a looong chapter ahead! took eveything inside me to get this done. sorry if there are some typos i really worked hard on this one. so please make sure to vote and comment okay? that would mean a lot to me.

i, personally, am happy with how this chapter turned out. i really hope you guys like it too ^^ ❤️ enjoy!

<it's been a while since i gave you guys smth real emotional>
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jungkook: 18yo
jimin: 23yo

tae, joon and jin are brothers.
all the parents are alive and will show up for the mess ;)

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"you should take some rest, sir," manager lee says, watching jimin preparing himself for the meeting scheduled in ten minutes. jimin motions his hand for his secretary to get going and tell everyone that they should be ready while he's joining in a few minutes.

manager lee sighs at him, yet not having enough courage to tell jimin that he actually looks unwell and should stop pushing himself so much. the man had seen how jimin was stressing way too much these days over home, over jungkook's future and the family drama as the parents are supposed to visit tomorrow and the younger two don't know.

jimin gestures the manager to follow him as they head out of his office, "manager lee, have you informed the advertising unit about the new overview?" jimin asks.

"yes, sir. the reports have been submitted to the board,"

"good, i'll be joining everyone shortly. mr min and mr kim want to have a word," he gestures the elder man, getting instant nod as he steps aside, bowing to jimin who hums in acknowledgment, changing his route to yoongi's office now.

jimin takes a deep breath, fidgeting with his tie as he enters the office where namjoon, yoongi and jin are already waiting for him. sweat forms on jimin's forehead with a cold rush of chils originates from the back of his neck, reigning all the way down his spine to the rest of the body. jimin stops walking for a second, touching the side his forehead gently with his fingertips, getting the needed attention from the elder males, who approach him quickly, holding him by the arm and make him sit before he lost his balance.

"are you alright?" jin asks, touching jimin's temperature while the boy nods against the back of his hand, "you're cold, jimin. why are you sweating? how do you feel?"

"i'm fine, hyung," jimin emphasises, shaking his hand dismissively, "water... is there any?"

"yeah, here," yoongi gets a glass of water for the younger, rubbing his back, "are you okay? we can cancel the meeting, y'know?"

"no no, there's no need for that. i'm perfectly fine," jimin says, "must've been because of the heat. anyway, you needed to talk about something?"

"ah yeah," namjoon nods hesitantly, exchanging uncertain glances with jin and yoongi, while jimin hums waiting for him to speak, "the hongkong deal, jimin. we couldn't close it,"

"what— but, it was in our hands, wasn't it? how did you not make it? it's gonna be some loss without their technology with us," jimin frowns, standing up and namjoon nods.

"i know, but their last tie up was desperate and offered them upto 35 percent of the profits,"

"that's insane," jimin shakes his head, shaking his head, "let them go. they'll know what they've missed sooner or later,"

"yes, but right now, we'll be facing a loss because of this," jin says, "we need a strong backup for our advertising and marketing department,"

"it's not about the investors," yoongi says, "we have enough money to handle anything no matter how huge. the thing is me and jin are already busy with our branches, you, jimin, are taking care of this whole thing, and even joon is packed with the board. none of us have room for more work, especially which needs precise supervision. how's it gonna work?"

jimin nibbles on his lip, nodding at the elder's words for he agrees too, that if he takes up any more work for himself, that will straight up mean giving up the bare minimum sleep of three or four hours that he's getting these days. although, heaving out a deep sigh and fingers pressed on his temples, he glances at the elders, "do you think i can handle it? we have to make it work anyhow. do you think i can make some time from my schedule?"

"are you serious? do you wanna literally work 24/7 and spend every minute of your day pushing yourself here in the office?" namjoon says, shaking his head, "i personally think we should wait and try to hire someone for the job. we can get plenty of people— i mean who doesn't wanna work under the jeon holdings?"

"that's gonna take time," jimin mumbles, "but yes, we have to do that. so till the day we find someone, i'll look after it,"

"won't it be too much for you?" jin asks, "i can do it too. you already have enough things to worry about, jimin,"

"you do too, hyung. i know tae's accident is stressing you out," jimin says, getting a nod from namjoon too as their younger brother— the youngest kim— had gotten himself a 'cool looking' (as taehyung called it) fracture on his upper right arm and a cut on his forehead after crashing jungkook's motorcycle in his own car. no one understood how he even managed to create the blunder, but they sure freaked out seeing him bleeding from the head and arm that would hurt on moving.

"besides," yoongi adds, "jin hyung might be really busy the upcoming weeks. there are few seminars for him to attend,"

"yeah right," namjoon ends up chuckling, "the reason tae got scolded early in the morning by you," he says to his elder brother.

"anyway yeah, let's get going now," jin nods slowly, now remembering that he's actually busy this whole month, which was also the reason he was scolding taehyung earlier in the morning, telling him to stay out of trouble and behave a little responsible.

jimin always enjoyed seeing them, the three kim brothers. jin and taehyung were like a dramatic parent and a mischievous son, both going to out of their way to get a reaction out of each other. taehyung wouldn't miss a chance of pranking or giving a heart attack to jin, and jin would never let go of the opportunity put him back in shape. jin was much much more of a parent to his siblings, especially taehyung, than their actual parents, and it showed. just like jungkook, taehyung didn't have much respect for his parents as well, but boy did he love his hyungs.

in jimin's case he was the eldest and despite being taehyung's age, he had grown to be way more mature, responsible and attentive than taehyung ever manged to be in all these years. where taehyung is carefree, his hyungs' baby brother, there is jimin taking care of the family business, being one of the youngest billionaires in korea, looking after his younger siblings, both of them being young enough to still need guidance, especially the youngest being just eight-years-old.

many people who saw jimin and taehyung together often thought their mild age gap of barely three months might be in years, because of the difference in their personalities and behaviour. even the elder boys like jin and yoongi, themselves believed that jimin and taehyung had a mental age gap between them, which taehyung pretended to find offensive. jimin would laugh at him and their bickering never got to an end.

jimin's life did have some fun and light elements when he looked up to find his boys smiling at him and of course his sister always ready for hugs and kisses. however, despite everything, things had been pretty hectic in the past few days— not only for him but yoongi, jin and namjoon too. they all were working hard for the company, hoseok ran his studio with all his heart and passion, taehyung has established himself as one of the best gamers out there, and also got a cast on his arms for the next two months, jungkook and aera are still young to be working, but okay— and when jimin saw everyone around him pushing themselves out if their comfort zones, he felt like he wasn't doing enough and ought to improve for the better rather than holding them back.

in the last two weeks jimin had been working constantly with no off days, minimal sleep, and surviving on coffee in the name of energy suppliment. even when aera whined to make him stay at home on sunday, he couldn't help but give her a sad smile, apologizing to the little girl and going to the office with a heavy heart. especially since he recieved the call from his dad, saying that they're coming home and jimin should get done with most work during these days so can he spend time with the family later.

that became the reason jimin couldn't afford to take an off even though his head keeps pounding like being hit by the bullets of aera's nerf gun continuosly. the sweat forms on his chest and back too, he can feel it, but blames it on the heat in the otherwise chilled room, refusing to believe that he might be falling ill all because jimin knew getting sick at this time would mess things up.

jungkook just finished his high school and needs advice about getting into college and persuing his career, aera's still young to take care of herself, not to mention her tests are starting soon, the company is about to face a crisis if they get too late in finding the right person to take up the responsibility of one of the most important units in the right wing, jaehyun and eunmi will arrive tomorrow, and jimin hasn't even managed to wrap up the meetings, moreover took more of the responsibility.

there is certainly no way on earth jeon jimin can fall sick right now.

that's just not allowed. because if jimin is not available, who will take care of all the above mentioned things? jungkook? aera? no way.

"jimin are you okay?" namjoon asks in a low voice, placing his hand on jimin's shoulder, frowning lightly as jimin seems to be sweating and hyperventilating, breathing a bit deeper and heavier than what normally people do sitting in an air conditioned room. jimin nods subtly, massaging his forehead subtly with his fingers and takes a sip of the water in the glass in front of him, trying his best to focus on whatever the president and general secretary were saying in their presentation.

as more minutes pass jimin finds it hard to stay put in his place. he loosens the tie around his neck, shaking his head a little and blinking his eyes to clear up his blurry vision spinning the whole conference hall. the two men in the front wrap up with their thing, getting nods of approval from ones seated. jin shares his views about something which jimin fails to understand, but for the sake of his professionalism and respect for the employees, he forces himself to stay up right, nodding at mixed words that entered his ears.

the men stand up, glancing at jimin as he's supposed to walk out first like he usually does while the rest bow to him. jimin forces a smile, standing up, almost falling back on his seat, but gains his balance with his shaky hands hands planted on the table top. his knuckles turn white as he clutches onto nothing, repeating in his head that he's fine and there's a lot of more work for him to get done, being dizzy isn't going to help.

"jimin?" yoongi calls, placing his hand on the younger's shoulder as they all head to his office, "you don't look good. i think you should go home," he says, and the other two nod in agreement, seeing jimin's face turning pale and the sweat trickling down his side locks, yet his body remains cold.

"no, hyung. i'm fine, really," jimin says, reaching out to the glass of water on his desk. his shaky hands, however, end up spilling the water on the desk, pulling out curses from jimin's lip as his eyes fixate on the files and laptop there.

before he did anything to save them, the blurred figures worsens to the point where he doesn't understand if it's his head or actually is the earth suddenly going crazy before him. jin gasps, holding onto jimin tightly before the boy loses balance and leads him to the couch, "hey, jim, what's wrong?" he asks, rubbing the younger's hands and patting his cheek gently, getting no response from jimin who seems to have suddenly lost consciousness, "yoongi, call the doctor. tell them it's an emergency and we're reaching the hospital in fifteen minutes. and joon tell manager lee to cancel eveything on our schedule today,"

yoongi and namjoon nod, springing into action they're told while jin takes off the tie and blazer from jimin's body, undoing the top few buttons of jimin's shirt.

•••

"how long as he been skipping meals?" the doctor asks with a deep sigh as he walks out of the room, closing the door gently after him and faces the boys, jin, namjoon and yoongi.

"uh... i'm sorry, we couldn't pay attention..." jin lets out, cursing at himself for not looking after jimin despite being aware that jimin might be good at being responsible for others, but when it comes to him, he's no less than a stubborn child.

"his glucose level dropped, that's why he lost consciousness like that. and his blood pressure has been fluctuating as well, so please see that he's not overworking himself, or stressing himself, or skipping meals. give him plenty of water and nutritious food. taking some days off work will help him recover well,"

the boys nod to that, thanking the doctor before he takes his leave and the three exchange worried glances, "he can go worrying about kook and aera the whole day, but not think of himself for once," jin shakes his head.

yoongi nods briefly, "uhm what about the kids? do we call them here or...?"

"i think we should call them," namjoon shrugs, "jungkook at least. aera might get scared seeing jimin like this,"

"you're right," yoongi nods for namjoon to give the boys a call. jin sighs softly, standing by the door of jimin's room, smiling respectfully to the nurse before entering the room once she leaves. yoongi follows the elder quietly, standing behind him, eyes fixed on jimin's sleeping figure.

"kook wouldn't like this," he mutters softly.

"i'm more worried about uncle jaehyun," jin says, shaking his head as he faces yoongi with a concerned look, "even though he doesn't see jimin's problems, he still claims to love him the most. he might be ignorant, yoongs, but he really loves jimin and wouldn't see left and right before jumping into conclusions,"

yoongi's eyes never leave jimin's face, nodding gradually as he agrees with the elder's words, "right, i just hope he'll take this well and doesn't try to find the faulty here,"

"yeah,"  jin hums, "you stay with kook, though,"

"don't worry," yoongi assures.

•••

jungkook came with the boys like jin and yoongi had expected, worried and confused on hearing the news of jimin being sick serious enough to have him admitted in the hospital. but what the elders didn't expect was that aera would come with them, even namjoon hesitated on seeing her with the boys, although lead them to the room where jimin was resting.

namjoon explained them what happened and saw aera pouting, staring at her brother laying in the bed with the glucose drip attached to his hand. tears blur her eyes as she peeks at jimin's face, shaking his arm gently, "oppa..." her voice calls out softly, "jiminie oppa wake up... look i'm here— riri's here," she holds his hand slowly, leaning more towards his face to see if he's opening his eyes yet or not.

jimin stays still, not conscious still, which makes aera break into a sob, shaking his hand a bit more than before, "oppa, get up please... what happened to you?" she rubs her eyes, crying as she turns away and hugs jungkook's waist, "what happened to oppa, koo? why is he not waking up? i said riri's here..."

"he's sleeping, aera. jiminie needs rest, he wasn't feeling well today that's all," jin tries to pull her towards him, leaving jungkook for a moment. but the boy just shakes his head, refusing to let aera go and hugs her back.

"he'll be up soon," he says in a soft voice gulping down the worry along with the lump in his throat as he looks at the eldest, "he will, right hyung?"

"yes, of course," jin nods, patting jungkook's shoulder and smiles at the boy, "he just didn't eat properly that's why he fainted. he'll be fine in no time and we can go home then,"

"today?" jungkook asks.

"yes, today," the eldest assures, looking at jungkook and aera,"will you help us take care of jiminie?"

"i will," jungkook nods, "hyung needs to be healthy..."

"yes..." aera cries, "is oppa going to die?"

"no, honey," jin hugs the little girl, "oppa's just taking some rest. he was tired that's all,"

aera rubs her eyes, glancing at yoongi and nods. she goes to him, standing in front of him and brings his arms to wrap around herself. yoongi smiles at her softly, taking a seat on the couch nearby and pulls aera on his lap, "when will will oppa wake up?" she looks at yoongi.

"very soon," yoongi assures, patting her back and lays her head on his shoulder, "close your eyes and don't worry,"

seconds ticked away to minutes and then to hours, yet jimin showed no signs of waking up. jungkook was tired by the time night started falling darker. which is when a phone call disrupted the silence in the room among the boys and jungkook gulped, staring at the name flashing on the screen.

he took a deep breath, turning to jin and hands him the phone with urgency to get away, "you talk to him. i can't,"

jin frowns, glancing at the phone and sighs on realising it's jaehyun calling, "you should talk to your dad, kook. he must've called to let you know about their flight or something,"

jungkook nibbles on his lip, shaking his head and looks over at aera. he sits beside yoongi, shaking aera gently and gives her the phone, "ri, it's dad. please talk to him," he says to the sleepy girl.

"don't wake her up, jungkook," namjoon sighs, "just answer the call. he's your dad he won't do anything,"

"no," jungkook huffs, "aera please. do you want daddy to be mad at us?"

aera pouts at him, tears filling her eyes, but she takes the phone and answers the call, staying close to yoongi, "hello..." her voice says softly.

"hey, princess, where's your brother?" jaehyun says as jungkook puts the call on speaker and gestures aera to tell the father that jungkook is not around.

"koo, is not here?" aera says with a frown and jungkook nods, now telling her to ask why he called. "what happened?"

"nothing, sweetheart. i was just calling jimin earlier but he didn't answer. where is he?"

"jimin oppa?" she hums, glancing back at the bed where jimin is laying still, "he's sleeping, daddy,"

"right now? that's weird," jaehyun says, "anyway, tell your brother that me and your mamma will arrive in a few hours. we landed an hour ago, but had to visit the company, okay?"

"what?!" jungkook gasps, failing to keep his voice low and curses under his breath when his father heard him.

"jungkook? is that you?"

"uh yeah," jungkook sighs, "you're coming today?"

"yes, by 10 probably. i know we were supposed to come tomorrow but your mom really wanted to see you guys and we kinda finsihed all the work,"

"oh... uhm, yeah, okay," the boy glances at his hyungs gulping in fear, "i... i'll go, jin hyung is calling me,"

"jungkook," jaehyun says in a bit serious voice, "is everything okay?"

"yeah, yes, absolutely fine," he blurts out and the elders stare at him with wide eyes, "uhm just jimin hyung is a bit... unwell?"

"what? why, what happened?"

"it's uhm he was overworking himself i think and—"

"and where were you? aren't you supposed to help your hyung?"

jungkook falls silent, not having anything to tell the father for he knows he won't listen. moreover, this time jungkook couldn't help but agree with jaehyun's words. he was supposed to help jimin, although he was too busy with his own stuff to pay attention to anything else. not like jimin ever let the youngers see the hectic and depressing life he lived between home and office. for jungkook and aera, jimin made sure to keep everything light and less stressful to their eyes, not wanting the kids to be worried about him, which is also why jimin had to push himself even harder to keep the surface clear.

jimin admitted that aera's still very young to see anything past the bright colors and her brothers' love, and jungkook too didn't have to to worry himself over work while it's his final year of high school and he's already stressed about enough things. jimin had jin, yoongi, namjoon, hoseok and even taehyung to help him get through things, never giving him any reason to bother his younger siblings as the hyungs believed as well that both aera and jungkook shouldn't be involved in this. their childhood has already suffered a lot thanks to the parents and now jimin didn't want to be them.

"jungkook, i'm speaking to you," jaehyun's voice makes the boy flinch, "me and your mom will be home soon. we gotta talk,"

jungkook nibbles on his lip, taking a deep breath, "we're in the hospital, dad," he says, "the hyungs and aera are with me,"

"hospital..." jaehyun sighs, "how's jimin? is he really in a bad condition?"

"he's uhm, the doctor said he'll be up soon now,"

"he's not conscious?"

"no, he—"

"leave it. i'll talk to you when i'm there. make sure you know you're in serious trouble,"

jungkook frowns at the phone, gulping thickly as he releases a soft breath, "what did i do?" he hushes out. taehyung shakes his head, taking the phone from the younger's hand and hangs up the call, making the boy look up at him.

"nothing," taehyung's voice in affirmative, trying his best get jungkook to believe him, "you didn't do anything,"

"then why does he speak to me like that?"

"he's crazy," taehyung breathes out, hugging jungkook and rubs his back, "jimin will be fine. and what happened is not your fault, okay? don't listen to your dad. he's a jerk,"

"hyung," yoongi calls softly, standing up with aera and nods subtly, gesturing to jin to let him know that he'll take aera out for a while. the eldest nods with a sigh, agreeing for he knows too that it would be better for her to go out rather than listening to them consoling a scared jungkook.

"jimin would hate this," hoseok mumbles, getting a glance from namjoon and jin. "i hope uncle jaehyun could understand this,"

•••

"dad, listen—"

"listen to what?! you're eighteen now jungkook and still can't stop behaving like a stupid kid! your brother is here working all day, not having time to even eat his meals and all you care about is your fun life! i know what kind of people are your friends and what you all do! better stop being a menace to this household and do your us a favour. you don't care about me or your mom, fine. but not even jimin? you saw him right? he's not well because he didn't get any time for himself. he goes to work, looks after home, aera, and then you. do you think all this is easy?!"

"i'm sorry, dad," jungkook says slowly, "i'm really sorry. i didn't know hyung wasn't feeling well... i wouldn't let him work if i knew. i'd help him, dad,"

"of course, you would," jaehyun scoffs, "you think i don't know you? you're still my son and i've seen you growing up, jungkook. so don't you dare think you can fool me with your lies,"

"jae," eunmi steps forward, hugging the son and looks at her husband, "stop it. it's not his fault,"

"you know nothing better than to defend him do you?" jaehyun hisses.

"no," eunmi glares at him, "don't make me say anything i might regret later. it's not jungkook's fault and you don't get to speak to him like that. just because he's young and won't say anything to you doesn't mean you'll treat him like this,"

"wow, so i'm the bad guy now?" jaehyun nods grittily, "right, yeah, fine! this boy can never get one thing right, takes every-fucking-thing for granted and you want me to stop?"

"dad, i'm sorry," jungkook says, dropping a tear from his eyes as he takes a deep breath and moves his mother aside, "i'm sorry hyung is going through all this because of me... but i swear i didn't mean it. why would i want my hyung to hurt this way?"

"you're just an ignorant brat, useless," jaehyun mutters under his breath, but jungkook hears it still, keeping his head low. not having the courage the fight today, knowing that jimin wouldn't be happy with all this.

"jimin's up," hoseok enters the room with hesitation, glancing at jungkook who never lifts up his head. jaehyun however, rushes out towards jimin's room. "kook," hoseok calls softly and eunmi sighs, cupping the son's face.

"i'm sorry, honey. your dad is just... i don't know— i'm just sorry," she sighs, hugging jungkook, but pulls away with a frown as the boy doesn't hug her back. "kook, i'm sorry. are you mad at me?"

"no," jungkook hushes out, rubbing his eyes and looks away, "go with dad. i'm coming in a bit,"

eunmi looks down, nodding slowly. she pulls jungkook down a little, kissing his forehead and smiles through glassy eyes, "mom loves you. you'll always be my little kook," she lets him know before going out.

jungkook closes his eyes, letting the tears flow and shakes his head, sitting on the couch that is placed behind them. hoseok watches the younger with sympathetic eyes, taking a seat beside him as he wraps his arms around jungkook, "hey, it's okay," he says, patting jungkook's back while the boy keeps crying.

"what did i do..." jungkook mutters between the sobs, "what did i ever do to make him hate me this much..."

"shh," hoseok hugs jungkook tightly, "nobody hates you, buddy. we all love you, you know it right? your hyungies, your sister, your friends. we all love you, jungkook," jungkook nibbles on his lower lip, trying his best to gain himself back as he stands up slowly, getting rid of the tears to go see jimin now. hoseok strokes his hair, giving him a soft smile and wipes the tears off his face, "don't listen to what your dad says. listen to me, we love you,"

jungkook nods subtly, hugging hoseok again, "thank you hobi hyung," he mumbles, sniffling slowly and pulls away, "please don't tell jimin hyung all this. he'll be worried. he needs rest right now,"

"he has to know, jungkook. you know jimin would never like what happened between you and your father,"

"i know... that's why," jungkook looks down, "please don't tell him,"

hoseok hesitates but nods for jungkook, leading him outside to jimin's room where aera, jaehyun, eunmi and the rest of the boys are present. jimin's sitting on the bed, looking better than before and is listening to jaehyun telling him how he should stop being so careless about himself.

jimin glances at aera, scrunching his face as he pretends to huff at what their father is saying, "jimin, i'm serious. you should think about yourself and make time for yourself too. and who gave you the permission to skip meals? this is really bad for your health,"

"i'm sorry," jimin nods, "i was just really busy these days. but don't worry, i'm okay now. it's nothing that serious,"

"really? you were unconscious for like five hours. is that not serious to you?"

"okay, fine, i'm sorry. i'll eat and do whatever you all tell me," he sighs, "now stop scolding a sick person,"

jaehyun shakes his head, patting jimin's shoulder and smiles a little, "please take care, champ. you got us so worried today,"

jimin smiled back, nodding and glances at his mother, "hey, look who's crying," he teases, making eunmi chuckle. she wiped her tears off and hugs him tightly, "i missed you guys so much,"

"i missed you too," eunmi pinches his and aera's cheeks, "my babies,"

"yeah, right," jimin grins, "you're staying right? i'm gonna eat the food you cook. nothing else,"

"done," eunmi smiles fondly, glancing at jaehyun who smiles as well.

jungkook watches the interactions from the side, never attempting to go near the family until jimin looks at him. he smiles so fast that it almost looks forced and untrue, refusing when jimin calls him over. jungkook takes a step back instead, not knowing why he didn't feel like going to his own family.

"i'll go get, hyung's medicines," he says quickly.

"i'll go with you," taehyung says, sending an assuring nod to the elders before following jungkook out. "kook, are you okay?"

"yeah. yeah, i'm fine,"

taehyung sighs softly, holding the boy's hand and stops in front of him, looking at him with a sincere gaze, "what's wrong? did your dad say something?"

jungkook lets out a small laugh almost like a scoff, staring at his feet, "when does he not say anything? i'm not the son he wanted, i get it... i was probably a mistake,"

"he said that to you?" taehyung grits in anger.

"no," jungkook shrugs, "leave it, hyung. i'm okay,"

"jungkook, please, tell me what happened,"

jungkook takes a deep breath, looking up to meet taehyung's eyes, "he said i'm useless, ignorant, a brat. i take jimin hyung for granted... i take everything for granted and just... waste time and money. i couldn't see my hyung suffering and now he's here in the hospital..."

taehyung's eyes soften on hearing the younger's words, as jungkook continues, "i told him that i didn't mean it. i apologized too, hyung. you— you tell me, do you think i'd want my jimin hyung to hurt like this? i know i'm not the best son, or brother or anything, but i really love my hyung... i never want him to go through anything like this... dad doesn't trust me— he didn't even listen to me," jungkook looks at taehyung, "you know i'm saying the truth, right? why is my dad like that?"

before saying anything, taehyung first pulls the younger in a hug, rubbing his back, "i don't know what's wrong with your father. but it's something really bad that he can't understand you, kook. don't think about him, he's just an asshole. i know nothing is your fault,"

jungkook nods slowly, "what if dad—"

"jungkook, did you bring the medicines?" jaehyun walks towards the boys, shaking his head on seeing taehyung pampering the younger, "aish! taehyung, let the boy grow up. y'all never let him leave you guys,"

"i don't mind," taehyung states, glancing at jungkook, "go, get the medicines then we should head home,"

jungkook nods briefly, obeying at once and jaehyun arches a brow at taehyung, "is everything okay with your guys?"

"yes," taehyung cracks his neck, "it just bothers me a bit that my brothers are hurting. i don't like seeing them unhappy, y'know?"

jaehyun nods with a smile, "i'm glad jimin has you all with him,"

"jungkook has us too,"

"right," jaehyun shakes his head, sighing deeply while taehyung leaves him there, going back inside the room. jimin is ready to head home and is feeling much better now. eunmi is making him eat some fruits that she ordered for him, occasionally feeding aera too as jimin said that she must be hungry by now.

as they leave the hospital, on the way to home, jimin notices something off in the mannerism his father and brother were showing. jungkook was in the other car with taehyung as the latter refused to let jungkook go alone, knowing that jaehyun would indirectly keep taunting jungkook whenever he got the chance to. and they didn't want jimin to see it. 

on reaching home, jimin couldn't understand what was going on for he was certain that he saw jungkook heading straight up to his room. the boy didn't stop to see jimin ever since he woke up, he didn't give his hyung a hug and just acted distant as if he was trying to avoid him.

"is kook, okay?" jimin asks, getting glances from the boys.

"i guess, he's just worried," jin smiles.

"yeah, but he didn't even come to me," jimin says.

"yeah, right. he didn't even sit with you in the hospital," namjoon frowns.

"maybe your dad told him not to bother you," taehyung mutters.

"what?" jimin's brows knit together in confusion, "what are you saying, tae? did something happen?"

"koo's upset," aera says, swinging her legs as she sits on coffee table, "i heard daddy scolding koo earlier. he said you're sick because koo's so bad and he keeps bothering you, oppa. koo was crying, then mamma was crying... i didn't go to them, i was so scared. then i came back to you," she pouts, then turns to hoseok, "you saw it too, right hobi oppa? you gave koo a huggy. and he was crying right?"

"really hyung?" jimin asks, "why didn't anyone tell me all this?"

"when did this even happen?" jin asks, glancing at hoseok, "you knew about it?"

hoseok sighs, nodding his head, "kook told me to not say anything to anyone. he didn't want y'all to worry, especially jimin,"

"and you listened to him?" jimin breathes out, massaging his temples "he's a kid, hyung. of course he would say that after being told that he's the reason his hyung is unwell,"

"i know. i understand, jimin. but i just couldn't see him like that... and i knew you'd be worried. you need rest and a stress free environment right now. he wasn't completely wrong,"

"yeah," taehyung nods, "i knew it too. but i wasn't going to tell you. not now at least,"

"you guys don't understand— you know how our dad is right?" jimin exasperates.

"yes, and that's the reason i took jungkook with me," taehyung nods, "we have his back, jimin. your kook is just fine, okay? give him some time,"

"about what?" jungkook's voice fills in and aera goes to him quickly, now finding it safe to hug him. he smiled at aera, leaning down to kiss her cheek and hugs her tightly, "are you okay?"

"yeah," aera nods, "don't be sad, koo. daddy's stupid. he don't know we love you,"

"but we know that," jungkook smiles and aera giggles, nodding her head.

"jungkook, where ar— oh, here you are," jaehyun enters the living room, "stop playing with her for a while. you have nothing better to do, do you?"

aera looks at her father with scared eyes, stepping closer to jungkook, hugging his waist, "dad, don't say tha—"

"do not," jaehyun voices out firmly to the younger son, "you don't care about your future and now you keep spoiling her too. what if she becomes like you? stop teaching aera your ill manners—"

"stop scolding koo!" aera glares at the father, "he's not a bad boy. he loves me, okay? don't say bad things to my koo,"

"see?" jaehyun grits out.

"aera, go to your room," jimin says.

"no! he's bad daddy! why does he keep scolding koo like that? i don't like it!"

"ri, come on, let's go," hoseok tries to hold her hand but aera yanks it back, letting out a whine and hugs jungkook instead.

jungkook looks at jimin with teary eyes, holding the guilt, frustration and fear within the thin layer of warm tears as he kneels down slowly, wrapping his arms around his sister. jimin takes a deep breath about to tell the youngers to go to their rooms while he takes care of things here.

however, jaehyun steps forward first, holding aera by her arm and pulls her away from jungkook, getting an instant cry from the girl's lips, "dad!" the brothers snap at once.

"go to your room, aera. i should not see you speaking to jungkook. he has messed up enough now and this is his punishment. it's the only way i see to deal with him,"

"you're crazy!" jungkook yells, "i didn't say anything ever since you came back because i know i should've been more responsible! i told you i'll do everything and help hyung from now, why are you bringing aera into this?!" he brings her back, hugging her tightly and glares at the father with tears streaming down his face as well.

"let go of her," jaehyun says calmly and aera just cries more, scared to leave jungkook. "jungkook, don't make me repeat,"

"stop it dad," jimin voices in, patting jungkook's head as he glances at aera too, "take her upstairs. she has seen and heard enough,"

"what's going on?" eunmi comes and jungkook looks at her. she gasps on seeing the younger kids crying, quickly approaching jungkook, "what's wrong, kook? why're you crying, honey?"

"he was going to take aera away," jungkook's voice breaks, pointing at his father as he fails to keep himself together anymore. "why does he hate me, mom? what did i do? he said that's my punishment... not letting me near riri. i didn't do anything on purpose, mom. i swear on my life, i love aera and jimin hyung the most!" he cries, falling on his knees, "i'm sorry that hyung fell sick because of me. i never wanted that to happen... i told dad that i'll do everything to help hyung. but he just kept scolding me and blaming me for everything...

"he— he said what if riri turns out like me... what does that mean? you tell me, mom do you think i'm so bad that you don't want your daughter to be like me?" jungkook asks, wiping the tears with the back of his hand as he looks up at the mother with bloodshot eyes.

eunmi glances at her husband with a disappointed look and kneels down near jungkook, forcing a smile for him as she wipes the tears off his face, "you're the best boy out there, kook. i told you right since the day i had you," she cups his face, "that my kook will be my strongest boy, and trust me you are that,"

"is that why you let dad treat me like that?" he mumbles softly, "because i'm strong?"

"i... no," eunmi gulps tears threatening to fall from her own eyes, "never, my love—"

"yes, you did," jungkook rubs his eyes, "i've seen it, mom. you hug me and say that you love me, kook is your favourite boy, but when i really need you to stand up for me you don't do that. you never told dad to hate me a little less..."

eunmi looks down, hearing her son's complain and nods slowly, "i'm sorry," she hushes out, "i messed up, didn't i?"

"yes," jungkook nods, tears never stopping from his eyes, "you messed up, mom. i think more than dad... because i at least i know i hate him. but you... you make me question eveything. you always love me but never there when i actually need you. dad makes me feel like a mistake and you make me feel like an idiot who doesn't know if you actually want me or not. it's so weird to— to not know if you should wait or not for your own mom, who knows what mood you might be in..."

"enough jungkook. you won't speak to your mother like that," jaehyun warns.

"i'm sorry," jungkook says, looking at eunmi, "mom, i'm sorry, please don't be mad at me. and please don't think that i hate you, okay? i will never hate you, mom. i can't," he says, standing up, breaking into a sob again when he hugs jimin, "hyung..." his voice breaks, "i'm sorry... i— i'm so sorry for everything. i didn't want this to happen... i don't know why—"

"it's fine," jimin rubs the younger's back, "relax, nothing is your fault, hm?"

"i-it is... you wouldn't be sick if i wasn't a brat. if i helped you and not taken you for granted—" he chokes on his sobs, "i'm sorry, hyungie... please tell dad i didn't do anything on purpose. don't take riri away from me... she's my sister, not a punishment hyung. please, i'll do whatever mom and dad say but-but please, tell him i don't wanna leave you or riri..."

"yeah, no one's taking aera away," jimin assures, blinking the tears from his eyes and makes jungkook sit on the couch, "tae, get some water please," taehyung nods quickly, jogging to the kitchen quickly and returns with a glass of water and a bottle just in case he needed more.

"here," jimin helps jungkook take a sip, "don't cry. hyungie's here, okay? you don't have to worry about anything," he says softly, stroking his hair back and wipes the tears off jungkook's face as the boy calms down a bit. "good job, look you're fine," jimin smiles at the younger, "everything is okay, hm?"

"you weren't supposed to know..." jungkook mumbles, "i'm sorry—"

"stop apologizing," jimin says, standing up straight and looks at the father about to say something when he feels his sight getting a bit blurry again. his hand automatically moves to his head, stumbling a little only to be held by the boys before he lost balance.

"this is not the time to do all this," yoongi says, "you need rest, jimin. let's get you to your room,"

"no, i uh— i'm fine," jimin sighs deeply, shaking his head subtly, "i need to talk—"

"later, jimin," jin says, glancing at hoseok and taehyung, "take him upstairs and stay with him,"

the two nod, holding jimin's hand and convince him to go upstairs and get some rest for now. aera stares at jimin with her eyes still holding tears from a few minutes ago. she leans closer to jungkook, sitting on his lap and rests her head on his shoulder, "i'm so scared, koo..." she mumbles, "you're scared too?"

"yes," jungkook nods slowly, "but don't worry, it's gonna be fine okay? we'll take care of jiminie then he'll be healthy again,"

jaehyun heaves out a deep breath, holding eunmi's hand and takes her inside as well, assuring her that things will be fine. however, jungkook could swear on his life that he saw his mother yank her hand back from his father's grip, going to her room and slamming the door shut.

•••

two days, and jungkook didn't exchange any words with his parents, just kept himself busy with taking care of his elder brother and meet his needs. not an hour spent when the boy would've left jimin alone, from the morning meds, breakfast, then again meds, lunch, evening fruits, tea or coffee, meds, dinner, meds again and then falling asleep beside jimin's bed, sitting on the floor. jungkook made sure to act upon his words as he promised to take care of jimin.

even aera helped him a lot, hugging jungkook and jimin every once in a while when she's at home, helping jin make sandwiches for jungkook and herself and even reading the brothers bedtime stories. jimin never felt so grateful for his siblings before and was left emotional when he woke up at midnight, wanting some water and found jungkook sitting on the carpet, leaning against the bed and his head resting on the edge.

he called jin then, asking why he let jungkook be like this, but jin just shook his head, claiming back that their youngest boy didn't listen to anyone, just wanted jimin to get well, and if it meant that jungkook had to stay up all night or do whatever it takes, he'd do it. jimin couldn't help but smile at the sleeping brother, stroking his hair gently out of his baby face.

today's been a whole week to the day jimin fainted in office and all the ruckus was created. he's still on leave from office, but he feels better today. he woke up particular early today, (considering that he hasn't been working the past week to be tired and pass out as soon as he laid down), took a shower and got ready in fresh clothes, coming back to his room only to find aera sitting on his bed, sleepily while jungkook is still sleeping, on the bed today.

"hey, good morning, princess," jimin says softly, not to disturb jungkook and kneels down in front of aera when he realises she's upset about something, "ah what happened? why's riri upset early in the morning?"

aera shakes her head, standing up on the floor and steps forward to hug jimin, "how are you feeling, oppa?"

"i'm feeling good thanks to my babies," he smiles, kissing her cheek and carries her up in his arms, "how did you wake up early today?"

"i was worried about you," she mumbles, yawning lightly and rubs her eyes.

"aw my little angel," jimin smiles at her, pecking her lips, "i'm so sorry for making you worried, sweetheart,"

"it's okay," aera smiles at him, cupping his cheeks and leans closer to touch his nose, "i wanted you to be healthy, and koo wanted you to be healthy. we're so happy now. look i'm smiling and i kissed you," she giggles, pecking his lips again, then both his cheeks and even on his forehead, "be healthy oppa and be happy, i don't like my oppa sad. sad is for silly people,"

"sad is not for silly people, but okay. oppa's gonna be more happy so that riri can be happy, yeah?" jimin chuckles.

"no," jungkook grumbles, sitting up with a soft groan and looks at jimin, "you should be happy because you deserve it,"

"there, okay preacher," jimin scrunches up his face and jungkook grins at him, "did you sleep well?"

"mm-hmm," jungkook nods, ruffling his hair and faces jimin and aera, "hey, riri get down. don't bother him,"

aera looks at him, gasping as she nods, wriggling in jimin's arms for him to leave her. but stops when jimin assures her that it's fine, "i'm okay, don't worry," jimin says, getting a raised eyebrow from jungkook, "yes, really. you don't believe me?"

"not in this," jungkook shrugs.

"i'm fine, i promise," jimin sighs. the younger nods, standing up and looks at the nightstand, picking up the tablets from there and jimin voices in again, "i took the meds, showered and now i'm hungry. so if you both can go freshen up, we'll go eat something,"

"you're hungry?" jungkook looks at him, "should i make you some cereals? sandwich? or i'll wake jin hyung up, he'll make some pancakes for—"

"relax buddy. i'm okay. just go freshen up, i'll make us something," jimin says.

"no, you're sick,"

"i— boy, you cannot listen to me, can you?" jimin massages his temples and jungkook stares at him with a subtle pout, making him sighs deeply, "okay let's do one thing, you can watch over me while i cook. if i feel dizzy or anything, i'll stop working, alright?"

"hm," jungkook nods, heading to bathroom after telling aera to take care of jimin. the little girl gives a thumbs up, holding jimin's hand and makes him sit on the bed.

"are you okay, oppa? do you feel icky?" jimin chuckles at that, about to say no but decides to play a little and nods, making aera gasp, "icky? where? in your tummy?"

"no, here," he points at his cheek, "and i think it'll go away if riri can give me a kiss,"

aera nods firmly, leaning closer and kisses his cheek, "okay?" she asks.

"ouch, it's here now," jimin winces, pointing at his left cheek and aera quickly moves to his left side, kissing that cheek as well, then looks at him for a positive word. he holds in his laughter and shakes his head, pointing at his lips. aera frowns, kissing him anyway and watches as he points at his cheek again.

"that's not icky," she says, "you're making me worried. it's not funny,"

"uh no, it's not like that," jimin says.

"no?" aera looks at him and gives him a hug, closing her eyes as she now joins her hands, "close your eyes, oppa. let's pray,"

"okay?" jimin nods amusedly for he never knew aera believed in praying, "what do we have to pray for?"

"you," she says and jimin frowns, glancing at her face as her eyes are shut tight and fingers laced with each other, "god, please make my oppa's icky go away. make him healthy, thank you," jimin stares at her with a soft gaze. she opens her eyes, smiling widely and touches his cheek with her gentle fingertips.

"did icky go away?"

"yes," jimin whispers, "who taught you that, aera?"

"koo," aera giggles, sitting on his lap and looks at his face, "when you were sick, koo said if we pray then you'll be fine,"

"oh... thank you so much," jimin nods slowly, hugging her in his warm embrace and closes his eyes. then his mind replays all the harsh words thrown at his siblings by their own father and the way his younger brother broke down that day when he couldn't bear it.

jimin stands up, taking a deep breath and forces a smile as he looks down at her, patting her cheek, "come down with kook okay? i have an important call to make," he says, not waiting for a response and leaves the room, jogging down the stairs to his parents' room.

"mom?" he calls, knocking on the door as well, tapping his foot impatiently on the carpet beneath and takes a deep breath when the door clicks open.

"jimin? are you feeling good now?" eunmi smiles, letting him in after hugging him briefly, "my boy, you got us so worried,"

jimin nods once, then looks at his father's sleeping figure on the bed. he glances down at his feet, then takes his mother's hand, bringing her outside the room for a word, "what happened?" eunmi asks.

"about what happened that day," jimin mutters, "why didn't you say anything mom? you call jungkook your little prince... still?"

eunmi looks down, nodding her head, "i'm sorry," she hushes out, "everything kook said that day was true. and i feel terrible about it. my children don't find comfort in me when i'm the mother... that's a shame for me,"

jimin sighs softly, hugging her and rests his chin on her shoulder, "no, you're the only parent kook looks up to. that's why he was more hurt when even you couldn't understand him," he says, "i know you trust me with the kids, mom. but you need to trust yourself too, okay?"

"you all hate me?"

"no, never," jimin pulls away, staring directly at her and shakes his head, "nobody hates you. not me, not aera and certainly not kook,"

"i've got the best kids, and i really wish you could say the same about us. i'm sorry," she says, taking a deep breath, cutting jimin off when he's about reassure her. "i'm fine, jim. just take care of each other. now that you're fine, i think me and your dad will go back. i don't wanna create anymore problems for you three. you already have the boys too,"

jimin nods slowly, hugging her again, "i'm sorry, mom," he says.

"don't be, nothing is your fault," she cups his cheek and pulls him down to kiss his forehead, "i'll talk to jungkook once before leaving. i have to apologise to him,"

"mamma," aera runs up to them and jungkook follows her awkwardly, "me and koo are ready for breakfast,"

"good job," eunmi smiles at her and glances at jungkook, stepping near him to stroke his hair lovingly, "i'm so sorry, baby. i couldn't be a good mother to you, but i gotta thank you for always being the best son to me," she hushes out with teary eyes. jungkook looks away from her, meeting jimin's eyes who nods for him to give the mother a hug.

jungkook doesn't wait for a second, hugging his mom tightly and buries his face in her shoulder, "mom..."

"yeah, mamma's right here, kook," eunmi rubs his back slowly. she blinks her eyes a couple times, getting rid of the tears in her eyes which only return when she feels the boy trembling in her embrace as though he was seeking a safe place somewhere in her arms.

jimin notices aera's eyes on eunmi and jungkook and carries her in his arms, joining the hug as well, wrapping his free arm around the younger brother to calm him down while aera drapes her small arm on the mother's back. eunmi closes her eyes, dropping a tear in jimin's chest as she knows that jungkook is fine now that jimin is holding them.

"i'm here, mom. don't worry about anything," jimin whispers to her assuringly and smiles softly, "ri, give mamma a real tight hug,"

"mamma," aera giggles, hugging eunmi tightly.

jaehyun watches from the door, his family being a family without him until jimin notices his presence. he says nothing and just pulls away slowly, sending siblings to the kitchen with eunmi as she said that she'll cook for them today. jaehyun walks up to him with a subtle smile, "you look fine," he says.

"yeah, much better," jimin nods not really returning the smile and retrieves a step when jaehyun leans forward for a hug, "no, dad. you cannot go back to acting like nothing happened. not with me. i can't believe you said all that to kook, treat him like that... it hurts me— it makes me despise you, dad, seeing how you treat my brother. but then i can't ever hate you, you've done a lot for me, we have all kinds of good memories, you've always been my idol since i was a kid. so please, dad, for my sake, don't do this again. jungkook is your son as much as he's my brother. don't make him want one of you to die so that the other can live peacefully,"

"i didn't mean—"

"no, i know all that. you were going to use aera as jungkook's punishment, knowing that he loves his sister more than anything, and you say you didn't mean it? really dad?" jimin shakes his head, chuckling dryly, "i'm sorry for talking to you this way. you leave me with no other option. i'm sick of correcting jungkook to be respectful with you, but... you just... that kid, dad, aera, also your daughter if you forgot. she was scared of you, do you okay that? she was scared that you might take her away from her brothers... i don't know what to say to you. but please, if you can't make my kids happy, make sure you're not the reason for their tears either, mr jeon. you might be okay with seeing your kids cry in pain, i'm not,"

with that jimin turns on his heels, cracking his neck and takes a deep breath to remove the anger from his expression as he heads to the kitchen, smiling on seeing aera, jungkook and their mother laughing about something. 

__________

a/n- this is the longest chapter in the book. 9K+ words all because i didn't want to break the flow of the chapter. since all the scenes of this chapter were so connected, breaking them apart would've also broken the flow of emotions and make the chapter feel bumpy (?) yeah so i didn't make this into parts. 😩

did you like the chapter? please let me know if you did. don't forget to vote and also comment and share, whatever. take care and stay healthy ❤️

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9.3K words