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"but he's my—"
"crush? i know, he's everyone's type." the girl says, grinning at aera who stares at her with wide eyes and a flushed face, bringing herself to believe that her group really dared her to ask her own brother out for a date.
she takes a deep breath as they don't listen to her and push her in the direction he's standing with his friend, daniel. aera glances at jake and clay, the former snickering silently behind his palm pressed on his mouth and the latter looking equally shocked as aera herself.
"uh wait," clay stands up, clearing his throat and gestures aera to come to a side, "what will you tell him?"
"i don't know," the girl groans, "i can't even believe they think i'm dating him! like dude he's a decade older than me! why would i date someone that old?!"
clay sighs, massaging his temples and nods, "listen, if you can tell him, great. if you can't, just give me a signal or something, i'll try to end this game here."
aera nods, taking a deep and looks at her friends who are cheering for her and telling her to go for it. she rolls her eyes, walking towards the other side of the living room where jungkook and daniel have been standing. the brother spots her and smiles, standing straight as he removes the support from the kitchen island and nods at her, asking what brings her here.
"hi..." aera smiles awkwardly,
"hi?" daniel laughs, "do you want something? snacks? juice?"
"uh no, thanks," she shakes her head, "actually my friends are playing spin the bottle and it stopped on me. so now, they gave me a dare and—"
"tell me it doesn't involve a guy." jungkook frowns at her, crossing his arms on his chest. aera nods slowly, about to tell him that the guy is actually him, but he's fast enough to cut her off with the scolding, "this is what i meant when i said you shouldn't go to a party. but of course you don't liste—"
"i know! just listen to me first," aera hisses, forcing a smile when she realises her group is watching. "the dare is that i gotta ask you out on a date." she says, looking down in embarrassment. the elders boys choke on their drinks, coughing out the beer in the sink nearby, before focusing on aera again.
"me?" jungkook gapes at her, earning a nod. "but i— why?"
"because they saw me with you and they think i'm dating you."
"jesus christ! these people have messed up minds!" jungkook cringes, "but you're so young! why would you date someone that older than you? and why would i date someone as young as you?"
"i know right?" she sighs, "i was trying to tell them that you're my brother— real brother. but they didn't even listen..."
"what kind of friends do you have?" jungkook pinches the bridge of his nose, looking embarrassed as well while daniel glances behind aera up to recliners where her friends are sitting.
"nevermind, i'll tell them you said no okay?" aera says.
"will that work?" jungkook says.
"i guess," she shrugs, "i'll go now— oh! riah's sister was looking for you."
jungkook chokes again while daniel snorts, laughing loudly and pats his friend's shoulder, "yah! stop talking about that!" jungkook scolds aera who just snickers, giving a high-five to daniel. "you jerk, you told her that didn't you?!" he kicks daniel, making him laugh louder.
"you've been here for almost fifteen minutes. how are they gonna believe that i said no?" jungkook says.
"oh right! shit!" she pulls away from daniel and looks back, sighing when she recieves some teasing looks from the girls and boys, while clay is giving a straight face that says she fucked up. she nods for him to manage and he shakes his head, shrugging as if saying it's too late now.
right when she's about to turn around, a frown creases her brows, watching them spinning the bottle again. it stops on jake and a cheer suddenly fills the air. the boy stands up, looking at aera and smiles nervously, heading towards her.
"what happened?" she asks going near him.
"i gotta kiss you," he whispers.
"you... have to... kiss me?" she repeats and jake nods, biting his lip, gulping nervously.
"or we both have to jump in the pool..."
"why me?! it's not even my dare!"
"because you're stupid and you took so long gossiping with your brother and his friend. so now this is the alternative. kiss me or jump in the pool with me."
aera stays quiet, staring at him and sighs deeply "where's the pool?"
"do you have something to... like, uhm wear over this?" he asks, nodding down at the dress she's wearing which both of them know will stick more precisely to her body once the fabric gets wet with the water. aera blinks a few times, shaking her head and grabs his sleeve gently.
"do you have any other idea?"
"uh well, we could act like we're kissing—"
"but not really kissing?" aera gasps, staring at him and he nods. "how?"
"first let's go away from your brother." jake mutters. aera glances at jungkook who is watching them carefully, making her sigh as she sends him a small smile.
"i'll go now, bye." she says waving at the elders and grabs jake's hand, following him to a place from where he believes jungkook won't see them, but their friends will. he takes a deep breath, letting go of aera's hand and stands awkwardly, ruffling his own hair, staring at his feet. "what now? how do i have to pretend? i have no idea wha-"
"stop talking first," jake hushes her down, standing close to her, his one hand on her waist and one still in the air, not knowing where to place it. aera blinks, staring up at him as he's taller than her, suddenly feeling her cheeks heating up at the proximity. she looks down, trying her best to stay calm while jake glances back to check who's watching and who's not.
"uh jake, do you really have to be that close?" she asks softly, having her hands hanging on her sides awkwardly, not having any idea what to do with them or why she even has them in the first place.
"i guess so," he mutters, "now listen, i'll lean down and you'll have to look at me. don't freak out, i won't kiss you. just stay that close for a few seconds. then it's done. cool?"
"yeah, okay..." she nods subtly, waiting for him to lean down as she convinces herself that it won't be that hard, and all she needs to do is to stay close. jake glances at her, tilting his head a little as he leans in, and aera's hand clenches into fists tightly, breathing nervously on having someone so close to her for the first time.
"relax," the boy whispers, "hold my hand,"
aera does as he says, holding his hand tightly as she finally gains enough strength to look up and glance at jake, which seems like a bad decision for it sends a wave of heated embarrassment up to their cheeks, flaring them in crimson red.
"you're blushing," jake points out.
"you're blushing too," aera says.
"can't help it," he shrugs, "i've never been in a situation like this before."
"as if i have," aera mutters, staying quiet for a moment until she looks up slowly, sighing in relief when they don't freak out this time. "if you kissed me, it would be your first kiss right?"
"yeah," he nods, stepping closer and hears a loud cheer from his friends, "your too," aera hums to confirm, never leaving his hand as she looks down at the negligible space between them and then at jake's face, finding him staring at her.
"what?"
"nothing," he looks away with a small smile, which he hides quickly and clears his throat, "i guess we're done—"
"they're not kissing!" a boy yells, making aera and jake flinch, realising someone actually came over to them and pointed it out.
"get lost motherfucker," jake hisses, kicking the boy away and looks at aera, "would you mind me if i be your first kiss?"
"huh? what?" aera gulps in shock, staring at him as she still doesn't seem to take in his words. "what did you just say?"
"mind if i kiss you? because i really don't wanna jump in the pool at night. and i don't think you should do that either considering what your wearing."
"yeah, i- i, right. but—"
"great, then. so we either kiss, or run real fast out of this place. choose."
"i don't know... you choose," aera looks down, and jake smiles, holding her hand securely as he steps away from her and crouches down, removing the sandals from her feet that might impose a problem while running. he grabs a pair of running shoes that belong to someone in the house and makes aera wear them. "jake what-"
"let's do both," he grins, tugging on her hand and nods towards the window at the side of the room. he turns around, gesturing clay to meet outside and sprints to the window, pulling the girl with him. he climbs out first, then helps her down, smirking at his friends as he shows them a middle finger and runs away.
"come on, be quick!" he looks back, pulling on her hand slightly more to have her speeding up with him until they cross two blocks and finally stop, panting heavily.
"jungkook was there!" aera hits him, "i'm so dead you jerk!"
"oh fuck! i forgot about him..." jake hisses, moving away to avoid getting hit. he grabs her hand, pulling her aside in the street and takes a deep breath, "okay! stop hitting me!"
"no why did you—"
"aera, quiet," he says a bit more firmly and looks back, seeing if clay is coming yet or not. keeping his one hand locked with aera, he pulls out his phone with the other and calls on clay's number, "bro, where you at?"
"they're not letting me leave. and jungkook is looking for aera, you need to come back now."
"fuck! tell him something dude, make an excuse!"
"i said she's in the washroom."
"okay great, can't i just drop her straight at home?"
"no! are you an idiot?! her brother will beat the shit out of you!"
"right, okay fine we'll be there in a few minutes."
"we're going right now." aera huffs, looking away from him.
"guys... did you kiss?" clay asks in a low voice, and aera whines, hitting jake while he laughs. "is that a yes?"
"not yet," jake grins.
"no!" aera says, "what is wrong with you suddenly?!"
"i don't know,"
"man i'm so jealous," clay hisses, "aera, do not kiss him, no matter what."
"i won't." the girl says and jake arches a brow, shaking his head as they start walking back towards the house, "is everyone still there?" aera asks.
"riah, jay, soomin, hyunwoo are here. and after what you both did they think you're dating."
"what did we do?" aera frowns.
"being that close, running away..." clay sighs.
aera hums, nodding slowly and looks down thinking about it as all of this looks like a scene from a teen movie rather than being her reality. then her mind replays jake's last words before leaving their classmate's house who had invited everyone including his cousin's college friends.
"jake," she voices out and the boy hums, "why did you say let's do both?"
jake sighs deeply, placing his hand on the back of his neck as he keeps his eyes straight ahead, not looking at his friend and shrugs his shoulders, "i don't know," he mumbles out, "why did you ask me if it was my first kiss?"
"that's a normal question,"
"if you say so," he chuckles, "are you cold?"
"no, it's nice."
they walk in silence once again, smiles never leaving their lips for an unknown reason. aera stops finally, gathering all the courage a few yards before the house where everybody is enjoying with their friends. she takes a deep breath, holding jake's hand to stop him and gets a look from him in response.
"what? let's go," he says,
"aren't you gonna do what you actually brought me out for?"
aera feels her cheeks heating up at her own words, not beleiving she actually had the guts to ask him that. the boy stares at her for a moment, gulping down in nervousness, but the smile doubles on his lips as he nods slowly, taking a step forward.
"really?"
"uh i mean, you said—"
jake glances at the house, seeing that no one's watching them. he carefully moves closer to aera, being as nervous as she is looking down with a pinkish tint painting her already rosy cheeks under the dim the street light. his hand lifts up, slowly touching her chin to make her look at him. he takes a deep breath, praying for god to make sure he doesn't mess up right now.
he leans in slowly, and aera tenses up, clutching on his hand like she did inside the house which the boy doesn't mind. she blinks, staring at him being so close until his lips finally touch hers, making her eyes shut tight and a fireworks exploding in her body that also makes her flinch. jake keeps his hand on her waist which she's secretly thankful for as it helps her calm down despite the thousands of butterflies dancing in her stomach and body feeling too warm even though the temperature was cold enough to scare them of the pool.
the kiss lasts for miliseconds, but feels like an eternity to aera as she keeps her eyes closed, hand fisting on the fabric of jake's shirt and the other one holding his free hand with no intention of letting go any time soon.
he pulls away gradually, realising aera still has her eyes closed. he smiles a little and cups her face, "once more?" he jokes and aera opens her eyes quickly, shaking her head.
she gasps loudly, her hand cupping her mouth as she stares at jake, "oh my god! i— we... just— jake..."
"mm-hmm," he nods, "congratulations, i'm officially the first guy you kissed. well, it wasn't even a kiss— just a peck y'know?"
aera says nothing, still in shock while jake takes a deep breath, "aera," he looks at her, taking her hand and pulls her a bit closer, "please don't hit me after this,"
"wha—"
he cuts her off, pressing his lips on hers again, this time a bit more comfortably. aera's eyes widen, staring at him as he's watching her too. his lips kiss her softly, leaning closer, with his one hand cupping her jaw and the other on her back, keeping her close. it takes aera a while to get the hang of it, and a blush creeps to her cheeks as she kisses him back, now having the whole zoo along with the butterflies dancing inside her stomach this time.
her hand gradually rests on his shoulder, holding the collar of his shirt. jake smiles through the kiss, stepping forward until they're leaning on the wall nearby. for moment it's just them both, no one to disturb and no one to tell them that it's getting late and time to go home.
aera closes her eyes, following his lead, surprised that he actually knows how to kiss while she still isn't sure if she's doing it right. however his hands always assure her, easing her tensed body in a way that she thinks she might melt like ice cream in his hands.
she pulls away a while later, panting as a soft, airy chuckle leaves a her lips, "won't let me breathe now?" her voice comes out as a whisper and jake smiles, licking his lips, mumbling out an apology to her. "is this a kiss now?"
"totally," he chuckles.
"congratulations, i'm officially the first girl you kissed."
"thank you, ma'am," he says, making her giggle and leans down again, leaving a last peck before finally pulling away. "that's cherries right? the flavour of your lip balm?"
"jake!" aera hits his arm and he laughs loudly.
"let's go now, your brother must be dying."
"oh shit! how can i forget about him?!" aera gasps, grabbing his hand and pulls him to the house. "i'll go in first, you come a few minutes later, okay?"
he nods, jogging to catch up with and stands in front, making her stop, "don't tell anyone about the kiss,"
"why? are you embarrassed?"
"i might kiss you again to answer that," he shrugs and aera steps back, making him grin at his own joke, "we don't want rumours do we? especially when your brother is so connected."
"you actually have guts to sneak out with a girl who has an overprotective brother in the same room and then even kiss her."
"i know right? adventure is fun. if it was clay he would've died four times till now." he laughs, stopping when the door suddenly opens and comes out a raging a jungkook with daniel and clay looking scared behind him.
aera blinks a few times, staring at her brother with wide eyes. before she even moves a muscle and stops him, he's already grabbing jake by his collar. "oppa!" aera grabs his arm, trying to get her friend free but jungkook seems too mad to care and keeps his glare stern on the boy. "leave him, oppa! what happened?"
"what happened?" jungkook growls, "you're asking that?! didn't you just run out with him?!"
"n-no, i was feeling cramped inside... so i asked him to go with me to get some fresh air. now will you leave him please?"
"hyung, she's telling the truth. that's all that happened. i thought it wasn't nice for her to go out alone, so i just accompanied her." jake says, "sorry if it looks wrong."
jungkook glares at the two and lets go of jake, turning to face clay who flinches, cursing under his breath, "what the fuck did you tell me inside?" jungkook snaps at him.
"what...?" aera looks at clay, gulping nervously.
"that you're in the washroom. why was there a need to lie?"
"clay?" jake hisses, piching the bridge of his nose, "bro, i told you not to try alcohol! you're still a minor! now see, hyung misunderstood everything."
clay blinks a few times, nodding his head slowly and grabs his head, "ah yeah, i should've listened to you. man my head hurts so bad, i even threw up twice."
aera presses her lips together, preventing herself from laughing at clay's over the top acting and jake's fake scolding as he supports the boy to the car and makes him sit, stroking his back as if he was dying. "he looked fine just now..." daniel mutters and aera looks at him.
"i don't know how alcohol works," aera shrugs.
"come here for a second," he leans down, nodding towards the side earning a glance from the girl. "jungkook, get the car. y'all should head home now."
"yeah, keep an eye on her." jungkook sighs, walking away as daniel nods. aera looks at him, following to the car where jake and clay are waiting.
"i saw you sneaking out, don't even think of lying." daniel says and the trio gasps, exchanging scared glances. "and there, outside."
"no!" jake and aera freak out together.
"that's what i thought," daniel smiles smugly. "okay so, first of all you can trust me i won't tell jungkook. first kisses are specia—"
"first kiss?" clay stares at his friends, "you fucking traitors! i hate both of you! i told you aera not to do that!"
"i'm sorry..." she mumbles as her face blushes again, staring down at her feet.
"no, i'm so done. don't talk to me you two. i'll tell jungkook hyung everything!"
"no you won't," jake scoffs, "come on stop being jealous."
clay sighs deeply, massaging his temples as he curses at himself for asking this, "how was it?"
"great," jake whispers with a smirk, leaning down as they end up snickering to themselves while daniel chuckles remembering his jungkook's high school days. then there's aera, wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out.
a honk grabs aera's attention, making her sigh in relief that she won't have to hear jake teasing clay about kissing her. she shakes her head and glances at daniel, still feeling embarrassed of the fact that he saw her kissing jake, but overcoming that somehow, she waves goodbye at him weakly and then at her boys. one of them waves back with a smile that still looks jealous and the other sends a mischievous grin her way along with a wink.
"why am i friends with them?" aera mutters, making daniel laugh as he pats her back. "bye oppa, see you later."
"yeah, bye. and call me if jungkook gets too mad about stuff."
aera nods, giving him a brief hug and heads to the car, stopping in the middle as she realises she's wearing the wrong shoes. she cringes internally, feeling weird at the thought that someone else wore these same shoes that jake made her wear just so she could run without a problem. turning around, she runs inside going back to the place where she left her sandals and puts them on quickly, not wanting to keep jungkook waiting for too long.
"okay, i'm ready." she sighs, waving at daniel and her friends one final time before going to her brother. she takes the front seat, sitting quietly as she feels three pairs of eyes watching them and smiles awkwardly.
"let's go?" she looks at jungkook who remains, silent driving off towards the house. "did you uhm meet chelsea unnie then?"
"what if i did?" he snaps, "do not try to escape this once aera. i really don't understand why you're even friends with that guy. and what were you two doing that you took so long?"
"walking," aera curses herself for lying again, but she knows her brother won't be able to handle the truth. "what else can we do?"
"what els— okay, fine." jungkook stops there, glancing at her as he stops the car and takes a deep breath, "listen to me very carefully okay?"
aera hums faintly, and jungkook continues, "good. i always tell you to be careful around guys because y'know they cannot really be trusted. as wrong as it sounds, everyone believes it deep down."
"but jake and clay are my fr—"
"i know, but still. you're my baby sister, aera and trust me every brother would be dying when there's a guy close to his sister. that's just brother's instincts."
"that's overprotectiveness, koo."
"call it that," he sighs, "but really, the only guys you can trust blindly is me and your oppas for now."
"what does that mean?"
"means..." jungkook presses his lips into a thin line, "no boys other than us," he curses for misleading her like that, but to prevent himself a heart attack he finds himself nodding to confirm his words.
"so no boys? not even jake and clay?"
"i'm not telling you to cut ties entirely, they're your friends and they've been with you for so long. but what i'm saying is no getting touchy with them, no weird jokes and no going anywhere alone with them, like you did today." he says.
"touchy? weird jokes? isn't that what you do with chelsea unnie?"
jungkook is taken aback by aera's comeback, but clears his throat and shakes his head, "no. and even if we do, that's none of your concern. we're adults and we can do what we want."
"so you're saying i've to be an adult?"
"aera!" jungkook groans and she giggles, seeing him getting frustrated, "no boys, that's it!"
"that is kinda hard, oppa. there's so many boys in the world, and jake will climb up to our window to see me, you know that too." she laughs.
"exactly what i'm talking about! he shouldn't be doing that."
"he says adventure is fun,"
jungkook stares at her with a scared expression as the realisation hits him that his sister's friend might have already have tried something funny. he gulps his fear down, unbuckling the seat belt and turns to face her. taking her hands in his and praying for his thoughts to just be thoughts, he asks, "princess, please be honest with me okay? did jake— or clay, ever did anything weird?"
"like?"
"uhm like..." jungkook gulps, closing his eyes as he gathers all the courage from his body and exhales through his mouth, "like, touching unnecessarily, or saying something or maybe even kissing you?"
aera stops to think, recalling all of that from a few minutes back, how jake actually did everything jungkook just mentioned. and for a moment she's contemplating if it's wrong what her and jake did, but telling jungkook anything might mean being grounded for the rest of her life. so she just shakes her head, smiling a little inspite of the fear jungkook induced inside her.
jake did stand too close to her, inside the house and even outside;
he did kiss her;
and he did joke about it later which even made her blush!
aera gulps nervously, looking at jungkook who is taking a breath of relief as if the air caught in his lungs is finally set free. he leans forward, unbuckling her seat belt and hugs her tightly, pressing his lips on the side of his head.
"my little girl, don't let any guy do those things. and if anyone does, kick him hard and tell me alright?"
"mm," aera nods, hugging him weakly as she feels guilty of her actions now, regretting the whole idea of agreeing to go out with jake and then even kissing him. in fact he was ready to quietly head back to the house, it was her who stoped him and asked for the kiss! oh my god!
"let's go home, i'm tired." she lets out, pulling herself back and jungkook nods, smiling at her as he pats her head.
"i know you won't do anything wrong,"
aera forces a smile, suppressing the urge to cry and tell him how much of a bad person she is for kissing her best friend and breaking her brother's trust. jungkook pulls in front of their house soon and aera straight away heads to her room, telling jungkook that she's super tired and would crash as soon as she lays down on her bed.
although the rest of the night passes with her crying silently and cursing at herself for being so stupid as she imagines jungkook's furious and disappointed face when he'll come to know what she's done. when the morning comes and it's time for breakfast she felt the need to talk to someone and get a real good advice.
"can we go to jimin oppa today?" she says, taking a tiny bite of her waffles, earning a smile from jungkook as he nods, "i miss jiwon and unnie,"
"not oppa?" he jokes, ruffling her hair.
"i miss him," she nods and keeps the fork down, not being to get the food down, knowing her brothers won't like her being a spoiled girl that she's been yesterday. "i'll get ready, let's go right now."
"alright," jungkook agrees, "but finish your breakfast first,"
"i'm not that hungry, koo. i'll eat later."
"no, you've to finish it or we're not going anywhere."
aera sighs softly, sitting down again and eats forcefully by the time jungkook does the dishes. once she's done and is praised by the brother like he's being doing ever since she was young, she goes to her room to get ready, having some faith that haewon would help her out with the problem.
by the next hour aera sighs deeply, finding herself knocking at the door of jimin's apartment, happy that they didn't find any traffic to worsen her mental state. haewon opens the door, bringing an instant smile to aera's lips as she steps forward, hugging her tightly, making the elder girl chuckle.
"hey? did riri really miss me that much?" haewon pats her back, pulling away gradually and hugs jungkook too. "now you, don't even say anything. finally remembered me?"
"ah, i'm sorry," jungkook chuckles, "i can forget hyung for once, but you? nope, not at all."
haewon laughs, moving aside to let them in and closes the door before following inside, "jimin! jungkook and aera are here!"
"hm?" jimin comes out, brae chested and looking like he just woke up from his deepest slumbers. although his sleepiness vanishes on spotting his siblings and his lips stretch upwards, "hey, princess. so early in the morning?" he chuckles, hugging aera and glances at jungkook.
"yeah, she wanted to see you guys." jungkook shrugs, "by the way, 11:30 is not early hyung."
"i know," haewon sighs, "he stays up working at night, and then his little prince doesn't let us sleep. i'm so sick of both of them."
"i might take jiwon to help you out a little," jungkook laughs, "hyung is not our responsibility anymore. he's yours, you handle him."
"yah!" haewon hits his arm while jungkook laughs, moving away to avoid getting hit. aera stands near jimin, looking around with a subtle pout that jimin notices and guides her back to the bedroom, where a crib is placed by the wall. he points at it and smiles "there is your baby brother, go and say hi."
"i was looking for him," aera giggles, walking up to the crib and leans forward, seeing that jiwon is sleeping.
"he was up early in the morning and didn't let your unnie sleep." jimin chuckles.
aera laughs, nodding her head and pokes the baby's cheek, "sleep well, we'll play later." she smiles, leaning down more and pecks his cheek.
"jungkook used to talk to you like that," jimin pats her back. "come on now, have you eaten anything? we can have breakfast together today."
"i ate before coming. koo forced me to eat, i didn't want to."
jimin laughs, heading out of the room after covering jiwon with his blanket properly and walks to the kitchen where jungkook is sitting on the bar stool and haewon is preparing coffe for everyone.
"aera, what will you have? coffee? milk? juice?"
"nothing, i'm good." aera smiles, sitting with jimin quietly.
"are you okay?" jimin asks, "why are you so awkward today?"
"i'm fine, just tired i guess." she says, smiling again and stands up, "i'll use the bathroom," the brothers nod, taking their coffees while haewon too joins them, sparing a glance at aera who quickly smiles and nods for her to come.
"i'll come in a minute," haewon tells before standing up and follows after aera, seeing her waiting by the hallway to the bathroom. "what happened? are you okay?"
"yeah, but there's a little problem, and i need some advice." aera rambles in a hurry, "don't tell anyone this, especially jungkook and jimin oppa. so we went to this person's birthday party yesterday and i might've kinda, sorta, went ou—"
"aera, relax." haewon cups her face, "i can't understand anything that you're saying. slowly okay?"
aera releases a breath, whining to herself as she curses again, "why's this so hard?!" she groans, kicking the wall.
"is it something that serious?" haewon says and brings aera to her and jimin's room, making her sit on the bed with her, "now tell me calmly. what is it?"
aera takes a deep breath, burying ger face in her palm and mumbles, "please don't tell the oppas what i'm about to tell you."
"uh okay," haewon nods.
"you know jake right? my friend?" aera says and the elder girl nods again, making her sigh, "it was one of his friend's birthday yesterday and we all went there— our classmates, the boy has a cousine in college so his friends. jungkook oppa was there too. me and my friends were playing spin the bottle and it stopped on jake. they dared him to kiss me or else we both would jump in the pool."
"what?!" haewon gasps, "he kissed you?!"
"wait, wait unnie, not yet. i didn't want to do that so he said we could just pretend to kiss. so he took me away from jungkook, because we knew he wouldn't listen and just get mad. then someone came to know that we're not actually kissing and they told everyone. so we had two options then, either we had to kiss or jump in the pool. i was almost ready for the second one but it was so cold and also getting my dress wet wasn't a great idea. so jake suggested that we should run away for a while and he pulled me with him. then i realised jungkook is still in there and he'll be so mad knowing i snuck out with jake. clay had told him that i was in the restroom while we were returning. now— this is very important unnie, please don't be mad at me."
haewon gulps, equally nervous on seeing aera sweating through her locks as she tells her the whole thing, "so, before running out, jake had asked me to choose between kissing him and escaping away. i couldn't choose quickly, so he said let's do both..."
"aera... oh my god, baby what are you saying? wait, no! how old are you again?"
"sixteen," aera massages her forehead and continues, "so, i remembered that and i don't know why i stopped him a little away from the house and asked him to do what he said. then he kissed me, but! it was a normal peck and i was freaking out!"
"ahh!" heawon shrieks as well, feeling the tension from aera's words as they both freak out and wake jiwon up. "aish! he has to wake up right now?" she groans and turns to aera, "you carry on, i'm listening."
"yeah so i was so shocked but then jake held my hand and pulled me closer and kissed me again! we were kissing— like kissing kissing! i couldn't believe it, and i felt like i would just pass out but he was holding my hand so i wasn't that scared. then we went back and jungkook was there at the door. he grabbed jake by his collar while i was trying to tell him that we just went for a walk because i was feeling congested inside. after a lot of effort he believed us and we came back. then on the way he said that he trusts me and i wouldn't do anything wrong or y'know get involved with a guy and stuff like that... his words made me so guilty unnie, i can't tell you! i was crying in my room because him and jimin oppa would be so disappointed on coming to know i kissed jake. i don't know what to do, unnie that's why i told jungkook to come here because i couldn't tell him this. now please help me out,"
haewon takes a deep breath, glancing at her while bouncing her son in her arms lightly snd faces aera, "do you think you did wrong?"
"i don't know," aera breathes out, "but after listening to jungkook oppa i do feel bad for breaking his trust."
"no, i'm asking if you felt like you're doing anything wrong when you kissed jake? did you feel like getting away or were you uncomfortable with him?"
"no, i think i was okay. i mean yes a little nervous, but he said i could hold his hand and that helped me a lot."
"not a bad guy," haewon nods, "y'know i understand first kisses matter a lot because they stay as a memory for a long time. i still remember mine, it wasn't that great yeah but not bad either."
"did you feel bad too?"
"well, yeah a little later on, like you're feeling. but it was fine. it's not that important once you actually start dating people or find someone more special. like i found your brother, so i don't care about my firsts anymore. it's more about time and experience i guess,"
"right, so should i just ignore this? or like, tell koo that i'm dying because i'm so guilty?"
"depends on you. i never told anyone about my first kiss snd just pretended like it never happened."
"but jake and i meet all the time and as far as i know him, he won't shut up about it. even yesterday he kept bragging and joking about it."
haewon chuckles knowingly, nodding her head, "so he's not embarrassed or regretting it right?"
"no, he enjoyed it i guess,"
"do you like each other?"
"not like that. we do tend to spend a lot of time together and we're really close as best friends. but i don't think we like each other more than that..."
"then it's nothing. don't think too much about it."
"hm i guess you're right, i was just thinking too much."
"yeah," haewon laughs, "anyway congratulations you had your first kiss! and the guy wasn't that bad either!"
"oh my god, is it really that great?"
"you're growing up." haewon smiles at her, making aera smile as well. she looks down at her son and says, "see, your noona just shared a big secret with us. now you have to tell her when you have your first kiss."
"unnie!" aera whines, making the elder girl laugh, "don't say it again an—" she stops, glancing at the door and finds jimin standing there with a straight face, "shit..."
haewon's laughter dies as well and eyes expand on spotting her husband as she realises she forgot to lock the door. he enters quietly, keeping his eyes on his sister and crosses his arms on his chest, "so that's what you came here for?"
"oppa... i... uhm—"
"jimin," haewon stands up, "do you need something?"
"stop that, i heard you both."
"evesdropping is bad..." aera mumbles.
"yeah," haewon nods, "especially when it's girls talking. if she wanted you to know, she would've talked outside, jimin. now if you scold her for this, i'll—"
"calm down tough girl, did i say anything?" jimin says and turns to aera, "and you, come out. we need to talk."
haewon follows aera out, patting her back assuringly as if saying that she'll handle if the brothers get mad. jimin stops by the dining table where jungkook is sitting now and faces aera, "jungkook-ah, aera has something to tell us."
"hm? i'm listening," jungkook nods, waiting for the sister to speak but she seems too absorbed in her own thoughts. tears well her eyes as she suddenly feels insecure and vulnerable on being pointed out so openly about the matter that felt sensitive to her.
she shakes her head, wiping her tears and looks at haewon for some help. "you don't have to say anything if you don't want to," she assures the you ger girl and glares at her husband, "she's feeling bad enough about all this jimin. you don't have to make it worse."
"what're you talking about? she's feeling bad about what?" jungkook frowns, "ri, why are you crying?"
"i'm sorry," aera mumbles, "i lied to you yesterday... we didn't go out for a walk. jake and i... he kissed me. and i—"
"he did what?" jungkook leans forward to make sure it's what he heard and stares at aera, "he— that boy... he kissed you? like as in kissed you on the lips?"
aera nods, wiping her tears for she can feel her fear coming true when jungkook stands up, grabbing her arm and makes her stand, facing him, "and you didn't have the brains to push him?! stop him or literally do anything?! fuck it what exactly did he do? did he touch you? say anything? he's so dead!"
"seriously, i agree." jimin says, maintaining a strict gaze on the sister, "no guy has the right to touch you, aera. if it's uncomfortable push him away and slap him hard. i don't get why you didn't do that to jake. these type of people aren't supposed to be friends, they just fak—"
"he's not bad, oppa." aera says, "and i didn't push him because i didn't feel uncomfortable. he's always so caring and gentle with–"
"quiet! do you even hear yourself?!" jungkook yells, "gosh! aera you didn't even know what you're saying! didn't feel uncomfortable huh? then what exactly were you feeling?! i only let you hangout with that guy because you said he's your best friend. if i knew you two are doing this shit i wouldn't even let that guy wander around you!"
"oppa, no you're misun-"
"just shut it now. i'm so done." jungkook looks away.
"stop it jungkook!" haewon interrupts, seeing aera crying, "why are you saying all that? so what if she kissed someone? she's saying she felt fine with him that's why she didn't push him away. what's wrong in that? don't you kiss girls too? forget that, you even go with the ones who already have a boyfriend. i may sound really harsh but, trust me your sister needs to stay away from guys like you, not the boy who held her hand so that she won't be scared."
jungkook's mouth ceases at that, knowing deep down that haewon was right. in fact now that he has his eyes opened, it's indeed guys like him who make girls uncomfortable at times. he looks down, not saying anything, just hears aera's sobs from nearby.
"and you jimin, you're the wisest one right? what is this then? you think guilt trapping your sister is a great way of having her listening to you? she was already feeling bad about it, you must've heard it while evesdropping us. she's young and exploring things, and that's not a crime. i'm glad she had her first kiss with someone who cares about her, unlike most of the people who just get drunk and end up losing it at a party to a random person."
"stop favouring her, haewon. she's still young for these things, a little bit of carelessness could be a huge mistake."
"i understand that, but try to see from her point too. the way you both started lashing our at her, she'll end up being scared of stuff which often makes the deepest memories. she said she wasn't feeling bad or guilty or anything negative when they kissed, but after listening to jungkook making it sound like a bad thing she thinks she did a mistake. you don't want your sister to think of these little gestures of love as mistakes do you?"
"for god's sake this is not love." jungkook says.
"not right now. but some day it'll be, if not with jake, then with someone else. or forget about that, you kiss me at least ten times a day, jimin. how would you feel if i consider that as a mistake because when i took the first step of my life towards this, somebody told me that i should push guys away and this is bad?"
"i know you're her brothers and you're worried about your princess getting hurt. and there's nothing wrong in that. but keeping he locked up and having her thinking that these things are not acceptable, is not right either. she's growing up, she'll face a lot of more things in life. don't scare her like this, our aera is smart and brave enough to know and take action when she feels threatened. stop worrying too much, or else she'll lose her days of exploring and learning on her own. be there to hold her if she falls, that'll help her more than you carrying her everywhere to avoid getting her hurt."
jimin nods slowly, feeling stupid of his words and actions now as he watches aera sitting with teary eyes, not crying anymore. he kneels down in front of her and holds her hand, "i'm sorry princess, i shouldn't have said all that. it's just that you're so young and i raised you in my arms, i can't bring myself to see you as a big girl even now. you're always my little baby... but still, oppa's sorry for being such a meanie to his little girl."
aera wipes her tears, nodding a little and hugs him tightly, "it's okay, i kinda knew this, so i was prepared."
"now that is even more sad. i promise we'll try to understand your situation better and hear you out well before saying anything."
"thanks. so you're not mad at me?"
"no," he smiles, turning his face to the side and points his cheek, making her smile too as she leans closer and pecks his cheek. "that's my girl, no matter how much you grow up aera, for your oppa you're always his small baby."
"jungkook," haewon calls, gesturing him to apologize as well, making the younger male sigh as he nods.
"i'm sorry aera, i shouldn't shout at you and what i said was really stupid. i'm sorry for that. and yeah, you need to stay away from guys like me... i promise i'll change myself for the better. it sucks to be the person you always warn your sisters about."
"don't say that," aera says, hugging him tightly, "you're a nice guy. you love me so much, take care of me and don't get mad when i ask a lot of questions. you're not bad, koo."
"you can say that because i'm your brother, kiddo." he smiles sadly, "but anyway, i'll definitely work on myself, you don't have to worry. and sorry noona, i made you so angry."
"both you and your hyung did," haewon sighs, "my poor girl, you both made her cry. now get to work and start cooking something really tasty for riri."
"and riri's unnie, and riri's brother too!" aera adds.
"oh, yes sure. any special requests?"
"steak, noodles, chicken soup and kimchi fried rice."
"and for dessert, ice cream sundaes will do." haewon gives aera a high-five as jungkook rushes out of the apartment on knowing there isn't any ice cream in the fridge.
"get some steak too!" jimin shouts. "and spring onions!"
"okayyy!"
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a/n- a very long chapter it is, i know :') but at least i feed u guys well 😘 now, did you like the chapter?
have you had your first kiss? if yes, wanna share with us? and if no, what do you think it should be like for you?
also, i'm accepting the questions for the q/a till 19, if you haven't posted your questions you cn do it right now. the questions chapter is available right after this one. bring all your friends gather good questions it's gonna be fun!
vote if you liked the chapter, comment and share with your friends. take care ❤️