note:- jimin is 23, jungkook is 18 (high school student)

__

"come back, it's just the last bite." yoongi voices out, hoping it would get the girl to listen to him. but she just shakes her head, taking a step back so he won't be able to catch her even if he leans forward.

"but i'm full." she says with a full mouth, still busy munching on the last bite of meat yoongi fed her.

"i know, but we need to finish this right? it's the final last one, come here."

aera pouts at him, gulping down the bolus and strolls nearby. yoongi sighs deeply, getting up from his chair and grabs the kid's hand, pulling her towards him, holding the last peice of the steak in front of her mouth as he says, "come on, be a good girl. you wanna be strong don't you?"

the girl nods, opening her mouth forcefully and breathes deeply, quickly chewing and gulping it down, "done," she says, and takes her cup of water, downing half of it at once, pulling away with a tiny 'ah' sound as she shows her mouth to yoongi, making him chuckle.

"good, now put it the sink." he says, handing her the micky mouse dish and the matching cup, which she takes quickly going to jin and keeps it for him to wash while he's doing the dishes already.

"ah finally, riri's done having dinner." the eldest chuckles.

"yeah, appa fed me." she nods.

"when will you start eating on your own?" jimin sighs as he comes from the back, taking a few paper towels and wipes his hands after clearing the table.

"you don't know oppa," the eight-year-old tells him, "i get bored when i eat on my own, and my tummy don't wanna eat and just play. but when you or the other oppas feed me, food becomes more tasty. so my tummy eats then."

"takes a lot of understanding to explain such a big logic, isn't it?" jimin raises his brows at the sister who nods in response, making him and the others laugh.

"thirty-five minutes exact." namjoon says.

"ah really?" hoseok laughs, "that is still a progress, considering at least forty-five two months ago."

"yeah, she's learning." yoongi chuckles.

"yeah, but she ate faster because you were the one feeding her."

"i know. most of you are useless when it comes getting her to eat." the elder scolds jokingly, making the rest laugh.

"she only eats with you, jimin and yoongi hyung." namjoon says, "with the rest of us, i don't how, she manages to involve us in her game and completely forget about the food."

"that's called immaturity." jin laughs at him, "tae and kook, i can understand they were like this too. but you and hobi? i don't get it."

"appa!" aera's voice beams again as she runs into the kitchen, holding his phone in her hand as it kept ringing for him to answer the call.

"ah, yes manager lee?" he speaks, taking the phone and walks out of the kitchen to talk while the rest of the boys continue with their fun talk.

"when is jungkook coming back?" hoseok asks, "it's already pretty late."

"yeah, i called him but sounded like he was in a crowded place so i couldn't talk to him." taehyung says, "but don't worry he's with his friends."

"he's not even answering now." jimin sighs, "why does he even keep a phone if he's not going to answer or reply to our texts and calls."

"you spoiled him." taehyung laughs.

"i didn't," jimin rolls his eyes, "you all keep spoiling him."

"where is koo?" aera asks, climbing on a chair next to namjoon as she leans on him, then matches her height with him, making him laugh silently.

"he's out with his friends."

"it's past 6:30, why is he not coming back? i'm not allowed go out after that." she complaints.

"yeah, because you're a small kid."

"koo is a small kid too."

"no, he's a big kid." taehyung laughs.

"big baby?" aera giggles.

"yeah," taehyung nods, giving her a high-five as they laugh together.

jimin shakes his head, glancing at his phone for any notification that he might've missed accidentally. however he finds nothing more than the numbers of the clock changing from 8:45 to 9:30. but jungkook is still out, as he had told the hyungs in the morning about their plan of celebrating their friend's birthday together tonight, and jimin had refused him once as aera started whining to let her go to jungkook's party too.

after convincing the elder members and talking to the sister, the boy successfully got the permission to hangout with his friends and even managed to get jimin's car for him and his friends to enjoy, which the elder said wasn't to show off their money and status. jungkook being a very obedient boy had assured the hyungs that he wasn't going to show off his hyung's range rover after basically begging them to let him take that specific car.

jimin takes a seat on the couch while the aera is busy learning the multiplication table of seven, messing up every time she reaches six times seven, then stares at namjoon with a pout, claiming that it is too hard and kids don't need to learn it.

"forty-two" namjoon says, "then, seven times seven is...?"

aera gulps thickly, scrunching up her nose as she starts counting on her fingers and looks at him, "fifty-one?"

"forty-nine" namjoon sighs.

"that was close!" the girl gasps, smiling proudly, earning a light laughter from the boys nearby.

"you have to be accurate, being close isn't enough." namjoon chuckles.

"seven times seven is forty-nine." she repeats and turns to jimin, "oppa, seven times seven is forty-nine."

"ah that's great," the brother laughs, patting her head. "what is eight times seven?"

she counts again and hums, nodding to herself, "it's forty... forty... uh no! fifty-six!"

"yes, good job." he praises.

"now, i know math. let's stop?" she asks, looking at namjoon.

"we didn't complete seven," he says, "do wanna stop already?"

"yeah, it's boring." she mumbles, sitting on his lap, "ask me science. i know science."

"alright, well, then tell me have you heard about the solar system?"

"yeah," aera nods, "we live on earth, and there's other earths too."

"those are called planets." the elder chuckles, "earth is the name of the planet we live in."

"mm-hmm" she nods, understanding his words and says, "and we have moon, and sun. the sun is a biiiiiiiiig star, and the moon is small."

"very good, riri knows a lot of stuff."

"yes, our new ma'am taught us in class." she says, "but y'know, there's this boy, he sits next to me and keeps talking. then i said to him, stop talking."

"ah because you wanted to study?" he smiles, feeling proud but then suddenly the mood changes as aera shakes her head.

"no, because he didn't play with me earlier. so i was mad and i said i won't talk to him. he's cute, but he doesn't play with me and he plays only with his one friend." the boys laugh at her words, continuing with their daily routine of jin, jimin and yoongi discussing the meetings and other business related stuff, while hoseok is switching through different channels on the tv, taehyung playing on his phone and namjoon busy talking some educational topics with aera.

time passes and namjoon stops, seeing aera's head dropping against his chest as she's sitting on his lap, listening to him reading her a new story about a baby skunk wanting to change how he smells to make friends with the other animals in the jungle, but ends up losing his identity as his mother tells him that smelling like a skunk makes him who he is and changing himself to fit in with the others is like disrespecting his own self.

"hey, it's past ten now, where is jungkook?" jin asks.

"who knows," jimin sighs, "the boy doesn't answer our calls. i've been trying to contact him for an hour."

namjoon shakes his head and glances down at the little girl, "she's asleep now, i'll tuck her in bed."

"i'll do it," jimin says, "she needs to change anyway."

"alright" he agrees, shifting aera's position a little as jimin carries her in his arms, waking her up between the movements.

"oppa..." she mumbles, rubbing her eyes and looks around, realising they're still in the living room. her eyes scan the space, going through the six faces and frowns on not finding the seventh one, "where's kookie?"

"he'll come back, you can sleep." jimin assures.

"no, i wanted to wait for kookie." she says, wiggling a little for him to put her down on her feet. the brother sighs and makes her stand on the couch.

"he's taking time, aera. you should sleep now."

"no, koo said we'll play first and then sleep in his room." she pouts at the elder, "please, oppa, i will wait."

"you've to wake up early for school tomorrow."

"i'll wake up, i promise. i don't wanna sleep."

"alright," he sighs, not having much to argue about and agrees, grabbing his phone as it buzzes with a notification, hopping it's reply from his brother. however the candle of hope goes off again on realising that it's just a promotional mail from online markets.

from ten, the clock ticks to eleven, now almost halfway to twelve, sending worry up the boys' bodies along with thoughts of what might have happened to get their youngest this late and he's not even answering their calls or messages.

with scary thoughts and endless possibilities running through the minds, jimin stands up, pushing his hair back with his hand and breathes deeply, nibbling on his lower lip as his one hand is holding the phone close to his hear, listening to the same ringing sound for the past two and a half hours.

"goddamnit! what the heck is going on?!" he mutters when the call disconnects and a female voice erupts telling that the number is not reachable again.

"oppa" he closes his eyes in frustration, cursing at himself for not watching his words in presence of a child. he turns around, nodding for aera to continue.

instead of speaking ahead, she stands up from the couch, going near the brother and raises her arms up, pouting with her tinted lips and dark bangs of her short hair covering nearly half of her eyes. jimin kneels down, keeping his phone on the table and brings aera between his arms, "what happened, baby?" he asks softly.

"why is koo not coming back?" she asks in a small voice with her chin resting on his shoulder as she's hugging him.

"he... he's coming back. don't worry, okay?" jimin pats her assuringly and kisses the side of her head. "do you wanna go and sleep now? i'll tell kookie to go to you when he comes back, alright?"

"no..." she mumbles, shaking her head as a tear drops from her eye, "oppa, what if koo forgot the way to home? it's so dark outside and- and cold, i don't want him to get hurt... tell him to come home, riri's not happy."

jimin glances at the elders, all mirroring the same soft expression on hearing aera's words of concern. he clears his throat and nods with a forced smile, "i'll tell him, don't worry..."

she nods, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly. jimin looks down before closing his eyes too and lowers his head in his sister's shoulder, placing a soft kiss as he prays for jungkook to be alright and come home safely.

he sits on the couch, holding aera in his lap as she didn't let go of the hug and now on making her lay properly, he notices the line of tears on her rosy cheeks. his thumb brushes on the soft skin, wiping off the tears that give off to him and the boys of how the eight-year-old is scared for jungkook, not knowing what is happening, but enough to comprehend from the worried faces that her koo might be in danger.

with the hands of the clock moving unstoppably fast, the uneasiness rises in the room, until a ringing sound erupts, making most of the boys flinch at the break of the still silence. yoongi recieves the call while taehyung takes aera from jimin's arms, careful not to wake her up.

"hello?" yoongi answers.

"hello, am i speaking to mr jeon?"

"yes, i'm jeon jimin." jimin says, standing up and takes the phone, heading to one corner of the room to avoid disrupting his sister's sleep.

"oh great, i'm officer seong from the yeongsan police station." the man says, making jimin frown and his eyes automatically wander to his hyungs, who gesture hin to put it on speaker.

"uh yes officer? what can i help you with?" jimin says.

"actually, mr jeon, we have your brother here with us. there's a bit of problem he and his friends caused. so it'll be really great if you can come here, or we might keep the boy for tonight as it's getting late and we can meet tomorrow."

"jungkook is there?" jimin asks instantly, "why? is he okay?"

"yeah, he's fine now, not that presentable, but okay." the officer says in a tone that doesn't pass boys' vibe.

jimin glances at the screen of his phone, breathing deeply and speaks in a pretty firm voice, "officer, would you tell me what happened? i really don't appreciate the way you're referring to my brother."

"i'm sorry sir. i didn't mean any disrespect." the officer says, "he's got himself in trouble along with his friends. so i would highly suggest you to come here to the station so we can sort this out."

"i'll be there." jimin says, "please make sure he's fine by the time i'm there."

"of course, mr jeon. the boys are safe here."

jimin hums before before hanging up and looks at his hyungs, "police station?!" he exasperates, "i don't get this boy, what exactly has he done to end up there at midnight?"

"relax jimin, let's go there first." namjoon says, patting the younger's shoulder, earning a deep sigh from him. "me and yoongi hyung can go with you."

"yeah, that's fine." jin nods agreeing with him, "you should go, and please stay calm. jungkook must be scared too, try to talk calmly with him, and don't scold him unnecessarily."

"yeah," yoongi nods, grabbing his keys.

"hyung, take aera to my room, and please see she doesn't cry if she wakes up and doesn't find me around." jimin says.

"yeah, don't worry. go now." jin assures.

the three head out with dozens of questions running freely around their heads. all the way to the police station, the regular hour drive felt no less than an eternity of hours squeezed in between until the eldest of the three finally pulls up in front of the building called as the yeongsan police station.

they head inside being greeted by the guard first who bows to them and then a man in uniform who offers to guide them inside on knowing their names.

"we're here to see officer seong." namjoon says, earning a nod from the man as he leads the way and finally pushes a door open, peeking inside first, before gesturing his hand for the three to enter the office.

"yes, sir? how may i help you?" the officer says, standing up from the chair as the guys assume he failed to recognise them.

"i'm jeon jimin, jungkook's brother." jimin says, "this is yoongi, and he's namjoon."

"oh yes, please have a seat sir." the man bows, motioning his hand for them to sit. "would you like something? tea, coffee?"

"no, thank you, we're good." yoongi speaks, "where's jungkook? and what did he do exactly?"

"ah yes," he nods and summons a man of lower rank as mentioned by the number of stars on their uniform, "bring the boys."

jimin, namjoon and yoongi follow the opening of the door, turning their heads to look at the man who comes in first, followed by four boys, all looking much younger than him. jimin frowns at the sight, not knowing which probability to find true after seeing jungkook standing with head hanging low, teary eyes, hair and clothes messed up, not torn, but looking disheveled and uncivilized.

the officer sighs glancing at the four boys, and leans forward on his desk, keeping his attention to the three men sitting in front of him as he starts, "we arrested them for a few reasons. for the starters, your brother was over-speeding in a residential area, he doesn't even have a licence. then on interrogating more, we came to know they were coming back from a casino after drinking. the two at the back were totally wasted."

the three stare at the officer with wide eyes, having a hard time believing the words that left the man's mouth regarding their brother. jimin glances at jungkook who never once lifted his head up to look at his hyungs. yoongi breathes deeply, sending a sharp glare to the boy and nods, looking back at the police officer as he speaks, "we... we're really sorry for his behaviour. we had no idea he'd be doing anything like this. we'll talk to him about it."

"hmm yeah," jimin nods, "i'm sorry for the inconvenience he caused. i'll look into the matter and make sure he gets a proper lesson."

"please do that, sir." officer seong says, "the whole of korea knows about your family's wealth and power me jeon. but i would say your brother needs a bit of a strict hold. it's not nice for him to be visiting here at this age, it's bad for his life and even your reputation. so please, i'd request to not let money ruin his young days. he almost crashed a range rover, and wasted around thousands of dollars in the casino. rich kids often get spoiled like this, mr jeon. i'm afraid we might need to file a case against him and his boys if the issue gets any serious or the comapny faces a problem because of it, and y'know it will affect his whole career."

"i understand what you're trying to say," jimin nods, "i'm sorry for this, i should've been more mindful of him."

the officer sighs, smiling a little and says, "i've seen a lot of similar cases, sir. where the families don't even know what their kids are doing. they just keep trusting the kids blindly, and the kids keep taking that for granted."

the three elders said nothing at that, even though a pang stings their chest hearing those words for their beloved youngest. jimin glances at his brother, saying nothing and stands up, shaking hands with police officer and signing a few documents to get the boys free, leaving the less urgent ones for their lawyer to deal the next day.

the boys follow them out of the station, not uttering a word until they stop near the car, facing the four, "you three," yoongi points at jungkook's friends, "better get home from here."

the boys nod slowly, while exchanging glances with jungkook who gulps thickly taking a moment before getting in the backseat of the car with namjoon while yoongi takes the driver's seat and jimin the passenger, sparing frequent glances at the boy.

"hyung..." jungkook manages to speak, lifting his eyes up for the first time ever since the three arrived, "i'm sorry..."

"keep it with you. we'll talk once we're home." jimin says.

that was probably the first and last words he heard from jimin for a while until he found the car stopping in front of the house, making his heart thump like crazy as if it would jump out of chest right now. jungkook follows the elders inside quietly, contemplating if he should try and apologize once more.

"hyung, i-"

"shut it," jimin glares at him, "i said i don't wanna hear anything."

"jimin, don't-"

"get in," he says strictly, not minding namjoon's attempt to calm him down.

"he deserves it today, joon." yoongi says, "no one's going to defend him."

__________________

(yes i wanted to put the pictures not an edit lol)

a/n- aaeeeeyyyyyy! how are you guys? all good? 😃😃 first of all tell me how's the chapter? does it ring a bell? something familiar? nostalgic? a flashback or something? 🤭

now those who haven't read the first book, it's fine. but if you wanna read the original chapter, it's chapter 23 of book I Promise. also, it's fine if you don't wanna read it, because yk my writing style has changed and improved from back then, so i'd suggest you to read this chapter here (imagines book) now rather than going back to first book lol

anyways have a good day/night! take care of yourself and vote and comment if you liked the chapter 💜

____

3.5k words