a/n: just wanted to say a little something 😓

imagine this tae and jimin>>>>

________

students laughed, and they still do, although it's just faint giggles and whispers here and there. but it is there. lily can hear it all, their words, the mocking laughters and the jokes that are circulating among her classmates while she slowly gets up from her seat. the girl next to her lowers her head too, but lily catches the lift of her cheek muscles as she laughs silently while looking down.

the teacher towers over her small height, glaring at her as though she stole her car. her hand lifts up, making lily flinch and shut her eyes close, waiting for an impact of the hit, which never comes. however, she's forced to stumble to the side when it pushes her away from her seat, earning more laughs from her classmates. she holds a friend's desk for support, looking back at the teacher, who's now picking up her bag and tosses its contents over on the floor.

there are books, notebooks, lily's pencil case and even the lunch. the lid of the tiffin box opened and the special cutlets and strawberries spilled on the dirty floor. tears leave her eyes, staring, as her teacher checks the front pockets of her bag as well, making sure that she wasn't hiding her notebook there if she possibly could. on not finding anything other than a key chain, a chocolate and a pack of sharpies, the teacher turns to face lily again with a strict glare.

"where is your homework?"

"i told you didn't bring it." lily mumbles, "i wasn't lying, miss. i forgot it at home..."

"stop crying." the woman yells, grabbing the little girl by her upper arm and drags her to the front of the class, hearing a few gasps and giggles from the class. "quiet everybody! if i hear any noise, i'm gonna make you take the punishment with her! who else didn't bring their homework?"

nobody raises their hand and the teacher looks at lily, "see? they all completed their homework and submitted their notebooks. they're responsible and good students, unlike you. do you even want a future or not? because with this behaviour, i can guarantee you that you're not getting anywhere! always making up stories and playing around! did you write an essay on your best friend last week? no, instead it was some dogs! do you think writing about dogs as your best friends will give you attention, lily? it's ridiculous, if you ask me. and then you had the audacity to come and ask why i deducted marks." she grits out, ignoring the sobs coming from lily, her hands clenched on her sides and head hanging low.

"you didn't even score average marks in your tests. i don't get why kids like you even get to come to such prestigious schools. there are literally so many kids out there who don't get the opportunity to educate themselves, and then there's you, wasting money and everybody's time because you think everything is a game. you failed your tests, lily! who even fails at your age?! all your classmates have passed, but you couldn't! you know why?" she makes her look up, and lily shuts her eyes again, thinking that she's going to hit her. the teacher rolls her eyes, grasping her face harshly in her hand and leans down, shooting the most disgusting stare at her. "because you are a brat and can't do the simplest things asked. now take your stuff and get out of my class. you're not allowed in my class until i get a written apology for you failing the tests and not doing your homework."

"i'm sorry, miss. i'll being it to—"

"shut up and leave!" the teacher yells.

lily cries silently, too scared to even make a noise and keeps her eyes on the floor, taking slow small steps back to her seat. she wipes her tears from her cheeks, crouching down to pick up all the things that her teacher threw on the floor and the notebook torn in half from earlier when all of this began. she gathers eveything, putting it inside her bag and hugs it close to her chest, sniffling as she looks at the teacher again.

"get out." she glares at her, holding lily's hand and pushes her outside the class, slamming the door shut on her face.

"god, such troublesome kids i've got..." is what lily hears as her teacher's last words.

heaving out a shaky breath, lily rubs her eyes, walking along the length of the hallway, not really knowing where to go. she stops by the exit, staring at the older kids playing on the ground, laughing and yelling at each other as they're having fun. she heads out in their direction, not that interested in playing, but wanting to sit alone quietly near the big tree at the extreme end of the playground.

once she reaches there, she puts down her bag, sitting down without a care of the world and rubs the tears off her eyes, even though they still become moist with the constant reminder coming from her head that she shouldn't cry or everyone will know that something happened. leaning against the tree, she watches the game of soccer, while her mind keeps itself busy thinking about everything that her teacher just said.

why did i forget my homework notebook?

she could've avoided this if only she remembered to keep the notebook in her bag last night after completing the homework. but maybe miss zara would still get angry, because again for her letter to a friend, she wrote a letter to charley, her four-year-old german shepherd. she couldn't understand why her teacher hated charley and cooper so much when she hasn't even seen them. the word 'friend' isn't so familiar for lily and all she knows is the closest to being a friend to her, in fact being her best friends, are her dogs.

what's wrong in it if she didn't write an essay about human friends? miss zara did not mention that the best friend must be a human, neither did she say anything about them not being a pet. even yesterday, the letter she gave as a homework was only specified to be for a friend, telling them about how much fun lily had on her birthday. her birthday didn't even arrive yet, still she accepted imagining that much, but she didn't want to imagine and write to a random name as her friend when she clearly has her canine besties.

charley and cooper are what best friends mean to lily, and she couldn't grasp what was making her teacher so mad about it.

sighing deeply, lily closes her eyes, folding her legs up to her chest and rests her head on her arms that her hugging her legs. it's a comfortable position behind the huge tree trunk hiding lily's petite figure behind itself, giving her the space she needs. after a lot of crying and her heart pounding to come out of her chest, she finally felt peace and didn't even realise when the surroundings faded into silence, and the world became a better place.

she was in the park near han river with charley and cooper, playing fetch as they both love the game and go absolutely crazy after it. lily laughs, throwing a frisbee in the air and the dogs compete to catch it and bring it back. then they play tag, running around in the cold air, and when they get tired, they just huddle up together on the soft grass. there are geese in the water, drawing attention from lily and both of her dogs, leaving them to stare and hope that the geese family would come out. lily could play with their babies, right?

it's so fun that lily doesn't even realise how much time has passed, until she hears charley and cooper barking, tugging on her shirt. oh, she's still in her school uniform. her brows pinch in a frown, lips pouting when the shaking hand moves her vigorously and there's someone calling her name. her eyes flutter open, making her gasp on finding two of her teachers crowding her down by the tree in the school playground.

"you're sleeping here when i told you to write an apology letter?!" miss zara screams, "what is wrong with you, lily?!"

"everyone was worried about you and you're here!" her math teacher scolds , "you skipped three of your classes to doze off here?! gosh, kid, when are you planning to use your brain a little?!"

"get back inside. write the damn letter and then go wherever you want." the english teacher mutters, "bloody idiot."

lily looks down on her lap, tears returning in her eyes, which pisses the teaches off more. the math teacher makes her stand up, glaring and the english one doesn't even think before giving her a tight slap. lily whines in response, breaking into a sob as she covers her face with her arms, pulling herself back to not get hit again, "don't hit me..." she cries, "it hurts..."

"it hurts? it fucking hurts?!" miss zara screams, "it should! you deserve it for not thinking about anyone and anything else you selfish brat!"

"i'm sorry..." lily whispers with a sob, being dragged inside the school building, getting looks from everyone around her. it's recess and everyone is out of their classrooms, getting a nice show of a nine-year-old crying, while her teachers are too angry to care about her attempts to free her arm from them.

she stumbles after them, having trouble keeping up with their long steps and struggling against the harsh grip. she looks at their back, crying and apologizing over and over again. however, the only time they ever stop is on reaching the principal's office. getting inside, lily's cries never subside, getting glares from the teachers and a confused look from the principal.

"what's going on?"

"this is jeon lily, sir." miss zara starts explaining, "she didn't complete her homework, kept making excuses, and even failed her class assessments. she's the only one who failed in my class. and when i told her to write an apology letter for her behaviour or she won't be allowed back in the class, she just went outside to the playground."

"we found her sleeping there, sir." the math teacher adds. "she's a nuisance. her questions make no sense and waste the time of the class."

the principal nods, turning to the crying young girl with a serious gaze and nods towards the side, "sit there and write your letter for forgiveness. only then you'll go back to your class."

"she hit me..." lily hushes out, trying her best to gulp down the sob that she would've let out if the principal wasn't looking at her.

"what? speak up."

"she—"

"i told you, you deserve it." miss zara says, "why do you even think you're in a position to complain about your teachers? you're the one who gets in trouble because of your bad behaviour, and now you're blaming us? you might be only nine years old, but god your mind games." she shakes her head, "be a child that you are. do not try to act older than your age, alright?"

"miss zara, it's okay." the principal says, motioning his hand for the woman to calm down, and focuses back on the kid. "come on, get the letter quickly. we don't have the whole day for this. and tell me your parents' number too."

lily gulps nervously, but tells them jimin's number, knowing that he will come and take her without getting mad if she tells him everything. he knows the truth and trusts her unlike her teachers. she takes the piece of paper that miss zara gives her and a pen, standing by desk and starts with the letter. the first few seconds pass by just staring at the blank paper, wondering who she should address it to.

"is this your father's number?" the principal asks.

"no," lily says in a hoarse voice, tired from all the crying she did in just one day. "my brother."

"give me your father's number. i told you that i need to contact your parents not your brother."

"but i live with my brothers."

"doesn't matter. just give me your father's number."

"i- i don't know..." she mumbles.

"you don't know your father's number? you think you can lie to us, lily? what— are you dumb?! just say your father's number!"

"i really don't know. we don't talk to him... he lives away from home. i live with my oppa. i'm not lying..." lily sniffles, rubbing her eyes.

"for god's sake! okay, tell me your mother's number then. she'll come with your dad."

lily closes her eyes, crying out of frustration as nobody believes her and think that she's lying. she touches her head gently where the headache persists, getting worse than morning. her heart beats faster than she has ever felt, and she can feel her fingers holding the pen tightly in her hand. "give your mother's number, lily!" the math teacher hits her head, making her flinch.

"i don't have mom..." lily voices out, still trying not to break. "please call my brother. please..."

"this kid." miss zara hisses, pinching the bridge of her nose. "you keep writing the letter, lily. and sir, i'll go get the number from the class register."

lily rubs her eyes every now then to get rid of the tears and see clearly to make sure she's not making a spelling mistake, or else her english teacher might lash out at her again. her hand trembles as she struggles to even hold the pen, yet manages to get half way done by the time miss zara returns with the phone number she left for.

"it's her brother's number, sir. he's the only guardian for her."

"pathetic." the teacher scoffs, "no wonder she's like this."

"make sure you apologize for everything that you've done wrong, alright?" miss zara voices out for lily, getting a slow nod from her.

"hello? is this jeon lily's elder brother?" the principal says, talking on the phone. lily looks up from the letter, watching the principal and hopes internally for jimin to come soon. "yes, actually your sister has created some problems. and we'd like to talk to you about it."

lily sighs at that, instantly feeling a hand tapping on the paper, reminding her that she's supposed to write. she completes it in a few minutes, now sitting outside  the office, holding her ears. the students who pass by give her confused looks, some stop to ask why she was being punished and some even made fun of her. lily gulps down her saliva, feeling her throat getting dry, remembering that she hasn't taken a single sip of water for almost the last five hours. it's the second last period going on right now with no water and food.

she looks inside the office, where the principal is talking to the two teachers. she opens the door slightly, scared to even open her mouth but thinks it would be better to seek permission instead of giving them another reason to yell at her. "stand outside." the math teacher says.

"i—"

"we'll talk once your brother is here. till then just stand outside quietly and hold your ears."

"but—"

"do you wanna do sit-ups there?"

lily takes a step up back, closing the door and waits for a bit more. it's taking jimin a while to get here, and lily just needs some water. just one sip. she gulps down through her dry throat, looking at the side. the water cooler is not that far from here. it's just down the hallway. she wonders if she should go, hearing a little voice from inside telling her that she should.

as minutes tick by, lily's blurry vision just worsens, making it difficult for her to keep her eyes open. she's tired of crying, but still tears keep coming to her eyes with the excruciating pain in her head and the hallway spinning every now and then. she leans back against the wall, shut her eyes close, scared of what she's feeling for she never experienced this before. even when she was sick a few days back, it never got to the point where she couldn't stand or felt dizzy.

"lily?" the voice enters along with light buzzing in lily's ears, making her frown, yet she opens her eyes for nothing in this world can make her mistake that voice. she pouts, rubbing her eyes to wipe off the tears for the millionth time and steps forward at the sight of jimin. he's not alone, taehyung is with him and by the looks of it, they both probably just got off work. jimin must've left his meetings or whatever he was busy with to come here, and taehyung might've joined him after wrapping up the photoshoot he had in the morning.

"oppa," she breaks into a sob, rushing forward to hug her brothers, however the door of the office opens and her math teacher holds her back.

"where do you think you're going?! can't you just stand here quietly for once?!" he yells, hand already in the air to hit lily. she lowers her head, using her arms to protect herself from the hard impact, but it never comes. on looking up, her cries only intensify, making it harder for her to breathe. she gasps in need of air, the spinning surroundings only getting worse and at this point, lily can barely register what's going on. her eyelids close slowly, hand searching for her brother as she loses consciousness.

"back off." taehyung glares at the man, clasping his wrist that he caught in the middle before it could get anywhere near his sister.

"lily!" jimin gasps, holding the young girl, realising that she just fainted. he wraps his arm around her, using the other hand to cup her face, "lily? wake up, honey. look at me." he taps her cheek gently, not getting any response and looks over at the teacher who was about to hit her. "get some water."

the man gulps, staring at the child with a scared expression and nods, heading inside the office to allow the brothers to enter as well. it's much colder inside thanks to the air conditioner, and jimin sits down on the small sofa at one side. the teacher brings lily's water bottle from her bag, handing it to taehyung, who quickly opens the lid and pours some water in his hand, sprinkling it over lily's face.

"what happened to her?" the principal asks.

"she was fine right now." miss zara shakes her head, "your sister is very dramatic, mr kim. please teach her some manners. she cannot go making excuses like this for the rest of her life."

"are you her teacher?" taehyung hisses at her.

"yes."

"are you sure?"

"excuse me?" miss zara gasps, offended.

"yeah, of course. keep asking me to excuse you because you're one heck of a teacher."

jimin ignores them and folds the sleeve of lily's shirt up till her arm, which is when she moves a little, opening her eyes slowly. "oppa..." she mumbles, discomfort evident in her voice.

"yes, baby? are you feeling okay?" he asks in a softly, kissing her forehead. "my child, why didn't you tell me if you weren't feeling well today?"

"i was okay," she hushes out, moving to a sitting position, still on jimin's lap and hugs him weakly. "i wanna go home..."

"okay," he hums, rubbing her back and glances at taehyung, who gives them a nod. jimin stands up with lily, holding her hand for support and pats her head, "where's the nurse's office? can you take me there?"

lily nods, taking a deep breath before she starts walking, staying close to jimin, especially when she passes her teachers. rubbing her eyes before looking up and sniffles, "they're so bad, oppa. miss zara kept yelling at me and then she hit me too." she pouts, getting a worried look from jimin.

"she hit you?"

"yes..." lily nods, "i told her don' hit me, but she said i deserve it—  pain..." she sobs again, coughing this time too, having trouble breathing. jimin rubs her back, easing her a little although it doesn't make much of difference considering how worked up lily has gotten. they reach the nurse's office, instantly being attended by the woman, making the kid sit down.

"what happened?" she asks.

jimin stays quiet, standing in front of his sister and unbuttons the upper portion of her uniform shirt, tugging down the fabric a little below her shoulder from the right, catching a glimpse of the device stuck on the skin, with some numbers displaying on its little screen. his eyes widen and so does the nurse's, realising that the sugar level is too low for the kid's health. she turns around quickly, opening the drawer of her desk and returns back with a bar of chocolate.

"do you give her—" she's about to finish, but seeing jimin nod, she just removed the wrapper and gives the chocolate to lily. "how did that happen? you didn't eat anything?" she asks lily, who shakes her head.

"why? i told you to have your lunch on time, didn't i?" jimin sighs, "even jinnie oppa told you to do that. why didn't eat then?"

"miss zara dropped my lunch on the floor." lily mumbles, taking a bite of the chocolate, "and i was in punishment whole day. they didn't even let me drink water..."

jimin's jaw clenches in anger, hating how cruel some people can be not even caring that they're dealing with a child, who might have a medical background. he takes a deep breath, glancing at the nurse, "can we have a minute please?" the woman nods, leaving the room empty with just lily and her brother after giving them a bottle of water with some glucose dissolved in it. "hey, look at me."

lily does as he says, sitting on the bed which is higher than normal, coming somewhat closer to jimin's hips. lily shifts forward on the bed, hugging him and pouts, "i don't feel good, oppa. miss zara an-and mr. chang scolded me a lot. she even threw all my things out of my bag in the classroom... she doesn't like charley and cooper, and said that- that animals cannot be my best friend, that's why she didn't give me good marks in the essay. she was so mad and just didn't listen to me. you know i completed my homework yesterday, right?" she pulls away to look at his, lips trembling in a pout.

"yes, my love. i know. my lily's a good girl." jimin smiles softly at her, stroking her hair.

"miss zara said i'm a brat. she didn't believe me when i told her that i forgot my notebook at home by mistake. she— she kept yelling and told me that i'm a bad kid... everyone was laughing at me and mr chang also kept saying bad things... he said a very bad thing..." she cries, lowering her head and rubs her eyes, "i don't wanna stay here, oppa. le's go home..."

"alright," jimin hums, hugging her warmly and presses his lips on her shoulder, caressing her exposed arms slowly with his thumb, "we'll go home, okay? then nobody will bother my child. oppa will scold miss zara and mr chang for making his princess cry."

"yea'," she nods, finishing up the chocolate and slips down from the bed. jimin fixes her clothes properly and brushes her hair back roughly with his hand. "i'm not a bad girl, right oppa? i failed my test but— but i know everything, i promise. i don' wanna become bad when i grow up, oppa. miss zara said that i'm dumb and i will have bad future... no one want stupid people who fail tests..."

jimin pats her back, kneeling down in front of her, his hands placed on her sides, "miss zara has no idea how smart and intelligent my lily is. you wrote such a wonderful essay that day all by yourself, and even yesterday's letter. you didn't even need oppa's help. isn't that very smart of you?" he smiles, "and you love charley and cooper a lot, you do your work, help your oppas and even strangers when you see them in need. that's something not everyone can do. but my lily does it every single time, which is amazing and shows how good of a person you're going to be as you grow up."

lily's pout never leaves her expression, even though she hides her face in jimin's shoulder, standing between his arms as he holds her securely. he strokes her head and her back, humming softly to her, "now don't cry. oppa will scold everyone who made his little girl upset." he says it like a promise, making lily pull away and wipes off her tears from her face, "c'mon, tell me the names."

"miss zara..." lily whispers, looking at jimin, "and mr chang... he's bad too. and principal sir... they all didn't listen to me and kept blaming me and saying bad things. i'm not a liar, oppa... don't believe them if they say that i'm a bad girl."

"i know that, princess. i trust you." jimin cups her face, leaning forward until his nose bumps with lily's gently, "i'll always trust you more than anyone else, okay?"

"mm'hm," she nods, which is when she remembers something and looks down at her arm, touching the small machine stuck under the fabric of the shirt, that reads the glucose level of her blood. "i'm going to die, oppa?"

"no," jimin caresses the spot on her arm, watching her fond eyes, knowing just how much pain she has to bear everyday just so she can live her life like kids her age. from changing these patches to frequent rounds of blood tests, medicines, and injections that are far from what a normal nine-year-old experiences.

"you didn't eat anything since morning, that's why you were feeling weak. that's all."

lily nods slowly, holding jimin's hand and tugging on it as a gesture for him to stand up and get going with her. he follows instantly, exiting the room, and spots the nurse, sending her a polite smile before disappearing at the end of the hallway, turning to the principal's office. the child lingers close beside her brother, scared of facing the teachers again, however, the safe presence of jimin and his arm around her makes her feel a bit better.

she turns her head away from the teachers, not even sparing them a glance for her attention is pinned on taehyung, who is raging for some reason, the letter lily wrote a while ago in the harsh grip of his hand. jimin frowns in confusion, placing his hand on taehyung's shoulder, earning a glance from him. although before he could ask anything, taehyung himself turns to face him and hands the poor letter to jimin, gesturing him to read it.

respected sir,

my name is jeon lily and i study in class 4-a. i'm writing this to apologise to you, miss zara and mr. chang for my bad behaviour. i'm sorry for not bringing my homework, but i promise it was complete. i'm sorry for writing the essay about my pet dogs, for failing english, and for explaining myself. i'm sorry for going to ground when i did not know where to go and i fell asleep accidentally. i was tired. i'm sorry for not knowing my father's phone number, and not having him around to raise me. but i promise this will not repeat, i will behave nicely like others. please don't kick me out of my class.

yours sincerely,
jeon lily
class 4-a

jimin heaves out a shaky breath, more angry than anything right now as he lifts up his gaze from his sister's messy handwriting to the teachers' in front of him. he pats lily's head, forcing up a smile and nods towards the side, "take your bag and wait for us outside. we'll only take a minute, okay?"

"she can't leave like tha—"

"she can." jimin glares at miss zara, and nods for lily to walk out of the office and stop worrying. moreover, he strokes her head and gives her the keys of his car that is in the parking lot, so she can just go and wait in the car itself rather than in the heat outside.

as soon as lily leaves the brothers, exchange glances, and taehyung walks up to the principal's desk, towering over the short statured man as he leans forward with his knuckles resting on top of the desk. "you think you can be that harsh to a child all because you're the principal of this school?" he glares at him, "you made a kid apologize for things that aren't even her fault? are you serious? have you read the goddamn letter you and these fucking idiots made my lily write?!" taehyung roars, grabbing the collar of the principal's shirt, pulling him out from his safe place that was behind the desk.

"mr kim, listen—"

"no." taehyung growls, "you listen! our sister is diabetic. she was diagnosed two weeks ago, and none of us are used to this life. she was sick for almost the three weeks straight, couldn't attend school and wasn't even in the condition to appear for the exams. she's nine, you fucking morons! how can you be so fucking cruel to a child?!" he pushes the principal away, grabbing his hair in frustration, which is when his eyes land on the math teacher. "and you..." he walks up to the mr. chang, displeased as he stares at him, "who said you could hurt your student?"

"i wasn—"

"yeah?" taehyung arches up a brow, taking another step forward and places his hand on chang's shoulder, making the man flinch. "what? i'm not going to hurt you, mr chang. why are you scared? i'm just trying to talk." he pronounces, "talk, and understand why you think it was okay to raise your hand at a kid. at my sister."

mr chang never says anything, but miss zara does. stepping towards the door, she glares at taehyung and jimin, "you're crazy! we're lily's teachers and we have the right to scold her or—"

"you have the right to scold her when she does something wrong, miss zara." jimin voices out in a firm voice, "you cannot scold her for things that are not in her control. an apology letter like this... i can't believe you guys are running a school with this kind of attitude towards young kids."

"so? you'll teach us how to function a school properly?!" miss zara screams.

"lower your voice." taehyung warns, "i know how to yell too. and woman, trust me you don't want us mad, not me at least. i literally don't give a fuck that you're a woman, if you behave like that with my sister, i'm leaving no chance to make you regret it."

"are you threatening me?"

"i am." taehyung nods and gestures towards the principal and the math teacher, "these two as well."

jimin rolls his eyes at them, looking at the principal. his head tilts to the side, staring directly at the man and says, "i have no idea why you did all this with lily, but this is so not done. you have the power, the authority at where you sit everyday and maybe that's what got in your head. i don't appreciate you or your staff behaving like that with lily or any other child for that matter. you had no right to humiliate her in front of her class, or call her names for writing her essay on her dogs. you even hit her, and didn't even let her eat her food or drink water— like, what kind of sick people are you? i sent my child here to study and this is how you treat her?"

there's silence followed by a deep exhale from jimin as he shakes his head in disappointment, "you love your position, right mr lee?" jimin grits out, "well, i have a news for you. tomorrow morning it won't be you sitting on that chair, neither will this school ever be the same. and you two," he turns to the teachers, "have fun finding another job."

"wha—"

"yes. if nobody here cares about my kid, then i don't give a fuck about anyone else either. you have the whole evening and night today, gather your stuff and leave if you don't want your faces on the news tomorrow." jimin warns, straightening his coat as he pulls himself back and glances and at taehyung, "let's go. this is not worth another second."

taehyung smirks at the woman, passing her close by, "i hope this stings more than anything." she opens her mouth to say something, but taehyung shakes his head as a warning, "uh-uh, don't. why don't you understand, miss zara? i'm being respectful towards you, even though you clearly don't deserve it. so, please don't make me cross the line, or else i'll show what i meant when i said i don't discriminate between men and women."

the woman seals her mouth, looking down as taehyung walks out of the office with his brother. jimin's already on his phone, dialling a number and orders in a firm voice to his manager, "i want chad and nala to visit seoul glory middle school tomorrow the first thing in the day and take over. whatever the amount, i don't care. the school is to be taken over, and replace the whole staff."

"sir...? uh are you sure?" the man sounds hesitant but rolls off with it, when jimin hums. "okay then, i'll let them know. what about the selection procedure for the staff, sir?"

"arrange a meeting with mr ling. his family has quite some background with running educational institutions. the vacation is starting in a week, so we have plenty of time to finalize the staff, but for this week, i'd like you to arrange at least a math and english teacher."

"got it, sir. i'll be on it."

"good. and look for someone who can also sit in the principal's chair for the time being. i want a decent person for this."

"of course, sir. i'll make sure to interview the candidates myself."

"that's good." jimin hums, taking a deep breath and cracks his neck. he feels taehyung's gaze on him and looks to his side, confirming his brother's knowing look and a satisfied smile. "it's nothing, okay? don't mention it. i couldn't let our lily come to those people everyday and have her be treated like that."

"i know. i'm not saying anything." taehyung smiles, throwing his arm around jimin, grinning as they head towards the end of the long hallway and into the parking lot, where a few more cars are parked. it doesn't take long for the brothers to distinguish theirs, for none of the rest looked of any match other than one grey mercedes, but that seemed old too.

lily is sitting in the backseat, curled into a ball as she hugs her legs upto her chest, not caring about the skirt that rose in the position. her uniform is already disheveled with all the commotion since morning. tears still well her eyes as she has rested her forehead on her arms, staring at the dim pattern of her uniform skirt that's crumbled between her tummy and thighs. her hands are shaky and grip onto the upper arms a bit rougher than normal, still fighting the urge to cry.

"lily," taehyung hushes out softly, sitting at the back beside her and strokes her back, about to pull her straight, although the child does the job herself, letting herself fall in her big brother's arms.

"i'm sorry..." she mumbles between the first few sobs, finding it difficult to even open her eyes as the next cries roll of her lips. it breaks the brothers' hearts to see her like that, for it wasn't just normal moody whines or stubborn or cranky pleadings, rather it had her tiny little body shake in taehyung's hands like a vulnerable leaf attached to a plant that has just sprouted out of the ground.

she doesn't even manage to get her words out, slurring them in between and speaking half sense, half gibberish, mixed with cries out of pain and exhaustion. her hands held onto taehyung tightly, leaving not even a second to climb onto his lap and stick to his chest like her life depended on it. taehyung couldn't blame her. she's just a child afterall and he understands that she must be craving a safe embrace right now when her own teachers mistreated her.

taehyung gulps thickly, rubbing lily's back and kisses her shoulder, his eyes gradually making their way to the front where he finds jimin having equally hard time as him. his eyes are moist, staring at their little sister, their child to say the least, with both sympathy and the need to take away all of her pain, because everything aside, they believe their princess doesn't deserve all this. not a single tear.

"shh," taehyung strokes her head, his other hand securely resting on her lower back as he keeps her in a hug. "it's alright. nobody's hurting my baby tiger anymore." he whispers to her like it was a secret only for her, "oppa scolded everyone for making his princess upset."

lily sniffles, rubbing her eyes and nods subtly, buring her face in taehyung's neck, "don' wanna go there..." she whispers, dropping more tears that taehyung can feel on his skin, making him shut his eyes and hug lily tighter, making it a mission for himself to make this child feel safe.

"okay." he agrees, "no need to go there again."

"oppa..."

"yes, sweatheart?" taehyung hums, exchanging a glance with jimin, who just now ignited the engine and reverses the car to get out of here.

"hug," lily mumbles, voice still shaking as she moves a little in his arms.

"i am hugging you, tiger. look, oppa's holding you." he pats her back, shifting her to make her sit sideways on his lap and wraps his arm around her little waist. "better?"

"hm," she nods, looking up at his face and rubs her eyes again, pouting at him. "they' so bad, oppa. they said mean things to me... i'm so sad. everyone is bad in this world... my daddy, your daddy, an- miss zara, mr chang, and-and the students in my class... everybody is bad. i don't like anyone..." she trails off, sniffling again and leans onto taehyung, holding his hand. "they all behave badly with me and say mean things... i don't like anyone... they were laughing at me...

"why is them— why're they like that, oppa? they say i don't have my mamma and daddy to teach me manners, but their mamma and daddy didn't teach them either... i'm— i'm good, i never bully anyone. i'm good, right oppa?" she looks up at taehyung, searching for his eyes and relaxes once she does. seeing his dark chocolaty eyes staring at hers with such a soft look that made lily angle her head a little more, shaking his hand to remind him that she wants an answer from him.

he simply hums at first, before pressing a kiss on the side of her head and nuzzles his nose into her cheek, leaving another light peck over the skin, "everybody is bad for hurting you. they don't have the slightest idea of how precious you are, and they need serious help if they can be so cruel with someone like you. they're inhuman for making you cry and apologize for things that aren't even your fault."

lily hums as that, nodding her head, "yeah... they forced me to write that letter. i was so scared, oppa."

"you don't need to fear anyone, or be sorry for any of the things that was mentioned in the letter, okay?" taehyung looks straight in her eyes, cupping her face and not restraining himself from kissing the tip of her nose. "it's not your fault that you don't live with your dad and don't know his number. writing about charley and cooper as your best friends is your choice and doesn't have to make sense to anyone else. you don't have to be sorry for failing because we know what conditions prevailed in the last few weeks. failing is not a mistake, kiddo. everyone in their life at least once faces a failure, doesn't matter big or a little one. it's okay to fail because it teaches a lot of things about what we're doing and about our strengths and weaknesses.

"you forgetting your homework is okay too. it happens sometimes. don't beat yourself over it just because someone said you were a liar and took your truth for an excuse. and most important of all, baby, you never apologize for feeling wronged when someone hurts you. you never have to be sorry for explaining yourself— in fact, you don't even have to explain yourself to anyone if you don't want to. you don't owe anyone anything, princess, and nobody has the right to misbehave with you."

lily nods slowly at that, wrapping her arms around taehyung's neck, not saying anything further and just quietly rests her head on his shoulder. taehyung shifts a little on his seat, hooking his hand under lily's leg and turns her to face him, having her legs either side of him on the seat. he takes off the shoes from her feet and strokes her side gently, gesturing her that she can close her eyes now and sleep if she wants.

he remains silent for the next few minutes, giving lily the time she needs to fall asleep before he has any conversation with jimin. they're waiting in the middle of the street, surrounded with vehicles, some honking impatiently and some that are quiet, accepting the truth of the traffic. jimin glances back at taehyung, a subtle nod directed towards their sister, making taehyung glance down to peek at lily's face and nods in response.

"it was a long day for her." jimin sighs.

"yeah," taehyung hums, speaking in a hushed voice so that lily won't wake up. "i think we need to take her to jin hyung. how much was the sugar level?"

"around 50," jimin massages his temples, "that's why she passed out. should i drive to the hospital right now? it would be better if we go, right?"

"i guess," taehyung hums, staring at jimin with soft eyes, "jim, don't worry. lily is okay." he assures him, getting a look in return that confirms jimin's fear and how he doesn't believe taehyung right now. "jin hyung said it too, remember? we just need to take little precautions with lily and she should be fine."

"i know. we have been doing everything, tae, don't we? from the hour she wakes up to the moment she falls asleep, all we do is make sure she's doing fine and we always will. but what about the others? today you saw her, right? what if something like this happens again? those people won't even care, tae, but— but it's us who will face the consequences. it's us who might lose their child because of somebody else's fault... i'm just—" he pauses to take a deep breath, shaking his head. "i can't do this, tae. nobody gets to hurt my kid, that's all i know."

"i get that, jimin. trust me, i do. you're not the only one who feels that way. what happened today was cruel and shouldn't have happened at all. but you can't keep lily caged and all locked up to keep her safe, right? she's a little girl today, but will grow up tomorrow and will have a life like any other person. we can't take that from her."

"yeah..." jimin nods, clutching the steering wheel tightly. he glances back at the sleeping kid, "i don't wanna lose her because of people like them. she's too young for all this."

"she is." taehyung agrees with a heartache, his hand rubbing circles on lily's back. "she'll be fine. don't worry."

jimin heaves out a breath, focusing on the street as he soon locates the tall building with elegant exterior, being the top most expensive and successful hospitals in seoul. it's a private one under kim seokjin, a doctor by profession. he has been a doctor ever since lily was just a few months old, making him one of the youngest successful doctors with a chain of hospitals over different parts of korea, two in seoul itself. one solely dedicated to women and children with emergency support systems and free-of-cost appointments if needed. the other one, or this one where lily's treatment has been going on, is one of the biggest hospitals in south korea.

seokjin's brother, kim namjoon, is a well known lawyer, famous for his enormous victories on non-governmental issues and civil rights, even some criminal justice cases. the family, all in all, is not poor at all and soon namjoon is going to launch a law firm under his name. one thing about the cousins is that all of them turned out extremely successful with the potential they had in them and the hard work they put into shaping themselves to not just compete in the world but also to win and secure their position at the top.

kim jimin, the youngest billionaire and ceo to exist currently in south korea. kim taehyung, one of the most successful actors and celebrity despite him just being in the industry for merely five years. jungkook is working towards his debut as a singer, which is planned to be later this year, along with his college. jung hoseok, a hip hop icon and youth sensation with his gorgeous dance moves, a studio and dance academy where he trains number of students ranging from as young as seven-year-olds to teens who wish to become a kpop idol. kim namjoon, one of the highest paid and hard to heir lawyer. min yoongi, the man who has won several awards for the music he makes, including the best producer award not once or twice but for three consecutive years. and kim seokjin, the legendary doctor who made it his motto to help as many people as he could in one life time.

if someone said the family had obsession with making successful children, it probably wouldn't be a lie looking at the boys who make it rain money with their hard work and determination. it's not just about making money, they usually often donate for charities as well and invest in places where it either profits them or the society. yoongi recently made a hefty donation to the organisation working for cancer and aids patients, and received a lot of love online for it despite him trying to be discrete about the donation sum.

with the significant amount of good work, jimin sometimes finds himself wondering if he wasn't doing enough or if he did something wrong, to have his own sister hurting like this. he could go out and help half of the world, but not his own sister. this made him feel helpless and sorry, wanting to take every bit of pain from lily's life and leave only smiles and laughter of happiness. she looks so beautiful when she's happy.

sighing softly, he glances back at taehyung and gets out of the car, opening the backdoor where taehyung is still sitting, whispering something to the sleepy baby. "lily, come on, kiddo. do you wanna see jinnie oppa?" jimin asks, drawing attention from lily as she looks up and nods slowly. "come out then, let's go and say hi to jinnie oppa." he smiles, holding her hand as she gets down the car, rubbing her eyes.

"oppa," lily tugs on jimin's hand, sticking to his side.

"hm?"

"hungry,"

"ah, yeah you must be hungry." jimin mutters, stroking her back, then glances at taehyung who nods assuringly, gesturing that he will get something for her to eat.

meanwhile jimin leads lily inside the building, making their way straight to the elevator while lily's eyes move around the place, not very fond of it because one, it smelled like medicines and two, most of the people around looked too serious for her liking, making it look like nobody was happy. she sticks close to jimin, tearing her eyes off a crying kid, looking close to her age as he's being taken in a wheelchair, his parents following the nurse with worried eyes.

she looks up at jimin's face, only to find him calm and minding his own business without letting his attention wander off to the others around him. 'is he not bothered by so many sad people?' lily wonders, and wants the quality in her as well for she just couldn't feel at ease hearing faint cries and groans as they passed the hallway that lead to the taruma center. as soon as she steps inside the elevator, her arms come up to wrap around jimin's waist, hugging his lower torso with all her might and breaks into a sob again.

"hey, what happened? is it hurting anywhere?" jimin asks softly, patting her head and kneels down in front of her. she steps forward to hug him, sniffling quietly and rubs her eyes. "talk to oppa, darling."

"i don' like hospital..." she mumbles, "e'ryone is so sad here... i'm so sad too. le's go home, oppa."

jimin smiles softly, rubbing her back and hums, "you're a sweet little girl that's why you think like that. yeah, people do look a bit serious here, but think about it, all the doctors and nurses and the staff work to help these people right? you saw that boy just now who was crying. his mom and dad brought him here to see a doctor so he can get well. isn't that a good thing?"

lily breaks the hug, staring at jimin with her head tilted slightly and a frown resting between her brows, "you saw?"

"of course, i did."

"but you were looking up. i was thinking oppa didn't see him, and i wanted to be like oppa."

"what? i'm sorry, say it again." jimin chuckles at the baby talk, not really able to make out what she meant by that. lily pouts at him, shaking her head, making the elder brother frown in confusion. "i don't get it, kiddo. i'm sorry."

"'s okay," she mumbles, holding his hand and leans onto him. "you're big."

"is that why i can't understand some of your words?"

"yea'," she hums, standing against him and waits for the doors to slide open. she takes jimin's hand, bringing them to the front, fiddling with his rings or just holding onto his warm hands.

the elevator dings and jimin pats her back, stepping out into the hall. he walks up to the counter by the reception, asking about his elder cousin's schedule and the girl lets him know that he's not free until late evening. with a sigh, jimin asks for an appointment, getting a smile as the girl writes down the details and gestures him to wait where a few other people are sitting.

lily doesn't fancy the scene yet again, feeling overwhelmed with a toddler crying nearby and his mother struggling to calm him down. she hold onto her brother's hand, staring up at him with whining eyes as a gesture for him to take her home. jimin, however, only gives her an apologetic smile in return and rubs her back, taking a seat on one of the big couches.

"home," lily whines, pulling his hand for him to get up and leave this place.

"we need to see jinnie oppa, lily. he'll examine you and tell us whether everything's fine or not."

"i'm fine, i'm telling you." lily pouts.

"okay, i believe you." he hums, pulling her on his lap and makes her sit sideways, patting her side. but lily stomps her feet on the tiles getting a few sympathetic looks from the people around, for they know too how messy it can be with kids in hospitals. "shh, see everyone's looking here. do you want them to think that my lily is a bad girl?" he whispers.

lily's pout intensifies, whining louder and finally breaks into a sob as if she hasn't already been crying the whole day. "it's okay, princess. i know you're tired, just a few more minutes then we'll go home, i promise." he assures her, patting lily's back to calm her down.

"no, 's always a lot of minutes..." she whimpers, burying her face in the crook of jimin's neck, letting out more tears of discomfort.

"a lot of minutes? you mean like ten or twenty?" jimin asks in a low voice, wanting to engage in a conversation without disturbing the silence of the waiting hall.

"mm'no, so many minutes. like- like, five-hundred minutes..."

"ah, that's a lot. we're not going to wait here for five-hundred minutes, kiddo."

"promise?" she looks at him.

"yes, promise." he smiles, linking his pinky with her, which is when the chiming sound of the elevator goes off again, drawing lily's attention. it's taehyung with a bag of food and lily stands up quickly, going to him. jimin sighs deeply, throwing his head back with his eyes closed and massages his temples.

"is that your daughter?"

jimin opens his eyes on hearing the hushed voice of a female and realises it's the lady who's son was crying a few minutes ago. he's sleeping now, which is probably why she speaks so softly. jimin follows her gaze towards lily, a subtle smile forming on his lips before he shakes his head, "sister." he mutters, "but she's fifteen years younger than me, so almost a daughter." he chuckles.

"that's adorable," the lady smiles. "she looked cranky... i'm sorry, i know i shouldn't be asking but still, what happened? you can share if you're comfortable."

"it's fine," jimin shrugs his shoulders, "she was diagnosed with type one diabetes less than three weeks ago, and it's pretty new for us— especially her, with the disorder. doesn't like to eat, doesn't like medicines, doesn't like to get her blood drawn out. that has made her a bit cranky."

"i understand. my son has thalassemia major, and it's really hard to manage everything with him."

jimin's gaze travels down to sleeping toddler in the lady's arms, his eyes softening at the sight, "i'm sorry. that must be painful."

the woman smiles sadly, nodding her head but hides her emotional side as lily and approaches them. "i'm taking her to the restroom." taehyung lets him know, placing the bag of food beside jimin, earning a faint nod from him.

"how old is she?" the lady asks.

"nine," jimin replies, reading the surprised look on her face, which he understands for lily did look younger than her age thanks to the disorder she inherited from her father, disturbing not just the glucose levels but her overall immunity and growth as well.

"mrs song?" a woman calls, making this lady stand up, sending one last smile to jimin before heading inside jin's cabin as it was her son's turn now.

within a few minutes, taehyung returns with lily as well and takes a seat beside the brother, while lily stands in front of them, picking up the plastic bag and peeks inside to see a bowl of fruits and sandwiches wrapped neatly in transparent wrap. lily picks up the bowl of fruits, licking her lips before grabbing the fork and opens the lid. lily sits on jimin's thigh, facing taehyung and starts eating quickly, being too hungry to wait for anything else.

"did you talk to jungkook?" jimin asks, glancing at taehyung, who nods simply. "is he at home?"

"no, he had practice today and some assignment too. so he was with his friend when i talked to him."

"okay," jimin hums.

"where is koo?" lily asks, turning to taehyung, "i wanna go to koo."

"yeah?" taehyung wraps his arm around her, chuckling as she nods in response. "but he's not at home."

"where is he?" lily asks again.

"at his friend's place. they're studying together."

"oh," she nods slowly, "can i talk to koo, oppa?"

"if you want to." taehyung shrugs, handing his phone over to lily, who unlocks it quickly and calls on jungkook's number, waiting patiently for him to answer. jimin takes the bowl and the fork from her, feeding her the fruits every now and then that she swallows the previous ones down.

"hello, yes hyung?" jungkook says.

"hi, koo." lily smiles.

"oh, hi bunny." jungkook chuckles, "what are you doing? did you see jin hyung?"

"nuh-uh," she shakes her head, munching on the two pieces of papaya that are too big for her liking, making her pout at jimin. he nods assuringly and pats her back, gesturing her to eat it quickly. "i'm eating, koo."

"ah, that's good. what are you eating?"

"fruits." lily answers before jimin feeds her another piece of fruit. "no, that's it." she says, pushing his hands away, looks down at the phone, "what are you doing, koo?"

"nothing really. just came back from the vocal practice. now me and dan are going to eat something as well and then start with our assignment."

"okay, when will you come back home?"

"I don't know it might take a while. not before eleven i guess." he sighs, "is hyung there?"

"yeah?" jimin hums, pulling lily closer and holds a piece of apple in front of her mouth, which she doesn't want to eat and turns her head away. "eat it, lily. you were hungry, weren't you?"

"i'm full now." lily mumbles.

"no, you're not. i'll know when you're full." jimin says.

"nooo! my tummy is full!"

"hey, quiet." taehyung smacks her butt lightly. "we don't make noise at a public place."

lily pouts, highly disappointed with the elders' behaviour and looks at the phone, "koo..."

"he's right, princess. it's not a good thing to misbehave at a hospital. they have big metal injections for naughty kids." jungkook says.

"big, metal injection?" she whispers with her voice quivering as jungkook confirms what he said, and that's enough to scare lily. she sits down quietly and opens her mouth letting jimin feed her.

"good girl. just a few more bites, then it's over." he says, showing the bowl that's almost empty.

"tummy is full, oppa..." lily mumbles, glancing at both the elder brothers. she takes taehyung's hand, placing it over her uniform shirt where her stomach is located and looks at his face. "it's full, right tae oppa?"

jimin holds back a smile as taehyung pretends to feel her tummy and hums, "it is, but there's a little bit of space in this corner." he says in such a manner that it makes lily believe him.

"ah hyung," jungkook calls in between, "i was thinking if i can stay over at daniel's tonight. it'll get too late by the time i come back home."

"alright, but make sure it's actually for the assignment, okay? you have college tomorrow so you shouldn't be partying."

"of course not, hyung. don't worry, we'll just complete our assignment. i'll hang up now. bye hyung, bye lily."

"bye," lily mumbles and taehyung ends the call, taking his phone from her and sits back comfortably, scrolling through his instagram feed while there's still some time for them to go in.

lily on the other hand, stands up again, taking the bowl from jimin and puts it on the other side of taehyung which is far away from jimin's reach unless he leans over to grab it. "what is it?" jimin sighs softly, cupping lily's face and brings her to stand between his legs, "you don't wanna finish your food?"

she shakes her head and leans forward for a hug, resting her head on his shoulder, "go home..."

"we—"

"jeon lily?"

the brothers' look up at the voice, standing up fro their place with lily, whose torment just worsens, entering the doctor's cabin with a sad pout. jin is instructing something to his assistant nurse before finally sending her off and smiles at the brothers, standing up to greet them with a hug. "hey, i didn't know you guys were coming?" he says, then glances down at the upset child, ruffling his hair. "ah, lily's also here. come give me a hug quickly." he says, stepping out of his place and chuckles lightly as lily gives him the weakest hug.

"what's gotten our little mouse so upset?" he asks, sitting down on his chair while jimin and taehyung sit across him, and brings lily on his lap. "tell me, lily. what's wrong? are you here to complain about jimin and tae?"

"no," she shakes her head. "oppa bring me here because i fainted in school. i was going to die."

"you weren't going to die, tiger." taehyung sighs.

"fainted?" jin frowns, touching her forehead, then holds her little wrist between his fingers to check the pulse.

"her sugar level dropped." jimin says, "she hadn't eaten the whole day because of some ridiculous teachers." he scoffs. "—and seeing her like that just shook me. so, we wanted to be sure that she's actually doing fine."

"because of some teachers?" jin repeats, pressing the end of his stethoscope on lily's chest, smiling at how she looks down at it then follows the instrument up till the ear piece through which jin is listening to her heartbeat. then he asks her to open the buttons of her shirt, and tugs it down to see the readings of the patch stuck on her upper arm.

"yeah, it's a long story. let's talk about it when you're free." jimin nods.

"you're actually the last ones. so, i am, in fact free after this." jin chuckles.

jimin smiles at that, glancing at his brother then back at his hyung and tells him everything that happened today. jin's reaction was what the brothers had expected considering that they're close family and jin loves lily as much as the brothers do. his disappointment in her teachers and anger towards their ignorance is clear in his expression, even though he restrains from saying anything too harsh in presence of lily.

"why didn't you call joon? these teachers need strict action against them." jin says.

"i was going to do that tomorrow." jimin hums, about to say something else, when his eyes land on his sister, who is not bothered with their conversation and has taken the stethoscope from jin, putting it around her own neck and listens to jin's heartbeat. "lily, that's not for playin—"

"it's alright." jin assures with a smile, kissing lily's cheek. "why don't you go and check your brothers' heartbeats?"

"yes," she giggles, getting off his lap and goes around the desk to reach taehyung. she presses the chest piece over his shirt and listens to the rhythm of his heart beating. "taetae oppa's heart is good."

"is it? what does it day?"

"nothing." she says, making the elders laugh. then she moves to jimin, not minding him having a conversation with jin and continues to examine him like jin mostly does to her. "oppa,"

"hm," jimin nods, not really paying attention for he knows it's nothing important and she probably wants him to do something for her pretend play. he pats her back, standing up with jin and leads lily to the side where there's  a bed behind a green panal. "come here and take off your shoes."

"why?" lily steps back with cautiously, not in the mood to take a shot or have her tummy examined. 

taehyung sighs, picking her up and makes her sit on the bed, earning a whine that shows her disapproval with the situation. "hey, quiet." he hums firmly, taking off her shoes and shifts her back, gently making her lay down on the bed. "stay there."

"no..." lily pouts, trying to turn away from the elders, however a hand holds her in place and the next thing she sees is taehyung leaning down to cup her face. "taetae..."

"yes, tiger? why are you crying? nothing's hurting you, is it?" he says softly, nuzzling his nose against hers and wipes off the tears from her face. "tell me, is there anything that's hurting lily?"

"yes." she huffs.

"what is it?"

"in my heart."

"your heart hurts?"

"yes!" she glares at him.

"why is that, hm?" taehyung holds back a smile, resting his elbows on the and reaches down to kiss lily's cheek, "is it better now?"

"no. if i get up and we can go home then my heart will be okay."

"you're such a drama queen." taehyung chuckles, pulling her to the edge and nuzzles his face into her cheek, leaving smooches all over her face.

"tae," jin pats his back, holding out a bottle of water and nods towards lily, "she needs to drink it up." he says, pressing on her abdomen a little, making her whimper in pain and squirm to get away.

"why an ultrasound?" taehyung asks, straightening himself long with lily who sits up, pouting unhappily.

"she said there was a stomachache past two days. and we had to get an ultrasound the other day anyway, so why not now." jimin shrugs.

"ah okay," taehyung nods, opening the lid of the bottle and gives it to lily. "drink it up."

she gives them angry looks but takes the first sip and then another, making the brothers sigh, for they know that she must've been thirsty since didn't drink any water after school. although after the two moderate sips, she turns her head away and pushes taehyung's hand back. "drink it, lily." he sighs.

she just shakes her head, making jimin step forward and sit beside her, taking the bottle from his brother. he makes lily face him and wraps his arm around her to keep her from turning away and brings the mouth of the bottle closer to her lips, "lily's such a good girl. she's going to drink all the water right now in just a few sips, right?" he says, ignoring her whining eyes and angles the bottle along with her head, making her take a sip. "good job. lily is—"

"no... tummy is full, oppa, i promise." she whimpers.

"just a little bit, princess. it's important to drink water for an ultrasound."

"don' do u'trasound..."

"we need to do it, honey." jin says with an apologetic smile, patting lily's head. "we have to see whether all the organs inside lily are doing okay."

"they're okay, jinnie oppa. all my organs are so happy."

taehyung covers his mouth, fighting the urge to chuckle and clears his throat. "i'm sure they're happy, love. but we still need to make sure, alright?" jin says.

eventually lily is forced to drink up the water so that jin can take the ultrasound images clearly. there isn't any issue according to jin, which makes the brother breath a sigh of relief and lily's allowed to use the bathroom as well, but it doesn't make her happy. her lips still stay tugged downwards and she refuses to talk to the elder boys, other than for a second that she took taehyung's phone to call jungkook.

in the car, on the way towards their mansion, lily sits facing the door, not even wanting to look at taehyung or jimin since they both made her drink a lot of water. she keeps the phone on her lap, talking to jungkook, who claims to understand her agony and sympathises with her.

"-and jinnie oppa didn't even— not said no." she mumbles, touching the lock of the door, getting a frown from taehyung as he peeks to see what she was doing. jimin glances back as well, and taehyung gestures hin to check the child locks, getting an assuring nod from him.

"really? they're so cruel." jungkook clicks.

"yeah, i said my tummy is so full, but they di' not listen to me. oppa is so bad."

"you're right. do you want me to talk to them?" jungkook hums.

"yes... i will tell yoongi oppa, joonie oppa and hobi oppa, they will scold them."

"that's a good idea. we'll talk to them tomorrow,  yeah?" jungkook chuckles, and lily nods in response, forgetting that jungkook can't see her. "alright, now can i hung up? danny's waiting for me."

"when will you come home?"

"tomorrow."

"why?" lily whimpers, "come home now."

"i have to finish an assignment, princess. i'll come tomorrow after college and then we'll stay together for the rest of the day, okay?"

"but that's so far away, koo. i miss you..."

"i miss you more. but i really need to work, baby. please try to understand?"

lily sighs softly, peeking back at taehyung, who smiles at her and nods, gesturing her to agree with jungkook and not force him to come home when he has some important work. "okay..." she mumbles, "bye koo, i love you."

"thank you, bunny. i love you so much, and i'm sorry for not coming back today. i'll take you out tomorrow, though. is that okay?"

"yeah," she hums, "bye-bye. take care."

"you too. don't be a bad girl, yeah? and forgive taetae and jiminie, they love you."

"yeah," she peeks at the elders again, this time grinning sheepishly and shifts towards taehyung, returning him the phone along with a hug. jimin smiles at her from the front, shaking his head while taehyung kisses the top of her head fondly.

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a/n: this chapter took me so long omg 💀 i hope you like it, and if you do please vote and comment 😩🙏 i miss you guys so muchhhh💜💜💜✨✨✨

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