jungkook is 14, jimin is 19

____

"where's jimin?" jayhyun asks as he enters the kitchen, seeing his wife cooking and the younger kids, sitting on the dining table, doing their homework.

he takes a sip of water and sits by jungkook which the boy doesn't mind, keeping his focus on solving the math equation. the father glances over the boy's hand, sighing when he notices jungkook doing it wrong, but instead of correcting him there, he repeats his previous question, "where's your hyung?"

"i don't know," the boy shrugs, scratching his head and scrunching his nose at his notebook. "mom, how does this work... i can't get the answer."

eunmi chuckles at him, shaking her head and gestures for jayhyun to help the boy out, "no, you do it," jungkook looks at her.

"why not dad?" she laughs, "come on, just make up already."

"alright, buddy, i'm sorry. i shouldn't have scolded you without knowing the whole thing." jayhyun sighs, "now come on, you don't stay mad at your dad."

"you said i'm spoiled," jungkook huffs, "you just love riri and hyung. middle child is always neglected."

"my baby," eunmi shakes her head, nearing jungkook and hugs him, patting his head, "no one's neglecting you, sweetheart."

"mamma, hug riri too," aera pouts, climbing down from her chair and raises her arms up, making the mother smile. she carries her, making the little girl sit on the table and includes her in the hug too.

"tell kookie everyone loves him." eunmi says.

"e'ryone loves kookie," the four-year-old giggles, pecking her brother's lips, earning a smile from him.

"alright, now i feel neglected." jayhyun crosses his arms over his chest watching the family having a hugging session without him. eunmi mocks at him with her tongue sticking out and so does jungkook. instead of getting mad at the two, the man finds himself smiling, once again being reminded that jungkook is more of mamma's boy and has almost all traits from eunmi than from him. while jimin on the other hand has always been the dad's champ, built a rough one who never learnt to lose and conquer all he wants. then there's aera, everyone's princess, and she knows it. that's the reason she has the whole family, especially  her father and brothers, wrapped around her little finger.

the little girl giggles at him, jumping down from the table and runs to the father, climbing on his lap to hug him tightly, "riri loves daddy, don't be sad okay?" she says, cupping her father's face between her tiny hands.

"of course, my little girl is the only who thinks about daddy." he plays along, kissing her forehead and glances at his wife and son, seeing them not minding him as eunmi is now writing something in jungkook's notebook while he's looking at it and nodding occasionally.

he gasps once the mother puts the pen down and smiles, "that was easy!"

"yeah, now put it away, dinner's ready." eunmi ruffles his hair, earning an instant grin from the boy.

jayhyun sighs, patting aera's back as she's leaning on him, resting her head on his shoulder. his eyes wander to his phone, glancing at the time that has crossed eight now and jimin isn't home yet. he shifts the daughter to his one arm and grabs the phone, calling the eldest son again.

the clicking of the door perks his ears along with the ringing sound from the phone, making him sigh deeply as he stands up, leaving aera on the chair as eunmi serves her and jungkook first. jayhyun glances towards the foyer from where jimin enters, looking exhausted with his bag loosely hanging on his right shoulder.

"i'm home..." he sighs, keeping his keys on the table and the bag on the couch, making his way to the kitchen and grabs a bottle of water.

"what took you so long?" jayhyun asks.

"classes dad," jimin speaks after gulping down the water, spilling some on his sweaty t-shirt and wipes his mouth, facing the father, "we had extra classes till five, then soccer practice for the finals."

"you stayed out playing?" the father frowns at him, "i thought your exams are coming?"

"yeah, there's two months for that," the boy nods, "but our match is in three weeks." he says, taking off his jacket and walks over to the dining table, smiling on seeing aera extending her arms out for him to give her hug. "i'm sweaty, do you still want a hug?" he chuckles and the sister hesitates a little, shaking her head and steps away, making him laugh.

"no, come on oppa will give riri a tight hug and make riri sweaty too." he looks at her, opening his arms, earning a whine from the little girl as she hides behind eunmi and sticks her tongue out at the brother. "we can include mamma too." he grins.

"no, stay away." eunmi gives him a straight face, "go and wash up."

"mom," he laughs, stepping forward while the mother glares at him, holding the spatula in her hand for defence, making jungkook laugh at the scene.

"jimin, just go and take a shower." jayhyun voices this time, earning a glance from the boy as he nods subtly, sending one last smile to his mother and sister before jogging upstairs to his room. "i can't believe this boy," the father massages his temples, "he was out this later for soccer?"

"it's fine, jay. don't worry, he must've prepared for the exams." eunmi chuckles, but the husband doesn't seem to find any bit of it funny which makes her sigh, "look, don't say anything unnecessary to him. he's tired, talk to him tomorrow."

"hyung likes soccer," jungkook says, "what's the problem in that? moreover he's the captain of his team."

"you don't understand that," jayhyun shakes his head, "it's a distraction for him. last time he had taekwondo match during the exams and his overall percentage dropped to 95 from 97. he's losing his track..."

"that's just two percent," jungkook scoffs, eating his food and glances at his mom, "you said it doesn't matter."

"it does," the father says firmly, "by the way tell me one thing, you had your exams too right?"

jungkook shakes his head quickly, focusing on food and shoves the food in his mouth, muffling out the words almost un-understandable for the father. so the man turns to the mother and asks the boy's score.

the wife sighs, exchanging a brief glance with the son who shakes his head, begging her to make an excuse and avoid having this discussion. but jayhyun anticipates the answer from his wife, nodding at her with an absorbing gaze.

"88.6" eunmi sighs, "but he's working on impr-"

"88?" jayhyun nods slowly, facing jungkook who takes a deep breath, putting his chopsticks down for he knows his father won't let him eat peacefully now.

"i'm sorry," he mumbles.

"of course, what exactly did you do to end up there?" jayhyun says, "playing all day, wasting your time and doing unnecessary things! you want everything you lay your eyes on, but don't wanna study?! and you, eunmi," he turns to his wife, "you said you'll look after his school. what is this then? where do you think he'll go with that score? here i'm worried about jimin on 95, and this boy doesn't care even when he's failing in front of his brother!"

"jay, stop shouting." eunmi tells him, hugging aera and pats her back on seeing how she was scared of the father raising his voice.

"yeah no, tell me that. i don't understand what's wrong with you guys, there's jimin more invested in that bloody game and martial arts, then this one who doesn't think past videogames." jayhyun pinches the bridge of his nose, "i told jimin to look into your studies too, is he doing that?"

"hm?" jungkook blinks a few times, shaking his head, "he doesn't have time for that. he goes to school, then extra classes, then practices..."

their voices hush down when a a pair of footsteps head down the stairs. jimin smiles at them, making his way to his usual seat, beside jungkook, across his father while eunmi sighs, sitting next to jayhyun.

aera jumps from her chair, the pout still residing on her tinted lips as she makes her way to jimin, sitting on his lap. the brother smiles at her and pats her back, feeding her with him, however he notices her scared and upset face for she's not talking like she usually does, telling him about her day at school and how she played with jungkook after coming back. he glances at his brother who has his head hanging low, eating lazily with disinterest and frowns, then pushing his eyes to his parents. eunmi glances back at him, sighing softly before looking down and takes another bite of her food, whereas jayhyun doesn't even bother looking up.

"is everything okay?" jimin asks, "why's it so quiet?"

"noth-"

jayhyun clears his throat, dragging his sharp gaze up from his food to his eldest son's face, "do you know how much jungkook scored in his exams?" he says, glancing at the youngest boy who puts his chopsticks down again, much harshly this time and and stands up.

"i'm done eating, thanks for the food mom." he says, almost leaving when jimin grabs him by his hoodie and gestures him to sit down.

"what's going on?"

jungkook breathes deeply, pulling himself out of the elder's grip and glares at the father, "he doesn't like you playing soccer, so now he's bringing the whole house in it."

"jungkook," jimin warns, shooting him a strict glare, "you won't speak like that about your elders." the boy says nothing, taking his seat quietly and jimin looks at the father, "i'm sorry dad, he didn't mean th-"

"forget about him, jimin. it's not even his fault. me and your mom have been busy with the business trips and all, and you were supposed to look after him and aera. but what did you do?"

jimin stays quiet, glancing down and nods eventually, realising his father's indication for he's actually been so busy with his school, practices and assignments that he forgot he has his younger siblings too. "i'm sorry, dad." jimin says, "i'll be more attentive."

"you should, or it won't take long for this boy to fail his exams." jayhyun grits out, glaring at the youngest boy.

"i'm not failing," jungkook states, "mom, tell him to stop."

"jay," eunmi glances at her husband, "stop it, it's not that big of a deal."

"you're spoiling him." jayhyun says, pushing his dish away and stands up, cleaning his hands and mouth, before heading to their room.

"jay-" eunmi sighs, slowly lifting her eyes from the table to her kids, "don't mind your dad, he's just stressed i think..."

"mom..." jimin hushes out, "do you really think i should stop this? soccer and material arts, i mean...?"

"if you like doing it, then no." the mother smiles at him softly, "but don't let your academic scores drop because of this, if you wanna keep your dad satisfied and not have him nagging about the two."

"i don't know, mom. he always supported me with everything, then why not this? he was happy when i got the letter for the scholar's merit, when i participated in the olympiads, state exams... why not this time?"

"because he doesn't like this." jungkook scoffs, "he wasn't supporting you hyung. you were doing what he wanted, so he was happy. now you're doing what you want, and he's not having it."

"shut up" jimin sighs and looks at his mom, "i guess i'll talk to him once he's in a better mood."

eunmi nods at his words and glances at the younger son, "and you, jungkook, you should watch your words when you speak about your dad. i know he's not being the best person right now, but he's still your dad."

"sorry," jungkook says for mere formality and gets up, leaving for his room. jimin and eunmi sigh at his behaviour, not saying anything for the scene has become too common for their eyes. jimin feeds aera and finishes his dinner as well, before taking the girl to her room as eunmi told him she has been playing ever since she came back from school and must be tired now.

"oppa," the girl calls softly, looking up at his face while he buttons the shirt of her nightdress and nods for her to continue, "daddy was so mad today. he was scolding koo and mamma, and said jiminie is becoming bad... you're not becoming bad right? daddy is bad! he was scolding e'ryone."

"it's okay, he wasn't scolding you was he?" jimin chuckles softly and aera shakes her head, "then daddy's not bad. in fact no one is bad, we just think differently."

"no, daddy is bad! he was shouting at koo and mamma and scolded you too..."

"that's fine, baby. he's not mad now, oppa will talk to him okay? then he won't be mad." aera nods at his words and hugs him tightly, mumbling a soft 'love you oppa', making the brother smile.

he lays her down on the bed, covering her small body with the blanket and pats  on her stomach gently, reciting a story about a princess who lives far away in the woods, in a secret castle with her prince brothers, king daddy and queen mamma. aera smiles widely, claiming that it was her story, and jimin smiles, nodding his head as he continues to tell her how they all lived like a happy family and loved each other a lot. that's when aera said something to leave his heart aching on hearing that from his four-year-old sister.

"no, it's not riri's story," she had said, "we don't live together always. daddy and mamma go away for many days and- and oppa is tired after coming back. riri plays alone and koo plays in his videogame, this is not my story oppa."

jimin's eyes blink a couple of times, lips hushing out an apology to his sister and a promise to himself to make more time for his siblings no matter how. he puts aera to sleep, kissing her forehead and smiles sadly, "i love you, princess. i wish i could make everything perfect for you... then it would be your story that i tell you."

he stands up quietly, making sure aera's covered with the blanket before leaving the room and takes a deep breath as his eyes glance at the door next to it. he knocks faintly, hearing a hum from inside and enters without waiting for much response.

jungkook looks at him, smiling a little and keeps his ipad aside, "i was about to sleep," he says.

"i know," jimin nods, "would you mind talking for a while?" the boy smiles, gesturing his hand on the bed and jimin sighs deeply, climbing next to him and pulls the covers up, sitting comfortably with the younger brother. "how was your day?"

"fine, i guess. y'know i met mark hyung while coming back, he looked like he was in a rush."

"yeah, he forgot his assignments," jimin nods, smiling a little which soon fades away and he says, "are you mad at me?"

"no, why?"

"uh... well, i thought dad might've sad something to you. also i didn't pay attention while you had your exams, so i'm sorry for that."

"it's not your fault hyung, i saw how busy you've been lately. so it's okay. i didn't want to bother you either," he shrugs. jimin smiles softly, ruffling the younger's hair. "but yeah he was mad, i got 88 percent, and he thinks i'm failing because you're good. in fact he's not even happy with your score." the boy shakes his head.

"you got 88?" jimin gapes at him, "but that's better than last time..."

jungkook shrugs and the elder brother sighs softly, "i'm sorry, please don't mind him. you're doing good, just keep working. and don't compare yourself with me or anyone."

"i don't want to," jungkook mumbles, "but dad keeps saying you're so good and i'm spoiled, mom is spoiling me, you are spoiling me... he doesn't love me at all."

jimin stares at him with a soft gaze and smiles a little, "it's not like that, champ. he's just worried about you, y'know? he wants to see you excell in lif-"

"by telling me that i'm spoiled and keep wasting time?" the elder shakes his head, patting the boy's back and gives him an assuring nod, deciding to talk to the father about it. "i don't know all that, and i don't care what he says. but i feel bad when even you don't have time these days, you're so busy, but he keeps saying bad stuff about you..."

"it's alright, buddy. i don't mind it. but tell me if he says anything to you okay?"

jungkook nods, leaning forward and hugs jimin tightly, "i don't like him at all, he keeps shouting in front of riri too." he says, and jimin pats his back slowly, closing his eyes as aera's words from a few minutes back ring in his ears again. "mom is nice, i like her... but sometimes she doesn't say anything to dad. she knows he's wrong, but just keeps quiet."

"it's alright, you don't worry about it. hyung's here, he'll manage everything." jungkook hums at the elder's words, pulling with a smile. jimin pats his head and continues, "just try not to talk back to dad okay? he'll just end up lashing out at you. if you have something to say or rant, or anything like that, do it in front of me."

jungkook nods eventually, laying down and takes his ipad again, grinning at jimin as he opens an app and shows the brother his art, which is of a puppy titling it's head and staring back cutely. jimin chuckles, praising the younger for making such an adorable drawing, making the boy happy for they both knew showing it to their father would just be adding fuel to the flame.

___

two days later

another day and jimin was late getting back home. he had expected to see jaehyun waiting in the living room and tell him to stop all this, or maybe he wouldn't bother speaking to him at all, but never in the name of heavens had he wished to see the father raging at his younger brother standing in front of him with his head lowered and tears streaming down his cheeks. aera's not in the room but eunmi is,  and she's trying to calm the furious man down, but nothing seems to work for jayhyun keeps yelling at the boy.

"i told you to focus on your studies! now this, seriously where do you think you'll take this kind of score huh?" he throws the papers at jungkook's feet, "you're such a brat, you never listen to me or your mom! jimin has some control over you, but even he doesn't have time for you! jungkook i swear to god, if you don't change your ways, i'll be enrolling you in a boarding school. your mom and jimin have spoiled you enough, from today i'll see how you slack off."

"i'm sorry dad..." jungkook says, rubbing the tears away and looks up at his father, "i'll work hard, i promise."

"do not promise me anything, i'm so done with your promises. even your brother promised me that he'll look after your academics. i gotta talk to him too, he's been distracted a lot lately. soccer, taekwondo, and he's teaching you all that too isn't he?"

jimin's throat feels tight hearing that as his gaze drops down to his hand which is holding the letter from daegu for the finals. he gulps down his saliva, seeing thin chances — almost negligible infact, of going for the match. he takes a deep breath, keeping the letter in his jacket and enters the room, now grabbing attention from his parents and brother.

"oh you're here?" jayhyun says sarcastically, "don't you think nine isn't late enough? you could've done better, take it to ten, eleven?"

"i'm sorry," he says, "the trials took longer than i thought. our coach i should stay for supervision."

"of course, do everything in the world other than what's actually important!" jayhyun glares at him, "keep neglecting your studies, your brother, your responsibilities, and just focus on that goddamn game of yours!"

"dad, i'm sorry," he repeats, "i'm not skipping my classes, i swear. i'm doing everything, just trust me enough."

"i trust you, jimin. you're the only one whom i trust blindly, but you're young too and i know you can get distracted like anyone else in the world. all i'm saying is to keep yourself on track, this soccer and bullshit won't help you run our business. you were busy with this, and your brother is losing his ranks too. he sees what you do and learns from that. what do you want him to learn? to ignore your responsibilities for some games?"

"no, dad it's not like that." jimin says, "i promise i'll be more attentive, but please don't say that. i'll make time for him, for aera, for my studies, for the company, without my hobbies and passion coming in between."

"passion? your passion is your studies, jimin." the father says, "nail it, like you've been doing all these years."

jimin stays quiet, nodding his head as tears pool his eyes, feeling the letter burning holes against his clothes. jayhyun turns from him to jungkook with a sharp glare, "and you, make sure i never see you wasting your time with those videogames again, get it?"

jungkook says nothing, keeping his head low which angers the father even more, "i'm talking to you, jungkook. look at me and answer." he voices out strictly. the boy stays firm in his place, not sparing a glance at the father and looks away. "jungkook!" jayhyun yells, raising his hand up, almost hitting the boy, but stops on seeing jimin stepping in between as he has pulled the younger brother back, who is now being hugged by eunmi.

"jayhyun!"

"dad!"

"what?" jayhyun glares at the eldest son, "why do you have to step in when i'm talking to your brother? you're the one who gets him everything he says! if he ends up being a failure in his life, it's you who'll be responsible!" 

"i'm sorry," jimin says, wiping the tear that just left his eye and looks at his brother, then back at jayhyun, "i'm sorry if following my dreams is causing all this. i won't go for the match... i'll stop playing soccer or taekwondo if that's what you want. but please don't drag jungkook into this."

"great, better stop it as soon as possible, and try to work on your brother instead for now. he's getting out of hand."

"dad, stop saying that. he's not spoiled or anything, i'll talk to him." jimin says and glances at his brother with a weak smile. he wiped the boy's tears, making him sob louder as he leaves his mom and hugs jimin instead, "it's okay, go to your room."

jungkook shakes his head and glares at the father, before looking up at jimin, "i'm sorry, hyung... don't leave soccer because of me,"

jimin says nothing, eyes automatically lifting up from jungkook's face to jayhyun's scowling one, making him shake his head and pat the brother's back, "go," he repeats.

"i'll study properly and score better, dad. don't make hyung leave his sports..." jungkook pleads to jayhyun this time.

"jungkook, go-"

"don't speak if you don't know what to say." jayhyun states, "go to your room and start reflecting on your actions."

"i-"

"right now."

jungkook looks down, feeling jimin patting his head assuringly for him to listen to their father. the boy nods, wiping his tears and glares at the father, "i hate you," he mutters, stepping away, but stops as jayhyun's hand grips on his arm, making him stay back and slaps him across his face, making his face jerk to the side.

"dad!" jimin gasps, pulling the boy back and glares at jayhyun, "what is so wrong with you?! i'm saying i'll leave soccer and everything you say!" he cries out, yanking out the letter from his pocket and tears it into pieces, throwing it on the floor. "i'm not going anywhere... i'll do what you say, just don't ever hurt my brother again." 

jayhyun stares at jungkook, noticing him crying silently in hyung's shirt, while the elder is having a secure grip around the boy, tears streaming down from his face too. eunmi too looks disappointed, not approaching him like any other day and goes near the sons, stroking jungkook's back gently.

"i'm sorry," she hushes out to the boy.

"i hate you! i hate everyone!" jungkook shouts, glaring at jayhyun one last time before running upstairs.

"jung-" jimin quietens on his own, staring at the younger brother dissapearing at the end of the staircase. he cries silently, eyes gleaming in a shade of red past the tears when he looks at the father, "why would you do that? if you don't like what i do, then keep with me right... he's a kid, why do you keep dragging him in this? y'know, he's not that close to you anyway, but today dad, you lost him for real..."

jayhyun keeps his mouth shut, glancing at his wife once before clearing his throat and walks away, slamming the door shut behind him. jimin releases a breath, wiping his tears and stares at the floor, where the pieces of paper are scattered along with his love for sports. a warm hand on his back, makes him flinch, but he relaxes soon and looks at his mother, hugging her tightly, like he did everytime when he was younger and felt scared.

"did i do something that wrong...?" jimin breathes out, trying his best not to break down now, "i used to think dad will be happy if i win the match with my team... if i get him another trophy. y'know, even during the taekwondo match i wanted him there, i- i wanted my dad to come and cheer for me like my opponent's father did. even if that boy lost that day, i... felt like the loser. dad has been a part of my winning celebrations since forever, and now when he does this, it hurts mom..."

"i'm so sorry," eunmi whispers, rubbing his back, "my child, i'm really sorry for what happened. i don't know what's going on with your dad, you know he loves you all a lot right?"

jimin nods and pulls away, not taking the talk any further and wipes his tears, "i'm okay, don't worry."

"what was this paper?" eunmi asks, nodding at the floor and the boy shakes his head dismissively, saying it wasn't anything important. so she sighs and cups his face, "we didn't get any time to tell you, jimin, but seeing how things are, i guess it'll be a good option for now. me and your dad are leaving tomorrow for the states."

jimin sighs softly, nodding his head as she continues further, "please take care of yourself and your siblings too. talk to jungkook, he must be mad."

"yeah, don't worry." he says, "i'll manage everything here. you should go now, if your flight is early morning."

eunmi hums faintly stopping midway and glances at jimin, "jimin, i've asked jin and the rest of the boys to come here for you. they should be here by tomorrow evening." jimin smiles at her, hugging the mother tightly and kisses her cheek making her chuckle.

eunmi pulls away, shaking her head and her smile fades away gradually on seeing a red stain on jimin's shirt, near his chest. the boy follows her gaze and frowns at the mark for it looks like blood, "did you get hurt?" the mother asks.

"no... i-" he gasps, recalling jungkook being the one who hugged him after getting hit by the father, "mom, i'll go see jungkook, you should go and rest."

"but-"

"don't worry," he assures softly and smiles at her, before heading upstairs and turns to jungkook's room, stopping on his path on seeing aera standing in front of the door with scared eyes and a pout resting on her lips. "aera?" he calls, nearing the girl and pats her head for she hugs him quickly, pointing at the door.

"koo is not letting me in," she mumbles as tears slip out of her eyes, "he's crying, oppa... why is koo sad?"

jimin feels the tears returning in his eyes again, and he just shakes his head, carrying the sister in his arms and wipes her tears, "don't cry, he'll be okay." he assures, glancing at the closed door behind which he knows jungkook must be crying and throwing his stuff around, "should we go to your room?"

aera shakes her head and mumbles jungkook's name again, pointing at his door, making jimin sigh as he didn't want his sister to watch jungkook like that. but the girl refused to move or let go of jimin, which left him with no other option than to knock for the younger brother to open the door, holding aera in his arms.

"jungkook-ah," he calls again, "open up champ."

"no, go away!" jungkook shouts from inside, "tell that man i'm done! i'm so done! why did he keep me if he doesn't like me?! why didn't he kill me even before i was born?!"

"don't say that, bud." jimin stares at the door with a moistened gaze, "please open the door. it's just me and aera, won't you let us in?"

it's quiet for a moment then jungkook's voice comes again, more hushed and like a mumble this time, "no..."

"you're hurt right? let me in, please."

"koo..." aera mumbles, earning a glance from the brother, making him smile through the tears. "don't be mad... i'm sorry, open the door, please,"

"look, even aera is-"

the door opens and jimin smiles softly, pushing it further to enter. however his smile dies eventually and a painful pang squeezes his heart, looking around the room where the videogames and the computers are broken, some lying on the floor and some still on the desk, but broken. even the ipad and jungkook's phone is on the floor, screens cracked and looking like it won't get repaired.

then his eyes make their way to his brother, hissing on seeing the crest of his cheek oozing out blood which is dried now, lining down till his jaw, staining it in red. he lets aera down and makes jungkook turn his head to examine the wound that looks deep enough to drown jimin in guilt, knowing he was the reason jungkook got hurt.

aera stands on the bed, placing her hand on the brother's shoulder and winces on seeing the blood, "koo, how did you get hurt?" she asks and looks around the room, "why did you break the game? daddy will scold you,"

"he's done scolding me," jungkook mutters, "i don't care anymore,"

"sit here," jimin says, wiping his tears and leaves the room for a minute, returning back with a box in his hand. he sits on the bed beside jungkook and takes the bottle of disinfectant, putting some on the cotton to start cleaning the wound.

jungkook winces softly, letting out frequent tears and sniffles with the burning sensation. aera stands in front of him, standing between his legs and holds his hand, assuring him that it won't hurt if he lets jimin apply some medicine on it. jungkook hugs her weakly, not saying anything and closes his eyes.

"mom and dad are going back to l.a. tomorrow," jimin says, "and the boys will be here for a few days."

"okay" jungkook mumbles without any excess emotions, making jimin glance at his face with a soft look.

"kook, i'm sorry for what happened."

"it's okay,"

jimin sighs softly, putting the first aid away after applying the bandaid on his cheek and makes the boy face him, "whatever dad said is not true. you're not spoiled, you're not a failure and you're not wasting anybody's time. i know what happened, shouldn't have happened, and i'm sor-"

"stop apologizing so much first," jungkook says, looking at the elder, "it's not your fault, still you keep saying sorry to everyone. you're giving up your matches, your favourite things for me... and i'm just... i should've done better,"

"you have done better, jungkook. don't think like that. it's okay, the matches aren't that important anyway. so don't worry about that, hm?"

"you wanted to go right?" the boy asks softly, staring at jimin who shakes his head, "don't lie, hyung. i know you wanted to go..."

"no, mom and dad are leaving tomorrow. then how can i leave too? someone has to stay here with you and aera right?" jimin says as he glances at aera who is busy leaning on jungkook, kissing his cheek and blowing gently on the bandaid to make him feel better.

"i hate him so much" jungkook breaks into a sob, leaning leaning towards jimin and hugs him tightly, "i don't want a dad, i- i don't want anyone... i just, want my hyung. he hit me today, you never hit me... why does he not see that we're trying? i do study, hyung, and- and i know you're working hard as well, then why can't he just appreciate it? i don't like him at all, i don't wanna be his son..."

jimin chews on his lower lip, hugging the younger boy back and rubs his back, "shh, don't cry, kiddo. you don't have to see him, he's leaving tomorrow, and y'know hyung is always here right?" he says, earning a subtle nod from jungkook, but he doesn't move and keeps hugging jimin.

"oppa," aera stares at them, not understanding what's making the brothers cry, but climbs next to jungkook, on the eldest's lap and hugs him too, placing her head on his right shoulder, the way jungkook is doing from the left side.

jimin sighs softly, holding the two, one being too fragile to leave right now and one being too scared to be left alone. so keeps the kids close and places a peck on the side of their heads, "everything is okay," he assures, blinking as he stares at the ceiling and inhales deeply, pulling himself together as he wouldn't want to cry in front of his younger siblings, who are already hurting. so he puts on a smile and rubs their backs, "i'm here, don't worry. just close your eyes, and sleep."

the kids don't reply and jimin assumes they're already tired. he glances at the two, sighing softly and shifts in his place, making jungkook lay down properly, then lays aera beside him, covering the two with the blankets. he takes a moment to stare at the two sleeping peacefully after a long day, and leans down, kissing their foreheads, "i wish i could make things better,"

____

next day

"hyung," jimin smiles, hugging the eldest tightly and stays like that for a moment, "thanks for coming," he hushes out.

"of course," jin smiles, patting his back and pulls away, letting him hug the rest of the boys too. "where are the kids?"

"in the backyard," jimin replies and gestures them to sit, "jungkook-ah! hyungs are here!"

"what?! are you saying something?! be a little louder!" 

"this boy," jimin shakes his head, getting up and walks to the backyard, followed by the boys who smile watching jungkook teaching aera soccer. "hey, look who's here." the elder says, making jungkook and aera stop their game and glance their way, gasping on locating the five boys.

"hyung!" jungkook smiles widely, hugging the boys one by one.

"oppa!" aera chirps hugging them too, as they carry her instantly, making her happy.

"i thought jimin hyung just said that to make me smile yesterday." jungkook says, "but you're really here." taehyung grins, ruffling the boy's hair and hugs him tightly, not letting go as they stand together,

"yeah, your mom told me about their business trip and also what happened between you both and uncle jayhyun, so we thought it'd be better if we can be here for a while." jin says

jimin smiles a little, nodding his head, "it's great. yesterday was just... too much," he sighs, "thanks,"

"no need to thank us, just order pizzas and we're good." taehyung laughs.

"alright, but what's on your cheek?" namjoon points out to jungkook, "did you get hurt?"

"yeah, a little. but i'm okay now." jungkook smiles at him, "it looks good when i saw in the mirror today,"

"yeah sure," jimin shakes his head, "go and order whatever pizza you want, take riri with you." he says and the boy heads inside, holding aera's hand as they discuss what pizzas are better.

"what happened?" yoongi asks.

"dad hit him yesterday," jimin says, "he was mad, because... well, stuff. and jungkook said he hates him, so he slapped him."

"what?" the elders gasp, not believing someone could actually hurt their own child.

"yeah, jungkook's exam scores aren't that great according to dad, and also i've been having my soccer practices which takes a lot of time, so i didn't get much time to pay attention on jungkook's studies. that's why he was mad and told kook off badly... he was yelling at him for always playing games and not studying, and said i keep spoiling him." jimin says, sitting down on the couch and shakes his head, glancing at jungkook, grinning with aera as they're going through his phone, selecting their order.

"he was crying a lot yesterday, even broke all of his electronics... and aera, she didn't know what was happening, but she was scared too. i was feeling so bad, hyung. after years, he was hugging like that yesterday and crying on my shoulder, i could literally feel him trembling. and all he said was that he didn't want dad or anyone, he just wants me to stay by him..."

"man..." yoongi breathes out, "our parents are really messed up. but at least jungkook and aera have you."

jimin smiles a little and nods as jin speaks this time, "don't worry jimin, jungkook is a strong boy, plus he's got you. so there's nothing to worry about. but remember, you have your hyungs too, i know it's hard and feels conflicting to cry in front of our younger siblings, especially when they're as young as yours, so feel free to call us anytime you wanna talk."

"i know," jimin nods, hugging the elder and sniffs softly, "i felt like crying yesterday, especially on seeing jungkook and aera like that. for a moment i wanted to move out of this house with the kids, but then that's not practically possible."

"i can understand," jin pats his back, "it's not easy at all."

"you both are the most relatable with each other." hoseok jokes to lighten the mood and makes the boys laugh a little.

"of course, jimin has kook, i had joon. jimin has aera, i had tae." jin chuckles.

"well, me and yoongi hyung are the lucky ones i guess," hoseok laughs.

"i don't know about that," jimin smiles, "but having these two is great for me. i don't regret not going for the match that much now."

"remember jin hyung hyung said something similar when dad didn't let him go to the art's school?" taehyung says, making jin chuckle.

"some things may feel like a huge loss, but most of the time we have a lot more to make us happy than the loss we face. i couldn't be an actor, but i had you guys. jimin isn't going for the match, but he has his siblings with him."

"yeah," jimin nods, "you won't believe it, but today during lunch, kook was sitting with me and was like, 'hyungie don't worry about winning the match. i'll do it for you.' because a few days back, i told him that it's the same thing whether it's him winning or me."

"aww" the boys coo and jimin chuckles.

"i ordered ten pizzas!" jungkook chimes, keeping the phone away and walks towards them, "but an accident happened and ri clicked on the wrong number, now we're getting fifteen."

"wha-" jimin gasps, "goodness! what are we gonna do with so many pizzas?"

"eat for two days?" jungkook grins, glancing at aera who nods, giggling at him. "don't worry, me and riri will finish all of it, right baby?"

"yes!" aera nods, giving him a high-five. their attention shifts to the door on hearing the doorbell ringing. jimin stands up, excusing himself to answer door, not minding his curious siblings lingering behind, seeing three men with brown carton boxes entering the house.

"what is that?" jungkook asks, "did we order something?"

"yes," jimin smiles, "open it. aera, come on, open it."

"gift?" the little girl says, climbing on the table beside the box and starts using all of her energy to untape the box.

"videogames!" jungkook gasps, and opens the other box, "this... my play station..." he pouts, rubbing his eyes to get of the tears and hugs jimin tightly, "thank you hyungie,"

"you're most welcome," jimin pats his back, smiling and glances at aera, "ah my princess isn't able to open her present." he chuckles.

"i'll do it," jungkook volunteers, wiping his tears and smiles, helping aera open her box, making her gasp.

"car!" aera grins, jumping towards jimin who catches her instantly and hugs her, "thank you oppa!"

"my baby, you're welcome." he kisses her cheek.

"get these installed, please." jimin orders the men, getting a nod from them. "jungkook, show them your room."

the boy smiles, jogging upstairs, followed by the men with the videogames and computers. while jimin and taehyung bring aera's car out of the box, removing the plastic wrap and puts the batteries in.

aera hops on the driver's seat quickly, giggling as this car is bigger than her previous one and looks at the boys, waving at them before accelerating away. she takes a turn from the stares, honking in front of jimin's legs, "peep! peep! move aside!" she says, "you wan' a ride? riri will take oppa for a drive."

"really?" he chuckles, "thank you, but i don't think i'll fit in your car."

"no, fit in..." she pouts, patting the seat beside her, making the boys laugh. so she laughs along with them because why not? 

________________

a/n- hey so, here we go with another update! as someone mentioned yesterday we're nearing 100 chapters lf this book. it's great, thank you very much sticking with me for so long. drop a '💜' to let me know you agree 😊 (of you don't agree, no worries, still thanks for reading this long ass chapter without even liking me or this book lol)

anyways, to my lovely readers, i have a question. since we're nearing 100 chapters, this is like the 91st right? so do you want something special? i was thinking about it today, and decided it'll be better if i ask for your opinion since you're the reader. please comment know if you have any idea :)

vote if you liked the chapter, and comment if you cried even once (because i did while writing). and take care, it's so cold, i feel like i'm gonna be sick :') so please dress warmly and drink warm water, don't get sick. love you ❣️