⚠️ w a r n i n g ⚠️
!! panic and anxeity attacks !!
!! mentions drugs !!
1. opioids are drugs mainly used to relieve severe and chronic pain. it is used post surgery (sometimes in combinations with anelgesics which are another category of drugs similar in use).
2. sedatives are drugs used for the treatment of anxeity and depression. it is given to relax brain functions on cases of panic or anxeity attacks.
⚠️ note: i am not a medical professional, the information provided above and usage of these drugs in context of this chapter is purely based on what i have studied in some books and on google. remember you should never take any medicinal drugs without proper prescription from a professional doctor.
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"ahh! stop!" aera cries, folding her knees closer to her bodies and shuts her eyes tight. shivering and sobbing as she tries her best to pull herself back, but the wall at the back seems to have a different struggle as if the shattering cries weren't enough for it to just melt and her eyes looking for help weren't enough to push it back further.
the person doesn't stop and the hits just get more intensified to the point where aera struggles to breath, feeling cramped and suffocated between the tall figures towering over her, retraining her movements. a hand clasps around the soft skin of her neck, fingers clenching gradually, making her gasp for air which became the only thing telling her that her body still wants to live.
"aera," a muffled voice enters her ears, sounding much different than the evil laughters.
she jolts awake, panting to catch her breath as it takes a her few seconds to gain her senses back and realise she's at home; in her room; in her bed. a deep sigh works out of her lips followed by a sob for her eyes just landed on the cast on her right arm reminding her of the cruel reality. she rubs her eyes, laying back on the bed and curls her body smaller, hugging herself with her free arm as if trying to provide the warmth jungkook's embrace does.
for a moment she goes quiet, flinching at the door clicking open, but the crying soon intensifies on seeing it's jungkook entering with a bottle of water in his hand. he sighs softly, keeping the bottle away and sits on the bed, quickly bringing the sister in his arms before kissing the top of her head.
"my child, don't cry. i just went to get us some water, princess." he assures her and rubs her back, which is when he notices how the temperature of her body had dropped low and yet there was sweat forming on her forehead and palms. "did you have another nightmare?"
"they were... oppa, they were hitting me," aera sobs out, hugging him tighter with one arm, trying to stay near him for as long as possible, "it hurts so much..."
"shh no one is hurting you now. look, it's just me here." he kisses her forehead, wiping her tears and makes her look around the room, "see, there's no one here. it's all okay, oppa is here with riri."
aera blinks a few times rubbing her eyes as it takes jungkook a little more time to calm her down and she looks around, nodding slowly. her head rests against the brother's chest, closing her eyes tiredly, "i'm sorry..." she whispers out.
"it's fine, you don't have to apologise, baby." he says, stroking her hair and lays down slowly, keeping her in his embrace, "do you want some water?"
aera nods slowly, letting go of him for a second as he leans away towards the nightstand and grabs the bottle and her cup, pouring the water in, giving it to her. however on seeing her hands trembling, he supports her hand, feeling the tears burning in his eyes too that he had managed to keep in till now.
the sister pulls away after taking a few sips and shakes her head as a gesture that she's had all she wanted. jungkook keeps the cup away and lays next to her, humming to a slow song of his, while patting her back in a gentle rhythm. instead of getting any sleep despite the hour being two after midnight and more minutes ticking away, he still feels a lump tightening his throat, forcing him to glance at his sister to see if she's sleeping or not, because for all he knew, he couldn't afford crying in front of her.
a thin line of tear slides down swiftly from his cheek as he leans down to press a kiss on aera's head. however his lips tremble, lingering slightly longer against her warm skin, breaking into a silent sob when he's reminded of the tears his sister cried because of his ignorance, every time she woke up to another nightmare and each glance her eyes searched for him.
he pulls away slowly, trying be as quiet as possible and lays her head on the pillow before heading to the bathroom, breaking into another cry even before his hands shut the door. his reflection stares back him, crying the same amount of tears and looking just as disheveled as jungkook is, with his hair tangled between his fingers, eyes half closed and shedding tears like acid, lips moving in an audible muttering and the other hand clutching firmly on the edge of the counter.
jungkook curses at the mirror, trying to blame the reflection for his actions as he still didn't gain enough courage to admit his sister is suffering like that because of him. only if he hadn't been so engrossed in work and found some time to listen to her when she tried talking to him; when she tried to smile for him and stopped speaking in the middle because he would say he's tired and wanted to rest for a while; or when he first noticed a red stain on her shirt while doing the laundry; and when aera quietly went to her room, holding her arm, looking in a not-good condition. he should've made some time and talked to her, instead of putting on his work as a blindfold at home.
but he regrets it now. after seeing aera crying on returning home in the evening, coming back from the park with her arm bleeding and swollen in an alarming manner, he had rushed her to the hospital not paying much attention to asking how she got hurt for her cries kept him focused on the street and pushing him to reach the hospital as soon as possible.
the doctor had said it was an open fracture close to the elbow and needed a surgery to fix the bones that had shifted out of place and also to repair the minor the broken bone. the cause when jungkook asked, was told to be a high impact fall on her arm. he had thought it might have been an accident that hurt his sister, but later on talking to her about it, aera told him about some older kids from her school had been bothering her due to her family wealth and financial prosperity that lead to frequent fights for her as she was one against three.
jungkook never felt that guilty. it was just two days back to all of that and he's still trying to think of ways to calm himself down, for he cannot stop blaming himself for his sister's condition on seeing her frequent melt downs whether the reason was physical pain or mental.
"oppa?" aera's voice rings in his ears, making him cover his mouth, attempting to gather himself together and wipes his tears quickly.
clearing his throat he turns on the faucet letting the water flow and splashes some on his face, before responding to the girl, "yeah? just give me a minute, i'm coming."
aera doesn't reply but he assumes she heard him, for she doesn't cry or whine for him either. he wipes his face, taking a few deep breaths and stares at his face, making sure he's not giving off any signs of the previous break down before opening the door and walks out with a soft smile.
"i thought you fell asleep."
"mm-hmm, almost" aera nods and points at the her casted arm, "but it hurts."
jungkook sighs softly, helping her lay on her side properly and places the pillows underneath and around her arm for support, "better?"
"yeah, but it hurts..."
"did you move it too much?"
aera stops for a moment, thinking and glances at the cast, "i woke up and i was so scared, i think i might have moved it the wrong way..."
"ah it's alright, just don't move it now." he says, patting her head as he sits by her and leans down to kiss her forehead, "how much is it hurting?"
"uhm 6.5" she answers, making the brother chuckle and nuzzle his face against her cheek. aera giggles softly, wrapping her arm around his neck and hugs him, "koo, please don't blame yourself okay? it's not your fault."
jungkook says nothing, but his arms around the younger sister secures as if apologizing for everything and promising that she's safe in his embrace. aera pulls away slowly, glancing at his face and smiles, poking his cheek, making him smile too. however his eyes hold a thin layer of tears which he tries to get rid off, but ends up dropping it down on his cheek.
"don't cry oppa," aera says as he wipes it off instantly and chuckles lightly, "i'm okay, it's not that bad, i was just kidding."
"yeah, i think i just got something in my eyes." he clears his throat, "uh anyways, you should sleep now."
"i don't like this cast, i can't hug you properly." she pouts, making jungkook smile as he shakes his head and lays beside her, making her rest the casted arm without giving much stress to the joints.
__
jimin closes his eyes, sighing deeply with a hope for the long flight to end as soon as possible and then he'd able to go home after a whole two months which is the longest he had ever left aera and jungkook alone. the week before leaving, he was stressing out about the whole thing and even almost cancelled the business trip, knowing how mischievous his sister can be especially when jungkook is being too lenient.
nonetheless the brother convinced him that they'll be fine and he'll take care of things while jimin is gone. sighing at last, jimin found himself ready at front door with his bags packed and jungkook and aera waving at him, wishing him luck for his trip.
with frequent calls at the beginning of the month, mostly with aera and once in a while with jungkook, jimin realised it wasn't that big of a deal and they were actually doing fine. but as the days passed and the two months were coming to an end, the phone calls gradually became rare, just jungkook would drop a text or two when he got time. what surprised the elder more was that even aera didn't call him to rant about how he's taking so long and she misses him. when jimin did take the initiative and called home, it would be a small talk that ends in sooner than five minutes which again is more than just strange.
he sighs deeply, trying one last time until he's in seoul himself and would go home to see what's going on to disturb the kids so bad. the ringing sound annoys him as it doesn't end and the call is forwarded to jungkook's voicemail. he hisses, calling again and rests back, closing his eyes as he forces himself to not get mad and stay cool. he must be busy.
the ringing, however, finally stops, "ah yes hyung?" jungkook says, sounding sleepy which makes jimin realise they the boy probably just woke up.
"were you still sleeping?" he asks, glancing at the time and calculates it to be around ten in korea.
"uh yeah, i slept late last night."
jimin sighs deeply, shaking his head and says, "i've told you to stop overworking yourself jungkook-ah. you were working even on sunday?"
"n-no, i'm on a leave right now..." jungkook says, "from this friday actually."
"that's great, use the holiday for good and stop tiring yourself for no reason." he says, shifting in his seat as he glances down from the window where the vast ocean expands by the land of asia. he sighs and focuses back on the call as jungkook hums along with some shuffling voice and a faint whimper, "is that aera i hear?" he chuckles.
"yeah, she's sleeping too." jungkook says, "just a second hyung."
jimin hums, listening to the muffled sounds of jungkook saying something to aera and she probably hugs him, requesting to let her sleep for a few more minutes as jungkook chuckles. the sounds come clearer and a door closes before jungkook coming back to the line, "yes hyung, how are you?"
"good, what's up with you?"
"what's up with me...?" jungkook repeats more questioningly as he waits for jimin to speak, but sighs and continues when the elder doesn't initiate anything, "i'm good too, i guess? uh ri was asking when you're coming back..."
"hm soon," jimin nods, deciding to keep his return a secret and let the siblings think he's arriving next week. "is it some kind of holiday that i'm not aware of? why's ri still at home, moreover sleeping?"
"oh yeah she wasn't feeling well, so i thought it'll be better to stay at home..."
"what happened exactly?" he frowns, glancing at the airhostess who just showed up next to his seat, gesturing for him to keep the phone and put on his seat belt. he nods and takes a deep breath, "ah jungkook, i'll talk later. i gotta go right now. see you soon."
"uh see you?" he chuckles at jungkook's confused voice and hangs up, buckling the belt while imagining the youngers' surprised faces when he reaches home today in merely two and a half hours.
in the next hour jimin is already heading out of the airport, dragging his suitcase on the wheels, looking around for his manager's car as the man had came to pick him up.
"mr jeon!" he hears, turning to the side and finds manager lee waving at him, gesturing his hand for him to wait where he is. jimin nods, checking his phone and changes the clock settings to kst again while waiting for the car which soon pulls over in front of him.
manager puts the luggage in the trunk and opens the door of the backseat for jimin, earning a nod of acknowledgement from him. the man then jogs to the driver's side, taking the seat and drives off.
"how did seminar go, sir?"
"it was great," jimin nods, "what about here? everything okay?"
"yes, of course. mr min payed close attention to everything."
"he's in seoul?"
"no, he called me saying you wanted him to check in once in a while."
"ah yeah, even seokjin and namjoon hyung aren't here these days, so i was a bit worried."
"everything is fine, sir. don't stress yourself with the comapny, miss aera needs you more right now."the manager says, earning a frown from jimin which he notices and thinks if he said something wrong, "i'm sorry, i shouldn't have-"
"no, wait. why does aere need me more?"
"uh because she's hurt? and from what i've heard the surgery sounded quite serious. i apologise if i said something wrong mr jeon."
"what surgery? what is going on? who told you all that?" jimin asks, being too confused to figure out anything on his own at the moment.
"you don't know?" the man presses his lips together, "well, on friday evening i was at the hospital for my daughter's appointment. and i met mr jungkook and miss aera there. she was bleeding and crying, it looked like something serious. i talked to mr jungkook and he said she had fell or something in the park. i waited with him since he was alone, and the doctor said it was a serious fracture in her arm, so a surgery was needed."
"what?" jimin gasps, blinking a few times with a bunch of questions circling around his head, thinking why the two wouldn't inform him about something so serious, and still jungkook acted like everything was fine. pushing his anger aside for a second, his attention goes to aera, sighing as he can just picture how she must be crying and hurting.
"i'm sorry, sir. i had no idea you didn't already know about this. mr jungkook must be about to uh tell you, but you were busy in america and-"
"it's alright, don't worry about it." jimin says, staring out of the window and the manager gets the message to stop bothering himself with his boss's personal life. the car stops in front of the house and jimin steps out, without extra exchange of words other than formal ones.
he sighs deeply, fishing the keys out and unlocks the door, entering the foyer. his eyes wander around, not finding anyone at first until he hears some voices from the kitchen side. he leaves the bags by the stairs, gesturing the servants to keep quiet and keep the bags in his room while he makes his way to the kitchen.
there's jungkook standing in front of aera who is sitting on the counter, shaking her head and pulling away while he tries to feed her. but what gains jimin's attention more is the sling on aera's arm, casted from her hand to halfway up till her upper arm.
before he approaches them further and says anything, aera's eyes find their way towards him accidentally, gasping and coughs on the food she already has in her mouth. jungkook pats her back, taking the cup of water and brings it closer to her lips while she's busy staring at jimin with wide eyes.
"what? you don't want water?" jungkook says. aera gulps thickly, shaking her head and nods over his shoulder, making the boy turn around and jump in shock. "h-hyung? how..."
"i wanted to surprise you both, but guess i'm the one who's getting surprises." jimin says, walking over to the two as aera shifts behind jungkook, hiding her arm. "weird how you didn't feel the need to inform me about aera's injury, and a surgery too right?"
jungkook nibbles on his lip, keeping his mouth shut for jimin's tone was anything but happy. he sighs deeply, glancing at the elder who turns to aera and glances at the broken arm, "i hope you're not fighting people." he says.
"no, i fell..." aera mumbles, jumping down from the counter and steps near jimin, wrapping her free arm around his waist, "i missed you oppa."
"hm, i can tell." he sighs, patting her back and glances at jungkook, "that's the reason she's not going to school or something else is coming up?"
"oppa, please don't be mad. we were about to tell yo-"
"it's alright, i'll talk to jungkook later." jimin says, smiling for her, "my little baby, does it hurt a lot?"
"not that much, but yeah sometimes." aera nods and smiles at him, pointing at the empty white cast, "look i saved you this side to right on it."
"that's great, we'll right a nice message for riri to get well soon." he pats her head and the sister nods, hugging him again while jungkook is standing quietly, staring at the floor blankly. he clears his throat and takes the plate with aera's lunch in it and places it on the table.
"go and eat your food." he says, giving her a fork so she can use her left hand instead of him feeding her.
"no, you feed me." she says, sitting on the counter again.
"ri, please listen to me, go and eat." jungkook says softly, patting her cheek. aera pouts, taking the fork and sits on the dining table alone. the boy sighs softly, turning to his hyung and gestures for him to sit too, "coffee?"
"no, thanks. just-" jimin stops midway, glancing at aera and sighs, "y'know what? let's talk later when she's sleeping or something."
jungkook nods slowly and smiles a little, "hyung, could you feed her? she'll be happy..."
jimin shakes his head, sighing at the hesitant tone of the younger and walks to aera, sitting next to her and takes fork from her hand, "i've heard food tastes better when someone else feeds us." he says, "wanna try?"
aera smiles widely, nodding and leans ahead, opening her mouth for the brother to feed her. jungkook watches her standing up, leaning by the eldest brother's side, eating and talking to him about how she keeps asking jungkook for something or the other and he doesn't say no because she's injured. jimin chuckles at that, shaking his head and tells her that she shouldn't do that to bother jungkook.
her smile then gradually fades away when he said she should be careful while playing and asked how she fell to get hurt this bad. aera glances at jungkook who couldn't find an answer to tell her, and just sends a hesitant smile her way.
jimin notices the change in the behaviour, making him even more confused. he says nothing after that, keeping the conversation light however aera didn't seem that interested after that. she finishes her food and keeps the dish and the cup in the sink, telling the boys that she'll be in her room, leaving the brothers alone.
"take your meds before doing anything else!" jungkook says.
"okay," aera replies from the stairs.
jimin takes a deep breath, standing in front of jungkook who looks like he's preparing himself for some serious scolding, "i'm sorry," the younger starts, "i know i should've told you. but i really didn't have time and... i just couldn't do it."
"what were you so busy with that you couldn't spare time to ring me even once? seriously jungkook, if you think being busy can be an excuse today, then you're so wrong." jimin glares at him, "just imagine i wasn't here and had no idea what's going on with you two, if you're okay or not, if you need help or something. and even when i called you today, you were lying through your teeth. why? what were you trying to do?"
"i'm sorry hyung, i thought you were coming back next week, so we can talk then. i didn't mean to lie, i was just scared..."
"scared? why? i can understand if aera says that, she's young and often gets into trouble due to fighting and all. so it's obvious for her to be scared of telling me about the injury. but what were you scared of? you don't seem that bothered complaining about her when she doesn't listen to you. then what happened this time?"
"she didn't fight," jungkook shakes his head, tears returning in his eyes as aera's crying face flashes in his mind, "it was my fault..."
"how?" jimin frowns at him.
"i was too busy with work and didn't look after her properly. she was... hurting from the very beginning but i didn't notice it. even when she reached out to talk to me, i wasn't available... those people kept hurting her and i couldn't do anything, until friday...." jungkook wipes his tears, glancing at jimin, "hyung you won't believe me, she was crying so much and her hand was bleeding and elbow was swollen. it was bad... she couldn't move her arm at all. later the doctor said it's a serious injury. they even did a surgery to fix it, she didn't talk much after that, but cried a lot after waking up from a nap. she was having a nightmare and kept repeating things like 'don't hit me', 'my oppa will scold you for hurting me', 'it hurts', 'stop'..."
jungkook takes a breath to cool himself down and looks up from the floor, finding jimin staring at him with worried eyes, "i didn't know what was happening. but when she calmed down a little and felt better, i asked what was all of that about, and she told me about these three kids from her school who were bothering her for some money. she had refused them to get anything, but they weren't listening and started hurting her instead... she was crying again when she was telling me all that and i couldn't believe that i actually ignored everything all this while.
"i saw little bruises here and there during dinner or when she came in my room and said she wanted to sleep with me because that's safer. she tried talking to me but i used to be so tired from work that i always told her to leave me alone for a while then we'll talk later. but the later never came. she used to fall asleep and i used to stay up doing more work. friday was when i actually realised how much of an asshole i was being this time, and i couldn't even bring myself to tell you everything... i know i did wrong, but hyung i swear i didn't mean it."
jimin stays quiet for a moment, staring at the brother with concerned eyes, however his worry remains hidden behind the sculpted face that shows little of emotions, but more of curiosity and the questions circling his head.
"she was being bullied?" jungkook nods as an answer and jimin asks further, "jungkook, give me one good reason why i shouldn't be mad at you? you just listed out all your mistakes yourself. but the biggest one was not trying to talk to me. did you really think i'll blame you and lash out instead of trying to fix the situation first? yes you did wrong and i'm mad, but that doesn't mean i won't try my best to help you out, jungkook. this is really disappointing."
"y'know i was thinking what could be going on that you or even aera didn't bother calling me. i didn't know she had her arm fractured, i didn't know she got operated, i didn't know she was bullied, and when i did come to know it's not from you, but our manager."
jungkook stares down in guilt, staying silent as jimin shakes his head, not yelling or anything. although the weight in his tone was enough to push the younger down.
"for real, jungkook, look at me and tell me, did i not deserve to know all this?" jimin asks, "she is my sister as much as she's yours, then why did i not know about the accident? i'm sure i've made it clear enough for everyone to know that you two matter to me more than any work, any buisness trip. but unfortunately my siblings themselves don't believe it."
"i'm sorry..." jungkook hushes out, "i couldn't think of anything. all i did these three days was staying by aera's side. i didn't do anything else other than taking care of her. her arm hurts with the slightest wrong movements, she's having nightmares too... the whole the day passes by just like that, and at night i've to stay by her again. i didn't get any time to talk to you."
"good job." jimin says sarcastically, now glaring the brother, "thank you for taking care of sister without anyone reminding you. what a favour you did right? did you tell aera all that too? how you're giving up on your job, facing losses or whatever to take care of her? but you know what? you can get back to your normal routine from now, i'm here, i'll take care of her."
jungkook shakes his head, crying silent tears as he stares at the elder's raging presence, which also makes him realise that he probably phrased his words the wrong way and made it sound like he was listing out favours.
"i didn't mean that hyung. i was just saying that i genuinely didn't think of anything else other than aera... after all she's hurt because of me... i wanted to make up for that, even though that's quite impossible. but i wanted to make sure she doesn't think that her koo changed and doesn't care for her now."
jimin sighs deeply, nodding at jungkook's words but says nothing. for a moment he wants to scold the boy and yell at him for being so irresponsible, but then a little part of him forces towards the teary, guilt laden eyes of the younger, reminding him that he's regretting his actions too.
so the elder steps forward, placing his hand on the younger's shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze, "i'm not mad, but yes i'm disappointed and a little hurt. as much as i wanna yell and hit you, i won't do that. so do yourself a favour and stop blaming yourself. you cannot go back in the past to correct your mistakes, but at least you can work on making today and tomorrow better. so do that instead of blaming and crying yourself to sleep. and tell me one thing, do you just keep feeding aera all the food? keep some for yourself too, idiot."
jungkook chews on his lip, shaking his head and hugs jimin tightly, sobbing on his shoulder, "i'm so sorry hyung... i hate myself so much for this, i keep messing up every time... and someone else gets hurt because of me. i don't know what's going on, hyung. y'know i wanted to call you, i used to have my phone in my hand but i couldn't bring myself to call you... it was so hard... thanks for coming back."
jimin pats his back gently, smiling a little as he shakes his head at the boy's rant, "it's okay, don't think too much about all this and take care of yourself. i was seriously in the mood to grab a baseball bat and hit you, but you just know exactly what to do when i'm mad." he jokes, while jungkook doesn't laugh and just keeps hugging the elder. "now, listen i'm serious, don't blame yourself for anything. sometimes circumstances aren't in our favour and that's okay. focus on yourself and the things tha matter to you. if that's your sister, fine. if it's your job, still fine. and if it's both, then learn to manage them together. being busy is not bad, buddy, being ignorant is. remember that always."
jungkook nods at the elder's words, wiping his tears as he pulls away and smiles softly, "thank you, you always know how to make everything fine, while i just keep messing up."
"hm i wonder when i'll actually get to see a mature kook." jimin chuckles, making jungkook smile too as he ruffles the boy's hair and pats his head, "now will you tell me about the fracture? like what exactly is wrong with her arm?"
"yeah, the doctor said that her humerus was displaced and there was a fracture on the distal end. so her elbow joint was affected too, and they needed to operate to get the bones back in place and fix the fracture."
"sounds bad," jimin sighs, "there must be antibiotics then?"
"yeah, to prevent any infection in the wound, some tablets to help recover faster and some opioids if there's an extreme pain."
"those are heavy doses, jungkook. did you give her any of them?"
"yeah on the first night after the operation and the next day. she couldn't sleep because of the pain."
"poor kid, how long did the doctor say it will take to recover?"
"about six weeks minimum." jungkook says, "we have the x-rays and everything. also today's an appointment with the doctor, you should come and see."
jimin nods in response, taking a deep breath as he sits on the bar stool and grabs a bottle of water, taking a sip before speaking, "what about those kids who bullied aera?"
"i talked to the principal, they're expelled. their parents were apologizing and insisted on seeing ri, but i said there's no need and they should leave."
"good," jimin nods, "what time is the appointment?"
"4:30," jungkook says and walks to the stove, turning it on and heats up the food again before serving it in two dishes, placing one for his brother and one for himself. he sighs softly, toying with the food as he speaks, "aera really missed you. she wanted to talk and everything too, but couldn't do it because every other hour she was crying out of pain. i feel so bad for her."
"hm open fractures hurt a lot." jimin agrees.
their attention soon shifts to the muffled crying voice from upstairs, making the two frown as they put their chopsticks down and rush towards the sister's room. jimin enters first, gasping on seeing her on the floor, curling herself against the bedframe while the television is playing too loud. jungkook turns it off quickly and kneels down near the crying sister, checking if she's hurt anywhere.
"your arm?" he asks, but aera doesn't respond.
"hey, what happened princess?" jimin holds her hand, gently caressing with his thumb as aera isn't speaking and keeps crying. her eyes shut close and he notices how she's trying to pull herself away, mumbling the same words jungkook said she did on the first night.
"baby, look at me, everything is fine." he tries to assure her, while jungkook stands up and rummages through the desk and the nightstand to find her bag of medicines.
"n-no... don't hurt me please..." aera cries, flinching at the slightest voice or movement and ducks her head down. "ahh! stop please! oppa!"
"yes, baby, i'm here. look at me." jimin says, slowly pulling her in his lap and rubs her back, "my child, nobody's hurting riri. it's all fine."
aera flinches again, moving her arm and screams, hiding herself in jimin's chest, "i'm sorry..." she sobs out, "oppa... i wan' go home..."
jimin blinks away his tears, hugging the sister tightly and presses a kiss on her head, whispering softly to assure that she's at home already, in fact in the safest place in her oppa's arms. aera becomes quiet after a few minutes, but tears keep flowing from her eyes as shivers in jimin's embrace, crying again out of pain.
"oppa... it hurts..." her words aren't that clear but the brother makes out the meaning and runs her back. jungkook, who had left the room, now comes back with a small pouch and crouches near the siblings. aera looks at him, breaking into another sob which he notices and nods for her that it'll be fine.
he grabs a glass of water and pops out a tablet, holding it in front of her mouth. but stops when jimin questions about the tablet and jungkook glances at him, "it's a sedative... for panic attacks and anxeity." he answers.
"jungkook are you serious? you don't give those to a kid just like that." jimin sighs and glances at aera who is panting lightly but seems okay other than some whimpers as her arm keeps hurting, "don't give those to her."
"are you sure? it'll help her."
"you don't want your sister to be dependent on sedatives and opioids, do you?"
jungkook shakes his head, keeping the tablet away, but aera's whimper makes him stop midway as her hand grabs the sleeve of his hoodie lightly, gesturing for him to give the tablet as she breathes heavily and eyes tearing up again.
jimin rubs her arm, turning her to face him and cups her face, "you're okay, there's no need for those." he says softly.
"n-no... it helps, oppa... my head hurts a lot, please..." she whimpers.
jimin wipes her tears and shakes his head, "it's gonna be okay, just follow me okay?" he says, aera looks hesitant but nods anyway and does as he says, following his lead into breathing deeply and closing her eyes, resting her head against his chest, trying to listen to the rhythm of his heart.
after a few deep breaths and gentle whispers of assurance, she's calm enough to look up at him and mumble out a thanks. jimin smiles and kisses her cheek, helping her stand up and makes her sit on the bed, "is your arm hurting a lot?" he asks and she nods subtly.
"how much?" jungkook asks.
"nine" aera says, the tears never stopping as she looks at her arm, "it's bad..."
jungkook bites on his lip, glancing at jimin who gestures for him to give her some common pain relievers instead of strong opioids. the younger agrees and pulls out the medicine, giving one tablet in aera's hand and holds the glass of water near her lips. once she's put the tablet in her mouth, he helps her take a sip and jimin pats her back.
"it's gonna take about half an hour." he says.
"no... make it go away right now. it hurts really bad, oppa." aera sniffles softly, wiping her tears.
"i know, princess." jimin hugs her again, stroking her hair and glances at jungkook who is staring at her with concerned eyes. he gives the boy an assuring nod as a gesture for him to stop overthinking and that aera will be fine.
"do you wanna get some ice cream?" aera looks up at jimin on hearing his question and nods slowly, "alright, will kookie go and get it real quick?"
"yeah, sure." jungkook smiles and stands up, jogging out of the room. aera sighs softly, resting against jimin's chest and moves her casted arm a little, pulling on the velcro of the sling and glances at the brother.
"remove it, oppa." she says, "my shoulder hurts,"
"my little girl, i can't see you like this." jimin sighs deeply, helping her with the sling and kisses her forehead. "it'll get better hm? let's just enjoy our ice cream and make riri forget about the pain."
"yeah, i missed you y'know? i'm sorry i didn't even talk to you. my arm kept hurting so much, and the medicines made me sleepy all the time." the sister says, "i was thinking about you yesterday, koo didn't even tell you about my arm. so i thought you'd be mad at us, on him... please don't be mad at jungkookie. he is very worried too, he was even crying yesterday. he keeps thinking that- that i got hurt because of him. yeah he couldn't make time for me, but oppa it's not his fault. i don't like koo sad, so please don't scold him okay?"
jimin presses his lips together, taking a deep and nods, "my baby is growing up huh? i wasn't expecting this." he chuckles, hugging her, "i'm not mad at him, we talked it out. and you don't have to worry now, oppa's here, he'll make sure both the babies are doing fine."
aera smiles a little and nods, "koo's a baby."
"yeah, he needs a lot of love and attention too."
"mm-hmm, he keeps sulking because i don't give him a hug in the morning."
jimin laughs at her words and shakes his head. the door opens and jungkook comes in with an ice cream tub and two spoons in his hands. he gives it to jimin and sits on the bed, smiling at the sister, "get well as soon as you can. we've still got the amusement park plan due."
aera nods at him, holding a spoonful of the cold treat in front of his mouth, making him smile and eat it. he leans in, closing his eyes and hugs her tightly. jimin smiles at him, rubbing his back, making him open his eyes that hold tears as he returns jimin's smile with a thankful one.
'stop crying' jimin mouths to him and jungkook lowers his head in aera's shoulder, pressing a kiss.
"i love you," he whispers.
"i love you too," aera says, "but you're getting the ice cream on your hoodie..."
"aish!" he pulls away quickly, seeing the chocolate ice cream melting on the fabric of his shirt. he sighs, taking it off and throws on the chair while jimin hands him the other spoon, nodding for him to eat as well. "it's for you." the boy says in response.
"i'm good, you can have it."
aera shakes her head, taking another spoonful of ice cream and feeds it to jimin, "thank you, me and koo missed you a lot. don't go away for so long again."
"never," jimin chuckles, seeing jungkook nodding as well in agreement to the sister's request.
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a/n- okay do i gotta rant, i hope u don't mind :')
so i've been really trying to approach this person (my best friend for almost 6 years) i tried texting her abd everything, but she never responds. she wasn't much of a texter which i understand is okay, but recently it's been like she just doesn't reply to me anymore. abd it's not the first time she's ghosted me like this. i really felt bad because i rarely have anyone in my texting list, i mean i just have like these three people whom i text and i'm close too. one is already always busy to text me, the other is ghosting me rn, so now i have one person left in my best friends category. it sucks to be me sometimes. like i would never do that to any of my friends. i have always been the first person to text, to call, to be there and listen to them when they're upset or having some problem, i share things, made them laugh and legit fid everything that a best friend should do. she even knows about my anxeity sbd how i really need these close friendships because i won't have anything in the name of best friends after that. i wasn't really crying but when i read this one quote: "hardest goodbyes are the ones we never said" it really hit me. i still don't know what went wrong suddenly, but i guess this is how it's supposed to go. i stopped texting them now, i'm tired honestly. my friends really mean a lot to me and i love them a lot. it takes me a while to grow close to people because i've seen how it often ends up. i am a friendly person and you'd think i have a lot of friends but that's just the people i know and can talk to, it's different. you don't cry on every shoulder or tell your that joke yo everyone do you? that's a best friend, and i feel like i'm losing mine (almost lost now).
anyways if you're still reading, thanks a lot ❤️ please vote and comment on the chapter if you liked it. and i love you, we should really say that a lot more often.
srzly love you all, take care. and always feel free to rant your heart in my comments. nobody will stop you, in fact they'll come up to help you and many will relate to you. so don't shy away, it's okay ❤️