aera had some news for her brothers and she couldn't think of a better way than going all the way to seoul herself to see them in person for this. she was nervous, of course, so much that sleeping felt like a hard job at night, especially when she was supposed to board the flight the very next day.

then she should spend almost eleven awful hours on the journey, before finally landing in seoul, south korea where she knows her brothers will be surprised to see her. after all this, she will get them seated with her, knowing that the brothers would most certainly give confused glances to the boy she's going to take home with her.

kevin, kevin lee. the guy aera met in her university. he was already in his third year while aera just joined, making him a senior who loved to tug at the strings with freshers. aera happened to leave a considerably cute first impression, as she had walked into the boys' gym accidently and met kevin and his friends for the first time. not to mention all half naked.

one of the guys then told kevin that she was a fresher, which honestly made him grin in mischief as he walked over to her. he had thought, as he says now, that she'll be flustered and probably try to run away. but instead of that, aera just chuckled lightly when he asked the infamous 'like what you see?'. the laugh wasn't offensive for the boys, but made most of them frown as kevin and his friends were considered to be hot seniors every other girl wanted to hook up with. and aera had just laughed at their faces, replying to kevin that she's seen better abs. yes, she did, jungkook didn't like wearing shirt either, folks.

the boys, kevin specifically, left no opportunity to get to aera after that, trying his best to get back on the position that he owned in the eyes of rest of the college. it took a good three months, two soccer matches, five detentions and three parties for aera and kevin to get along with each other, and address each other as friends. she started hanging out with him and his friends more, saving him seats in the cafeteria, letting him be her driver sometimes and a full time pervert, but funny friend.

kevin didn't notice when he had started waiting outside aera's classes for her to get done with her lectures, escorting her from their friends when they planned hanging out together but suddenly didn't feel like it, sneaking in whiskey in his protein shake container when she felt low or missed home, stealing chances to hug her and smile when she would hold his hand or cling onto him excitedly. by the time kevin did acknowledge all of it, it was too late for him to do anything and just admitted that aera had become an important person in his life whom he never wanted to let go of.

he was in love and he knew it since the day they kissed for the first time, ironically in bathroom of their friend's house where they had all gathered because one of the group member was dating another.

not labelling their relationship or making it official for almost six months, kevin finally decided it was about time they should talk about it. aera pretended not to know, for somewhere deep inside her resided a fear of relationships failing— like she had seen in case of jungkook. but the other part of her kept yelling from inside, 'fuck it girl! just kiss the life out of him!'

and she did exactly that. the kiss first, and 'yes' second.

despite everything going fairly smooth, the tough part was yet to start as aera knew confronting her brothers about it wouldn't be easy. she groans in frustration, turning around in her bed for the millionth time and sits up, heaving out a deep breath laboured with anxeity and fear.

aera gets up from the bed, doing her hair up in a messy bun and walks to the kitchen, wrapping her arms around herself as she sits on the stool quietly. "ri? are you asleep? i just forgot my— oh you're up," it's kevin walking in from the front door of her apartment and grins at her sheepishly, "i forgot my wallet here. andrew paid for me, but i just thought i should take it before leaving,"

"it must be on the table, i don't know," aera sighs, sinking in her place, as her mind keeps playing imaginary reactions of her brothers being mad and telling her to get out of the house, or how they're so disappointed that they're not talking to her.

"hey, are you okay?" kevin walks over to her, stroking her back gently over the fabric of the t-shirt that belongs to him.

"i'm scared," aera hushes out, reaching out for a hug which kevin gives her and places a kiss on her shoulder, "what if my brothers don't... don't approve of us...? i don't wanna upset them, but i don't wanna let go of you either... it's killing me, kev..."

"i can understand," kevin nods slowly, "even i'm scared because of what i've heard— i mean how protective they are of you,"

aera pulls away and laughs lightly, standing up on her feet and nods, "i hope jungkook doesn't hit you," she grins mischievously.

"i don't mind a few punches if it means they're gonna accept me as your boyfriend,"

"that's very cheesy," she scrunches up her face, walking to the fridge and takes a bottle of water. kevin keeps his jacket and phone on the couch, throwing off his t-shirt and sniffs his body, nodding subtly after making sure he's not stinking.

"fuck it, i'm not leaving. i'm gonna cuddle you to sleep, baby. let's go," he says, taking her hand and aera laughs at him, shaking her head as she looks back at his upper clothes which has left him only with a pair of jeans.

"no, you should go home. we have an early morning flight," she says and the boy shakes his head, pushing her to the bed and kicks off his shoes. aera stares at him with uncertain eyes, sighing as he lays next to her, not stopping himself from kissing her lips. "hey, i'm gonna sleep, okay? i'm tired, i had a lot of classes today,"

"let me cuddle you to sleep," he whispers in her ear softly, kissing the side of her head, "oh- felis was asking about you,"

"oh yeah, we talked on the phone. it was about some assignment," aera mumbles, snuggling closer to him, "uh you smell a little of alcohol, kev..."

"do you want me to wash up real quick?"

"if you want to,"

"alright, whatever my girl says," he sighs deeply, saluting aera as he jumps on his feet, kicking off his jeans as well and storms into the bathroom with urgency. aera laughs at him, wiggling to get herself comfortable as she stares at the ceiling, a soft smile displaying on her lips and her her heart thanks kevin for always lightening up her mood.

within a few minutes, kevin steps out of the bathroom and aera points at the closet where she's sure that he will find at least a few of his clothes. he returns, ready to sleep in his joggers and a thin t-shirt. aera watches him with bored eyes as he dries his hair, sitting next to her, blowing the hot air at her face once in a while to keep her awake which makes her whine and hit him.

"okay, done," he heaves out, getting inside the covers next to her and wraps his arms around the girl as he had been deprived of her for years. aera takes a deep breath, smiling as he smells sweet now and snuggles closer, "good night, sleep well," he kisses her lips once, seeing how her eyelids are struggling to stay up for him.

"hm, good night, kev," she mumbles softly.

"i love how you say my name. i swear it's one of the best things i've ever heard," he chuckles and aera just nods absent-mindedly, too sleepy to pay attention, "love you, baby," he sighs.

•••

next day

"would you—"

"no," aera huffs, looking away from kevin as she sits on the counter, swinging her legs back and forth, mad that he made a smiley with the sauce on his sandwich, but forgot to make one on the sandwich meant for aera.

"fine, gosh! you're being so childish!" he groans, but still makes another sandwich for his girlfriend who mocks at him in return.

"yeah, fine i'm childish! but what good do you do not being childish? you're eating a half burnt sandwich yourself! is that an adult-thing to do?"

"quiet," kevin grumbles, "i'm still learning to cook okay? i wouldn't have to do this if you knew how to cook,"

"i don't know how to cook and i won't learn it. do you whatever you want! my oppa's raised me like a princess, and if you can't treat me like that then i'm sorry, i—"

"done?" he sighs, shaking his head as he places the new sandwich on her plate and puts the sauce like a smiling face on the top. aera stares at it, breaking into a smile as the sandwich looks cute. kevin watches her expression, smiling too on seeing that she's happy. "like it?"

"yes! this is so cute!" she gasps, holding out her arms and legs for him so that he would come and give her hug.

"is that okay, princess aera?" he squints at her, getting a sheepish grin in return as she nods innocently, taking her her sandwich and breaks it into half, "what are you—"

"eat it," she says, taking away the half burnt one from his hand and slips down from the counter, "this can do for now. and we can eat again in the plane when we get hungry. they serve nice food,"

"yeah, perfect idea," kevin nods, taking a bite from the sandwich and leans his hips against the counter, watching aera taking the half filled container of orange juice, pouring it in two cups. he takes one of them, downing the juice at once and finishes his part of sandwich, dusting off his hands and pulls out his phone, "i'm calling an uber for us. it's time now,"

"yeah," aera nods, sipping her juice and puts the dishes in the sink and decides to wash them quickly, "mmh, helf me dry fem," she muffles out with full mouth, nudging kevin from the side.

"just leave it," he says.

"it's gon' stink," aera gulps down the sandwich, coughing as it hurts her throat and kevin quickly grabs her cup, letting her have a sip of the juice, "shit, i almost choked..." she breathes out in relief, happy that she's alive and kevin nods slowly.

"you did," he bites his lip, "what a shame you could've died due to choking,"

"say that again and i'm gonna shove this sponge in your throat," aera grits in anger, although her cheeks burn in embarrassment and kevin laughs, wrapping his arms around her waist. "help me do the dishes or move aside,"

"i'll do it," he kisses her cheek, letting her go and washes the two plates, cups and the pan. aera admires him with fond eyes, smiling when he wipes his hands dry, and she instantly tip toes in front of him, kissing his lips.

"you're a simp, kev," she giggles.

"for you," kevin sighs dramatically, "can't help it now," she stares at him as he leans down, almost going to kiss her but stops on hearing his phone's ringtone. "oh the cab is here," he says, picking up the bags while aera just hangs a small bagpack on her back.

all the way to the cab, airport and even on the plane, all aera did was pray. pray for jungkook and jimin not to freak out with the news of their little girl— finally not little anymore— has a boyfriend, who, not to mention, is three years older than her. she glances at kevin, just two hours away from landing in seoul, sleeping on the seat beside her while she's forced to stay up and imagine the worst possible reactions from the brothers— especially jungkook.

it's not like aera didn't try hinting him. she did, in fact. it was just jungkook too blind too see past the little girl he had raised. she had told him about kevin a few times, mentioned him here and there in conversations, hoping that he would ask if she they were close or anything. but he never did.

then the other day, aera almost got caught when kevin walked in her room without a knock or anything, calling for her with those sweet nicknames he usually uses— baby and princess are the cute, cheesy ones, while bro, girl, ri, jeon, are the ones he uses occasionally depending on the mood.

jungkook missed the 'baby, i missed you,' in the air and just followed the cough aera let out to cover it up. on second thoughts, now that aera pays attention to it, maybe jungkook did notice everything— he has always been super duper protective of her— and just pretended not to know, probably waiting for her to tell him on her own.

and if that's the case, aera knows she'd be dead if she goes home right now, especially with kevin. she whines to herself, kicking the floor under her feet, wanting to jump off the plane right away. how can se be so stupid and not think this way earlier?! jungkook probably already knows everything! it's all a trap! shit!

two hours, full of curses and annoyed glares at whoever passed their seat, went by and aera's walking next to her boyfriend, heading towards the exit. she takes a deep breath, suddenly not hearing english around anymore and it's all muffles korean, making her feel way more homely than sydney. fortunately kevin is half korean— his mother is korean— but unfortunately he was raised and brought up in australia, which in simple words means that aera will have to be the interpreter for him. way to go universe!

"damn this is cool," kevin whispers, leaning near aera while his eyes keep wandering around with curiousity, "do you know the last time i came to seoul was around my tenth birthday— which was almost twelves years ago,"

"wow, you should see around here then," she smiles at him, walking a bit out to the open and looks about the street for any cab.

"of course, we gotta hangout. you'll show me seoul to the heart!"

"i will," she nods and raises up her arm, stopping a cab and tells the driver the address of her home. kevin gets in the backseat with her after getting the luggage in the trunk.

"sometimes i forget you're a korean girl," kevin grins at the girl, getting a confused look, "you speak better english than me, and like it's not everyday i get to hear you talking in korean,"

"yeah, i guess," she shrugs.

"you're foreigners?" the driver, an old man, asks in the native language and aera laughs lightly, shaking her head.

"his mom is korean but he's always lived in australia, that's why," she answers back in korean, "and i've been here my whole life. pretty native here," the man laughs at words, nodding and focuses on driving further.

in twenty minutes or so the car pulls in front of the big, familiar, mansion overflowing with memories for aera just at the sight. she smiles to herself, eyes instantly running towards the drive where she doesn't see any car right now.

the guard approaches them only to be shocked and let out a gasp on seeing aera. she smiles at the man who panics, bowing to her instantly and calls the staff to get the luggage. aera nods for kevin to come with her, interrupting his amused visual tour of the exterior of the mansion, "wow, you didn't lie about the princess part," he places his arm around aera and she laughs.

"isn't it all very common to you too? you've had a pretty lavish life yourself,"

"yeah, but still,"

"okay, i guess," she says, heading to the living and breathes in the homely scent she missed for a year, and flops on the couch with a relieved expression. "i missed home so much..." she mumbles and kevin sits beside her, smiling thankfully at the staff lady who just brought them water and something to eat.

"where's jungkookie?" aera asks.

"he's out for some work, miss," the housekeeper says, "you should've called us, miss, we'd come and get you from the airport. it must've been an inconvenience for you and your friend,"

"no no, we're good. just, mr nelson, could you please ring jungkookie and ask him to come home right now? don't tell him i'm here, just say there's someone to see him,"

"sure, miss," the man bows his head at the instruction, taking his phone and dials the number without hesitation. aera gestures him to put it on speaker and smiles when jungkook answers.

"yes, nelson? i told you i'm quite busy today, yet what's so important that you couldn't wait for me to get home?" jungkook says with his strict 'owner' kind of voice amd aera smirks, nodding for the housekeeper to tell him.

"i'm sorry, sir. but there's a guest at home. they wanna see you right now,"

"tell them i'm busy— whoever it is,"

aera shakes her head and nelson nibbles on his lip, "they say it's important, sir. they want you at home," aera suppresses her laugh, satisfied with the words nelson chose.

"you didn't forget who you're talking to did you?" jungkook hisses, "and who's this guest? tell them to leave if they can't wait—"

"tell him they're important," aera says and jungkook stays silent for a moment.

"sir, please," nelson says in a quivering voice, probably scared for his job now.

"fine, i'll be there. but make sure you know that you'll be fired if this is anything useless," jungkook states before hanging up and the man looks at aera with scared eyes.

"don't worry, mr nelson. he won't fire you, i promise," aera assures, sitting back down with kevin and smiles at his confused expression for he probably didn't understand the conversation. "jungkook doesn't know i'm here and i asked mr. nelson to just tell him that some guest really wants to see him. now mr. nelson is close to saying bye-bye to his job because my brother sounded unhappy," she explains and kevin gasps.

"why would you do that?"

"my house, my brother, my wish," aera grins mischievously, "and don't be worried, he won't fire anyone once he comes to know the guest was me,"

"but he might be mad when he comes to know about me," kevin nibbles on his lips.

"no, just don't be scared. he's really— y'know, like me. if he knows you're scared he'll overdo everything so that you just leave on your own. but if you're confident, he might give you a chance to speak and be yourself,"

"might?"

"jungkook is pretty unpredictable with boys who are into me,"

"into you?" kevin laughs at his misery, shaking his head in disbelief, "i'm legit drowning here— head to toe— into you girl! are you saying he's gonna slit my throat?!"

"you won't die, geez relax," aera sighs, "you're acting like a child right now,"

"kiss me," he blurts out, "fucking kiss me before i pass out," aera laughs at him, pecking his lips and cheek and shifts closer to him. "what if he doesn't approve of us? will you leave me?"

"don't think of that, idiot. and no, i'm gonna talk to him and make him like you,"

"still,"

"why are you scare—"

"mr jeon is here, miss," one of the staff tells them after a while and aera stands up. kevin holds her hand tightly, gulping down the fear that he wasn't feeling until he stepped inside this house.

first comes the sound of a pair of shoes clicking on the clear, marble tiles. then a tall man walks in the living space, long black hair falling on the side of his face, a few curtaining his eyes, which he pushes back and lets his sharp gaze scan around the place. he's dressed in casual clothes, a pair of black jeans and a white tee, over which he's wearing an olive green button down left open. nothing like a tight suit that kevin had pictured jungkook like in his head.

"hey," aera smiles through his lips pressed into a thin line, waiting for a reaction from her brother, who has noticed her already but probably taking his time to let her presence sink in.

"hey?" he breathes out, staring at her with wide eyes, "ri... what the— how...?" he asks, "aish! kiddo, just c'mere," aera giggles at that, running up to him quickly and gives him a tight hug, "god, i missed you so much,"

"i missed you too," aera buries her face in his chest, inhaling his scent that she always loved and found comforting. she looks up at his face, smiling widely at him and stands on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, "how are you? how's everything here?"

"everything's good. leave that, tell me how are you here? when did you come back from sydney?" jungkook asks, then looks at the housekeeper, mr. nelson, pointing his thumb at aera, "the important guest?"

"yes, sir," the man nods.

"you..." jungkook shakes his head at the girl, seeing her laughing, "anyway, sit down, and yeah start explaining,"

"yes, i will," aera nods, "but before that, i want you to meet someone," she glances back at kevin, holding out her for him and he steps ahead, smiling a little at jungkook.

"oh your friend is here as well," jungkook smiles, "i'm so sorry, i didn't see you earlier,"

"it's fine," kevin says, glancing at aera who seems to take a deep breath and glances at the staff, eyeing nelson to give them some privacy. the man nods quickly, leaving the room while he takes in his hands the job of preparing food and snacks for them.

"oppa, i have something to tell you,"

"yeah," jungkook nods, sitting on the couch and gestures his hand for the youngers to sit as well.

"uhm first of all, this is kevin," she says, glancing at the boy who's sitting beside her, "my boyfriend..."

jungkook's smile drops, giving aera a deadpaned look, letting the silence linger in the air until it's suffocating enough to make him speak, "your... boyfriend...?"

"yes, look, i know i have a lot to explain and that is exactly what i'm here for," aera says, a bit alarmed and scared of his reaction, but maintains her cool voice, "please hear me out, oppa,"

jungkook eyes the guy precisely, nodding in a manner which almost seems predatory to kevin. he looks at aera, who gives him an assuring gaze back, pissing jungkook off entirely as he stands up, cracking his neck and speaks in korean this time, not wanting the unwanted guy to seep in the conversation between him and his sister, "we gotta talk. right now. go in," he says.

aera gulps, standing up while kevin looks confused. he doesn't say anything, though, and aera clears her throat, replying in english still, "i'm sorry, i should've told you earlier. but i thought it would be better if we so this in person. kev's not a bad guy, and we really like each othe—"

"how long... have you been dating him?" jungkook asks in korean and the sister sighs.

"a month,"

"before that?"

"we started dating a month ago," aera repeats.

"and what about before that?" jungkook states firmly again, "how did you meet him?"

"he's my senior in college,"

"ri," jungkook takes a deep breath, massaging his temples, but before he says anything, kevin stands beside aera, looking at jungkook with half fear, half confidence.

"sir, i know you really love your sister. and i understand why you don't want any random dude to date her. she's beautiful, nice, has a great personality, and anyone would fall for that, like i did... i really really like her, and i can promise you that i won't hurt her. ever,"

jungkook glares at the boy, "what do you even know about her? what makes you think you deserve aera?" he says, finally back in english for kevin.

aera shakes her head, stepping ahead, "oppa, plea—"

"quiet," jungkook motions his hand for aera to not say anything, "if this guy has the nerve to ask you out, then he better as well know that i won't let him around you until he makes me believe that he's actually right for you,"

aera sighs at the recital, knowing that this week is going to be long and dramatic starting from right now. jungkook nothing further as kevin hesitates as well, seeing him walking to the stairs. jungkook takes off his olive shirt, stretching the muscles of his arms, which aera knows is only for kevin to be scared.

"ri, go to your, room freshen up before we sit down and talk this out. because that's gonna take a while," jungkook says to the sister, then cocks his head at kevin, "and you can take one of the guest rooms. make sure i never see you in or around aera's room, yeah?"

"i— yeah, yes, okay, sir," kevin nods instantly.

•••

"oppa?" aera knocks on jungkook's door, entering when he hums in response. he's done dressing up after a shower and aera sighs, glancing at him with hesitant eyes, "you wanted to talk...?"

"yeah, sit," he nods. aera does as he says and watches hin take a sit in front of her, "you grew up a lot in a year, even got a boyfriend,"

"i'm nineteen," she says softly.

"right," jungkook looks at her, "do you uhm live with that boy or something?"

"no, he shares an apartment with one of his friends,"

"okay..."

"but we do hangout,"

"and do what?"

"uh uhm, movies, games, drinks, parties...? all of our friends are mostly with us,"

"good," jungkook breathes out, "look, i know you're a legal now and you can do whatever pleases you. but ri, honey, make sure you're one-hundred percent certain about your actions and decisions, okay? some things cannot be undone,"

aera presses her lips together, nodding her head and feels her cheeks heat up, "i won't get pregnant if that's what you mean..."

jungkook chokes on his saliva and clears his throat, "yeah, that's what i mean," he sighs, "i hate that you grew up so fast, ri. c'mere,"

aera shifts closer and hugs him back. "i just want the best for you, aera. although i knew you'll one day come up to me with a boyfriend and tell me you love him and stuff. i knew it ever since you were little, but still i don't feel like i'm not ready to let you go. you're my little princess and i don't want a wrong guy to be with you,"

aera smiles at his words, pulling away slowly and looks at him, "kevin is a nice guy. we fight sometimes, but he never gets mad at me, and y'know he literally treats me like a princess. he drove over to my place at the oddest time just because i said i wasn't feeling good. he's learning how to cook for me because i suck at it. he even steals his friend's motorcycle at times because he knows i love late night rides. he makes me happy, oppa. and i think you should give him a chance, you'll like him,"

"i hope you're telling the truth unbiased,"

"i am," she assures, "we're staying for a week. you can see him,"

"i will," jungkook nods, cupping the sister's face and smiles softly, "if he wants to date you he better be ready for me,"

"don't scare him, okay?"

jungkook chuckles, shrugging his shoulders and asks, "i didn't think you'd be with an older guy. not judging or anything, just i thought you'd bully one of your classmates whom you liked and them force him into being your boyfriend,"

"that is a wrong image of me in your eyes," aera gasps, "how can you say that?! i'm always nice to everyone!"

"uh no, you can be a bitchy,"

"that's when someone pisses me off!"

"right," jungkook laughs, "you used to bully everyone back in high school and even in elementary,"

"in my defence, i was a kid back then. i didn't know how things worked,"

"so, you're saying you don't bother anyone in college now,"

"uhm not really... they let me do whatever," she grins, "y'know i'm rich, pretty and also dating the cool guy. so if i say i want something, i have it,"

"damn, sounds like you're spoiled,"

"anyway, i have to see jimin oppa too,"

"of course, he has to meet your 'boyfriend' too," jungkook hums, "i'll call him here, you can to him over dinner. cool?"

"perfect!"

__________

a/n- okay so here's riri dating! the gurl got herself a boyfie from sydney 😌🥂✨what do you wanna say abt riri being in a relationship?

did you like  the chapter? and did you like kevin? 😁😁😁

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