school call you a little bunny?"

aera's face flushes in embarrassment as she gasps loudly, climbing on jungkook's lap and covers his mouth with her hand, "you don't talk about undies! oppa said that's private! means my bunny underwear is my bunny underwear! did i ever tell anyone you have an iron man underwear?" aera whisper yells and jungkook's eyes widen in shock, while hoseok keeps laughing, having trouble to gain his breath at this point.

"hey! you cannot tell that to anyone!" jungkook says once he's freed himself and covers aera's mouth instead, "that's not something we tell or discuss with people!"

"mmfffh!" aera wriggles in his grip, biting his hand to herself free and smacks his chest, "you're bad!"

"you were covering my mouth first!" jungkook retorts.

"but my hand is small! yours is big like a dinosaur!"

jungkook is about to speak, but shakes his head at the end, deciding that there's no use of arguing with his kid sister. hoseok glances at the time and stands up, gesturing his hand outside, "i have a class to take, bye see you guys later. good luck riri," he waves at them before walking out and aera sighs, shifting to find her comfortable spot on jungkook's lap and rests her head on his shoulder once she's found it.

"are you tired?" he asks, gently rubbing her back, kissing on her shoulder when he feels her nodding.

"i was crying so much, my head hurts,"

"sleep for a while," he says, "i'm free right now,"

"appa will— oh no! i had to do math!" aera jolts up straight and returns to her initial place as yoongi left her. "i didn't do anything... he'll scold me when he comes back,"

"well then, do it i guess..." jungkook shrugs.

"i'll do the ones i know," aera nibbles on the tip of her pencil, staring at the problem in the textbook for a few minutes, sometimes scribbling some numbers and variables on the side, then shakes her head and ends up erasing it. tears pool her eyes as minutes keep ticking away and there are only four questions out of the set of ten.

she rubs her eyes, glancing at the clock, knowing that yoongi must be about to return. taking a deep breath, she writes down some words on one corner and puts the pencil down, sniffling softly as she goes back to jungkook.

"don't cry, baby," he says, wiping the tears off her cheeks and kisses them instead, "it's alright, don't worry," aera nuzzles in his embrace, sitting on his lap and closes her eyes, taking slower breaths mixed with his cologne that aera always loved.

"you smell so good," she giggles.

"you think so?" he chuckles, patting her back in a slow pace, "do you think other girls like it too?"

"no," she huffs, "you don't wanna impress them,"

"why not?"

"because koo's mine,"

"yeah okay, but i do need a girlfriend, and then you'll have to share me,"

"nope,"

"you can't just straight up refuse,"

"i can," she giggles, cupping his face between her hands, "because i'm your little kookie," jungkook holds in a smile, arching up his brow as he tickles her sides, eliciting a playful laugh from her lips devoid of any negative emotion that was brimming her doe eyes with tears a moment ago.

aera pushes his hands away, holding his wrists to stop him from tickling her more and catches her breath, resting her head on his shoulder again, "my head hurts, koo,"

"close your eyes," jungkook hums, patting her back, "are you comfortable— or if you wanna lay down—"

"no, i'm okay," she mumbles, holding him tight to keep him from moving, "you're so comfortable always, i remember when i was a baby,"

"you do?" he chuckles amusedly.

"yeah, you used to carry me and put me to sleep and kiss me goodnight,"

"that's what hyung told you, didn't he?"

"yes," aera nods, placing her hand on his lips, "now sush! i'm gonna sleep,"

"yes ma'am," jungkook mocks at her, hugging her loosely and occasionally giving a soft pat on her lower back, until a few minutes later he's smiling af her sleeping figure. her one draped on his shoulder on the other side and one hand holding the fabric of his shirt, "it's been a long day hm?" he whispers softly, kissing her head and lays her down carefully on the couch.

then his eyes land on her notebook, seeing a small note, probably for yoongi, along with a tiny heart on the side;

to my appa,

i'm sorry appa, i'll be a good girl i promise. don't be mad at riri, you know i really really really love you. i don't know why i always do something silly and make you and jiminie oppa upset, i'm sorry for that. i try to stay away from trouble but the trouble doesn't stay away from riri :(  i tried to do the questions, i did four of them on my own, they might be wrong but please don't be mad. i'll do them again with jinnie oppa. that's it, i wanted to say this but you were so mad i was scared.

from (sad) riri
with love ♡

jungkook clicks a picture of the note and then of aera sleeping  in yoongi's office, sending it in the group chat with his hyungs.

jin hyung
she knows exactly what to do
when we're mad

yoongi hyung
she's supposed to take her
punishment not sleep
wake her up right now

hobi hyung
aww! riri's the cutest of all! <3

jimin hyung
i am so done...
idk if i'm supposed to be mad at this
or hug her

hobi hyung
hug her obv!

namjoon hyung
the english is fine, not bad

hobi hyung
i'm really starting to judge you guys
stop sulking and just look at her!
the kid is upset!

yoongi hyung
she needs to learn a lesson guys
stop pampering her like that

jungkook
hyung hyung relax
she was tired and i was here the whole time
she did try to do those questions that you
asked her to

she told me her head kept hurting because
of crying so much that's why i asked her to
sleep

jimin hyung
well... what can i say?
take her home i guess

jin hyung
yeah we can talk to her at home

hobi hyung
right and yoongi hyung, don't be so
harsh on her. she was scared today

jungkook
yeah she was scared
i'm not telling you to let it slide or anything
she did wrong and she needs to face the
consequences for sure
but pls don't forget that she's just a kid
she'll learn everything eventually

yoongi hyung
we'll talk at home

jungkook smiles at the text, shaking his head for he knows too yoongi must be worried about aera too. he whistles casually as bell for the recess rings reminding him of aera's opportunity to join the elder boys from the gym class in the cafeteria. he sits near aera, putting all her stuff in her bag and takes off his jacket, draping it over her.

•••

"koo..."

"yes?" jungkook hums, taking aera's hand as he opens the door of the car, "come, i'm not gonna carry you inside," aera sighs softly, getting out of the car and stretches her arms in the air, falling the elders inside the house.

"did you sleep well?" jimin asks, making her flinch as she remembers that she's still left with the punishment. the mere thought itself induces a pout on her lips as she hugs jungkook tightly, shaking her head.

"he's not saying anything," jungkook assures.

"alright, you've slept now, did what all you wanted," yoongi speaks, before aera could hide upstairs in her room, "stay back here,"

aera glances at him with a scared look, sitting on the edge of the couch. jimin sits on the right with jin, namjoon and taehyung while hoseok and jungkook sigh deeply, staring at yoongi and then at aera. she turns to hoseok for some support but is stopped by yoongi's firm voice.

"no, don't even think anyone's gonna save you today,"

"hyung—"

"am i not clear enough?"

hoseok presses his lips together, sending apologetic glance towards aera and yoongi nods, "aera, let's start with you listing out what you did wrong," he states.

aera looks down, fiddling with her hands and nods slowly, "i was disturbing the class because i was asking someth—"

"you were talking," yoongi corrects with a stern glare, "make sure you word everything correctly and honestly. if i catch you lying again, i swear aera, i won't be very nice,"

"i'm sorry," she mumbles quickly, rubbing her eyes and gulps down a sob, "i- i was talking, i cheated in the test and didn't do my homework... and- and... i was passing notes..."

"right, and when i told you to stay back and complete your work, what were you doing?"

a tear drops from aera's eyes as nibbles on her lip, "sleeping..."

"exactly," yoongi exhales in anger, leaning forward on his elbows, "is it fun testing my patience all the damn time? you want everything you lay your eyes on, but don't wanna do the right things! every other person keeps complaining about you— whether it's the teachers or the students and even their parents at times!"

aera closes her eyes tightly, flinching on his loud voice, "get up," he orders and she obeys instantly, staring at her shoes, toes curling inside in fear as yoongi pulls her to stand in front of him, "i want all of your classwork and homework done by tomorrow evening. i don't care how you do it. you won't get out of your room, no electronics and no going out of the house. and you'll be doing all your chores yoursel—"

"hyung plea—"

"shut up," yoongi glares at jungkook, making the boy bute his lip as he steps back, lowering his head, "nobody, i repeat nobody in this house will help her or talk to her until she's got everything fixed. or let alone aera, i'll make sure to deal with you too. especially jungkook, hoseok and taehyung. do not try to help her."

aera sobs quietly, never looking up as the slightest of the movement and yoongi's firm voice scares her at this point. of course she had never seen anyone so mad, especially her appa, who— not to mention was used to scold the rest for aera, not the other way around. and if this is the case today, aera knows she messed up a big time.

"i'm sorr—"

"did i ask you to speak?" yoongi snaps at her, startling her in her shoes and break into another cry. she glances at jimin, seeing that he's not reacting either, just having a monotonous gaze fixed on her.

"oppa..." she reaches out only to be stopped by yoongi. aera stares up at him with her bloodshot eyes, "appa, i'm sorry... i don't wanna be bad,"

"but you did," he says, "now make sure you act upon what i said. don't make it worse for us and yourself. jimin," he lets go of aera's arm, turning to jimin, "go, you said you had some work,"

the brother nods, sighing deeply as he walks upstairs without sparing a glance at aera. soon the rest of them leave too, and only aera's standing alone in the living room, crying to herself. she tries to get rid of the tears, but fails, taking slow steps up the stairs to her room and closes the door, still sobbing.

•••

"it's okay, she'll be fine,"

"you did too much..." jimin breathes out, blinking his own tears away and shakes his head, "she was crying so much, hyung. she's never like that, you know it too. still... why?"

"because she needs to learn a lesson," yoongi assures, "you can't always be all soft and caring with a child so mischievous and stubborn. haven't we tried it like hundred times already?"

"one more wouldn't hurt," jimin mutters, facing the ither way as he sits on his bed and so does hoseok, nodding his head in agreement, "i get it that she needs to see her mistakes and all, but hyung she's still just a kid. i never— forget it," he massages his temples.

"jimin," yoongi sighs softly, "i'm sorry, but i really think what i'm doing is not all wrong,"

"i know," jimin nods with a subtle smile, "it's just hard for me to see her like that. she wanted to hug me and cry, but i couldn't. that hurts,"

"she was scared," jungkook speaks up softly, earning glances from the elders, "i mean, i'm not saying anything against you. you do need to put a foot down sometimes i guess,"

"yeah," jin nods, "and it's not like we just left her all alone. she's still in the same house and we're still watching her. it's gonna be okay,"

"it's gonna be okay," namjoon assures as well, giving a gentle squeeze on jimin's shoulder, getting a hug in return, "you'll have a hard time not talking to her,"

"let's be honest, hyung, we all will have a hard time," jimin says,

"not wrong," taehyung sighs, exchanging glances with jungkook, "i already miss her,"

"i know right," jungkook glances at yoongi, "stop pretending you don't wanna hug her too, hyung,"

"i don't," yoongi looks away, walking out of the room and the rest of the stare at his back, knowing that he is the one worrying the most and probably dying of guilt of scolding his little riri. but min yoongi also knows what's the best for her and she needs a strict environment rather then love and pampering.

•••

next day

aera puts her pen down, turning pages of her notebook and sighs in relief, glancing at the clock which shows it's past eight'o clock already, means she's late in completing her work. yet she stands up, putting her notebooks in her bag and hangs it on her shoulders, heading to the living room and peeks in quietly, finding the boys there.

"appa..." her voice calls out softly, stepping inside the room and gulps nervously, clutching on the straps of her school bag, "i did my work. it's complete now, you can see,"

yoongi nods for her to come and aera obeys, putting the bag beside him on the couch and takes out her notebooks, letting jimin take the science one, jin maths, namjoon english, taehyung social science, while yoongi took the korean language one. aera fidges with her fingers continuosly, staring at the elders with hopeful eyes for living like this— without a exchanging a word with them, knowing that they're mad at her and ignoring her— hurted her too much.

namjoon is the first one to go through the writings and nod briefly, keeping the notebook back on the table, waiting for the rest to be done as well. once, yoongi, jin, taehyung and jimin have all seen and checked the work, they a share a short glance, as though communicating virtually before actually speaking.

"i hope nobody helped you," yoongi says.

aera shakes her head, "i did it myself, appa,"

"yeah," jungkook confirms for his sister, "i went to check up on her at night, and she was still working,"

"good," yoongi nods, keeping his eyes on the youngest girl.

as aera waits for him to say something more, maybe tell her that he's not md anymore. but when he maintains the silence, the girl grows restless, reaching out for his hand when he's about to leave, "appa... please don't be mad at me. i won't do it again— i'll be a good girl, i promise. i'll do my homework, and listen to you and all the oppas, and i won't bother anyone... please don't hate me..."

jimin stares at her with a soft gaze, then at yoongi who arches up a brow at aera, "you think that will work?" he says, "this time appa's really upset with your behaviour—"

"hyung—"

"no," yoongi holds his hand up, gesturing hoseok to stay quiet, making him sigh, "get back to your room, and don't even think you can skip the chores,"

awra looks down, nodding slowly as she lets go hos hand, walking back to the staircase with her bag.

"hyung," jimin sighs, "i guess it's okay now,"

yoongi hums, stating at aera's back and glances at jungkook, nodding towards the stares, getting an instant smile from the boy as he jogs up the steps, following aera to give her a tight and long hug,l after being away for more than twenty-four hours.

a few minutes later, they hear footsteps again as aera stumbles on the lst two steps like usual, running straight into the living room and throws herself on yoongi, making him chuckle as he hugs her back, "aish! did you miss me that much?" aera nods to his question, keeping her arms secured around his shoulders and face buried in the fabric of his shirt.

"you scared me," she mumbles, looking up at his face, "don't be mad at me again, i don't like it,"

"then you better work on changing a little," he says and aera nods.

"i will! i love you appa,"

"love you more, kiddo," yoongi smiles, stroking her back and presses a kiss on her shoulder, "i'm sorry if i scared you yesterday. y'know appa really loves riri, right?"

"yeah, it's okay," she smiles, kissing his cheek. then her head turns to jimin, shifting on to his lap quickly and gives him a tight hug as well, "i'm sorry, oppa, i'll behave like a good girl," she says, glancing at him and the rest of the boys as she hugs them too, "i don't like my oppas sad, please don't stop talking to me ever. it's bad and i felt like crying all the time. you scold me but don't ignore me okay?"

"yeah," jimin chuckles, kissing her cheek as he closes his eyes too, "my child, i love you alright?"

"i love you," aera whispers, hugging him properly and smiles at jungkook and hoseok as they give her a thumbs up from the back.

________

a/n- have a good day today. i feel somewhat better today than the past few weeks. so hopefully today will be good for me. and i hope today will be good for you guys too <3