aera felt numb. she couldn't feel her own body, even the tears dried by now, just laying in the bed even though it's been more than an hour since jaemin left. she sits up slowly, glancing at down at herself and the mess he made in her room that churns her stomach violently, making her feel nauseous just by the sight of it.
breathing deeply, she stands up with wobbly legs, covering her mouth with her palm as she tries to suppress her sobs, making her way to the bathroom and stands under the shower, rubbing herself with her hands then with the soft scrub, pouring all kinds of shower gels, soaps and body washes she could find in her bathroom.
half an hour of scrubbing and washing jaemin away, aera takes a deep breath, washing her face one last time to make her eyes look a little less red rather than she's been crying for long enough now. she puts on a robe for now, going back to her room and takes a deep breath before starting with her job of getting the room clean.
she pulls out bedsheets, pillow covers and even the carpet, dumping them in the laundry basket and takes a new set out from the cupboard, putting it on nicely, then lights two of her favourite scented candles and opens the windows, feeling less suffocated and sits on the bed finally.
some voice come from downstairs, making her frown as she knew the maids wouldn't talk to each other like that, then it hits her that it must he her brothers. aera sighs deeply, getting up to grab her clothes and get dressed, though she really wanted to sleep right now.
"aera?" jungkook's voice calls, making her flinch as the door swings open and a flushed jungkook turns away quickly, closing the door again, "sorry, i didn't know you were changing,"
aera sighs, putting on her shirt and keeps the towel away, grabbing the dryer for her hair now, "you can come in, i'm done," she says with zero interest in meeting him, though it doesn't bother jungkook for he straight away goes for a hug and kisses her forehead, making the girl cringe, but keeps herself from pulling for the sake of being polite.
"i missed you so much, riri," he whispers, staying close as he's leaning down to hug her, "you've become a big girl hm? the last time we met i could actually carry you in my arms," he chuckles, patting her head and aera smiles a little.
"how are you?" she says, putting the dryer away and gestures her hand towards the door, not liking the fact that he just showed up to her room and nobody stopped him.
"i'm great as ever, tell me about yourself," jungkook beams, throwing his arm around her as he heads downstairs, walking a little faster than her comfort. though she says nothing and keeps up with his pace, smiling like she's not about to throw hands at the next person who clings onto her.
"hey aera," jimin's voice fills her ears and widens her smile for him, preparing herself for another long hug, "there you are, kiddo," he smiles at her, hugging her tightly and presses a kiss on the side of her head, making her close her eyes in disgust. when he pulls away, haewon comes to hug her and this time aera felt herself breathing again for haewon wasn't a man.
"hey, jiwon, c'mere buddy," jungkook calls the toddler, carrying him up in his arms and stands near aera, "say hi to noona,"
"hi..." jiwon mumbles, staring at the older girl while his parents smile at them, "me chiwon,"
"good boy," jungkook chuckles, "do you know noona's name?"
the two-year-old nods, "riri,"
aera smiles at the baby, holding out her hand for him, forgetting about her wish to stay away from them for a while and steps near her brother, "hi, we're meeting for the first time," she hushes out softly with a smile, "you're cute,"
"i' cute an- and you cute!" the boy chimes, feeling comfortable with her already, making her smile. jungkook leans forward, nodding for her to carry jiwon if she wants, which fades her smile away as she thinks of how cute and innocent he is— a small baby who doesn't need to get in touch with the filth she goes through everyday. so she restrains herself from taking the toddler and shakes her head, stepping back again.
"are you not taking care of yourself aera?" jimin sighs, patting her back gently and glances at her, "you've become so thin. mom and dad are not feeding you enough or what?"
"no, i— it's not like that. i eat well," she says, pulling away slowly and gestures towards the couch, "you should sit, you must be tired from the flight,"
before the elders asked her to sit with them, aera already walked out of the living room, heading to the kitchen where two of the house keeping staff are preparing a nice lunch for the sons and the daughter-in-law of the house. aera stands by the counter, crossing her arms on her chest, which earns her bows from the two ladies, asking her if she needed anything.
"serve them nicely," she says, taking a glass of water for herself and looks at the elder woman, "and make sure nobody comes to my room uninvited,"
"i'm sorry miss, i couldn't stop master jungkook,"
"do it from next time," aera orders, putting the glass down quite harshly before walking out of the kitchen. although she stops on her track, gulping in horror on seeing the brothers and haewon standing there with jiwon in jungkook's arms, giggling about something and trying to grab his hair.
"is everything okay?" jungkook asks, glancing between aera and the maid cooking.
"yeah," aera nods, "please sit, the lunch is almost ready,"
jungkook smiles at her, nodding subtly and heads inside the kitchen, glancing at one of the maids, "get some milk ready for jiwon, don't make it too hot," he instructs, getting a nod from the lady while aera leaves them alone again.
jimin sighs deeply and so does jungkook, staring at his feet, "she doesn't like us being here," he mumbles out slowly, "it doesn't feel like home at all..."
"i know right, i thought seeing us after many years would make her happy. she would hug us, talk to us, and y'know rant about some silly things," jimin shakes his head, "forget about that, i thought she would be excited to see jiwon atleast..."
"don't think like that," haewon says, hugging her husband's arm and smiles softly, "i'm sure she doesn't mean it. i mean, think about it guys, she's been alone here for most of her life. and kids who grow up alone often don't like many people at home,"
"i hope you're right," jimin sighs.
jungkook says nothing, sitting on the chair as the maids are done cooking and start setting the table for them. "hey, let's get changed first. we'll have lunch after that," jimin suggests, getting nods from his wife and brother. as he gets up, putting jiwon down on his feet to let him go around and explore the house, his phone rings.
"mom," he says, answering the call, "yeah we just arrived... no, half an hour maybe? ah yeah, she's— she's cool. is she okay though? i mean she doesn't look that happy," jungkook sighs, heading upstairs to his room while jimin and haewon head to the room that belonged to jimin.
"really? well no problem, i took a loooong leave this time mom.... yeah exactly! because you kept saying we don't come home. now your sons are here, your daughter-in-law is here and even grandson is here. what else do you want more?" he jokes, opening the door to his room, but stops hearing some voice from aera's room, which makes him frown because it sounds like some muffled crying.
"yeah, mom i'll hang up now. hyung is calling me," he says before hanging up and heads to his sister's door, deciding to knock this time first and waits for her response. she doesn't open right away, instead the housekeeping lady walks up to him, smiling apologetically, holding a phone in her hand.
"miss aera," the woman knocks on the door and jungkook frowns, nodding towards the phone, asking the staff virtually who it was. "mrs jeon," the lady answers in a low voice, leaving jungkook surprised on how quick their mother was.
"what?" aera asks, not opening the door yet and jungkook gestures the maid to keep quiet, not to tell aera that he's here too.
"mrs jeon wants to talk to you, miss,"
"why?"
"uh she sounds unhappy about something?"
the door opens and aera almost goes to take the phone, but stops seeing jungkook there as well, which makes her turn away quickly as her eyes appear red. she takes a deep breath, smiling again and faces him this time with a warm expression, "you can go," her voice sounds cold and angry for the maid despite the smile she gives to jungkook.
"are you okay?" he asks.
"yes," she nods, dialling the number on the phone and brings it closer to her ear, "yes mom?"
"what is this aera? jungkook told me what you're doing?"
aera frowns at that, glancing at her brother who raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to garb the phone from her hand and places his finger on his lips for her to stay quiet. aera gulps in fear, staring at the phone in his hand while eunmi continues to speak, "i told you to behave yourself didn't i? how hard is it for you act normal and not like you're about to die every minute of that day huh? your brothers came home after years and this is how you welcome them?"
"i- i'm sorry," aera hushes out, fiddling with her hands, staring down at her feet.
"they're happy to be there y'know— to see you after so many years, and if you do this it's gonna hurt them. so please do me a favour and try to be more happy and active for them alright?"
"yeah," aera nods, taking a deep breath and smiles, glancing at jungkook who looks unhappy with the way their mother talked to her. but says nothing for now and lets her hang up, heaving out a deep sigh.
"why is she—"
"nothing," aera says, putting the away and closes the door of her room, never dropping her smile again as she holds his hand with a heavy heart and heads towards the stairs, "let's go and eat, i told them to make all of your and jimin oppa's favourites today."
"ri," jungkook stops, grabbing aera's hand and makes her stand facing him, "what was all that? why was mom talking to you like that?"
"like what?"
"don't try to fool me aera. i heard it all,"
"it's nothing, that's just how she talks okay?" she sighs, glancing at him briefly as she still takes his hand and smiles, "by the way you talk to mom a lot hm?"
jungkook feels the sting in that question, shaking his head and looks at his sister, "i'm sorry, i had no idea she would call you and say all that—"
"no, it's fine," she says, the same smile and dead eyes that her parents gave her all the time and it made jungkook feel weird to some unexplainable extent.
•••
later at night
today was way more tiring than what aera had ever experienced. first the insomnia bugging her, then the meeting with namjoon was cancelled, jaemin showed up, draining her physical and mental energy, and then her brothers came with whom she had to sit, talk and even hug because she couldn't just push them away or lock herself in her room when she now knows that her brothers won't hesitate complaining about her to their mother.
smiling so much in one day made her cheeks hurt and cringe at the thought of actually hanging out with people exhausted her so much that for a moment she thought that she won't need any sleeping pills tonight. getting ready for bed, she takes a deep breath, laying under the covers and stares at the ceiling, suddenly recalling the exact time today when jaemin stuffed her mouth with a cloth lying nearby and his hand gripping on her neck to force her to look nowhere but up. and she was just shutting her eyes tightly, biting on the cloth to supress her screams of how he was hurting her.
aera blinks a few times, turning to her side, her eyes now landing on the window sill from where the moon peeks in past the creak of the curtains, sending a creepy wave of nostalgia up her spine from years back when she was told that girls are like the moon, beautiful, serene but alone. she grew up to believe it, for she could see herself exactly like that, though there was a part of it that she didn't understand. people actually looked at the moon with sincerity and admiration, while girls were just seen as sexual objects, lust, desire, hunger, that's all she had seen in the eyes of the men she ever crossed paths with.
in the bus when she was thirteen, that old man was probably just acting to read his newspaper but actually must've been peeking at the girl sitting across him. and that day in the hotel, the waiter didn't look like a decent man either, he kept circling around ladies. her own uncle and his son. her father? maybe not to aera, but he must be like jaemin and all of those men who want girls to fulfill their own desires right? maybe her own brothers too? and what if jiwon grows up to be like that as well?
aera sighs at herself, turning around and lays facing the other side this time, instantly disgusted when she finds the picture of herself with her parents on the nightstand. the smiles looked meaningless— almost numb, making her breathe in deeply, sitting up on her place and hold her head, feeling the tears pouring out already.
"it's okay..." she whispers to herself, rubbing her arms and smiles, "everything is okay,"
aera gets off the bed, heading to the bathroom and splashes some cold water on her face, taking a few deep breaths and wipes off the tears along with the water, "i'm fine..." she tells herself, smiling again just like her mother kept reminding her to.
walking back to her room, something doesn't feel right and she realises it's probably because jaemin was here today. she was crying here today. he didn't listen to her here in this room. he touched her here. he did things that he shouldn't even think of, not for his niece, not for any girl. here in this room.
so she leaves the room, heading downstairs and admits that her insomnia is finally starting to make her crazy. arriving in the kitchen, she regrets her decision instantly on finding both of her brothers there, having a drink together. aera steps back, about to leave without them noticing but jimin is fast enough to call out her name, letting her know that they saw her.
"hey what are you doing here?" he asks with a smile, putting his glass down and aera forces up a small smile for him too.
"nothing, just wanted to take some water," she bites her tongue, thinking of ways to sneak her sleeping pills from here such that they won't see it.
"why were you leaving then?" jungkook asks.
"because... i— because i don't feel thirsty anymore," she says, "good night i—"
"ri, it's alright." jimin says, patting the space next to him and nods his head, "c'mere,"
aera would've refused, but her mother's words make her give in, sitting next to jimin and looks at him with a hesitant smile, "what are you both talking about?" she asks softly.
"nothing just, it feels good to be back y'know?" his voice is soft— no, it's soothing to aera how he speaks with such a tender tone that it gives aera goosebumps just by listening to him. "didn't you miss us too?" he says, bringing aera back and she looks at him, nodding her head.
"i did,"
"no calls, no texts, not a single word in four years aera, what happened kiddo? mom always just said you're busy or sleeping or that you don't wanna talk, why princess?"
"princess...?" aera catches the word, smiling nervously and jimin's smile dies down slowly.
"no?" it hurts him to ask that, and hurts even more when aera shakes her head, "aren't you my princess? you said you'll always be oppa's princess. you don't like it now?"
"princess..." aera repeats, tears blurring her eyes as the only memory associated with the word that comes to her mind is jaemin calling his daughter that. the daughter who probably saw him with her the last time and when he came to know about it today, it was just another nightmare coming true for aera. she definitely wasn't a princess.
"aera," jimin places his hand on her back, making her flinch and pull away, leaving him confused and also hurt, "what's wrong baby? are you—"
"don't touch me," her lips mutter, backing away from the brothers, not realising when her back hits the counter, making her flinch again and drop the glass kept nearby.
"aera," jungkook calls, approaching her slowly, "what happened ri? are you not feeling good?"
"don't touch me..." she shuts her eyes, hearing jaemin laughing in her ear, shrinking in her place as her toes curl and hands clutch onto nothing, "please... it hurts..."
"jungkook don't," jimin grabs the brother by his arm, pulling him back and shakes his head, "she's scared,"
"of us?" jungkook frowns and turns to aera again, "aera, look at me honey, what's wrong?"
"ah no... please," aera winces, sliding down against the counter and wraps her arms around her in a protective manner, tears streaming down her face like an endless river, "don't touch me..."
tears pool in the brothers' eyes, staring at their sister, crying and begging like that, and for the first time in years they felt like leaving her alone was the biggest mistake they made. rubbing his eyes, jimin crouches down near the girl, reaching to her as gently as possible for the last thing he wanted right now was to startle her.
"it's okay," his voice whispers, sighing when aera flinches with every little movement around her and tries to pull herself away, "shh, we're okay, you're fine,"
aera shakes her head, pushing him away and covers her mouth with her hand in an attempt to muffle her voice, "d-don't do this please... i swear i- i didn't tell anyone— i— ahh!" she flinches as tries to hug her, making her scream louder and kick her legs, "leave me please i'll do whatever you say..."
jimin stares at the sister with worry written on his features as he stands up, rubbing his eyes and grabs his phone, calling on namjoon's number for immediate consultation as he hesitates to do anything that could hurt or scare aera more. the elder answers the call to jimin speaking with a shaky voice, his eyes never leaving his sister's trembling and crying body, still struggling to push jungkook away and swearing on her life that she didn't tell anyone whatever it was and he— or she, should not hurt her.
"hyung aera isn't okay, it's a panic attack— a very bad one," he breathes out, not waiting to greet the elder first and heads to his room.
"what happened exactly?" namjoon asks, "try talking to her calmly, she'll lis—"
"no, she's not listening. she's not even letting us get near her— just keeps telling us to get away and not to touch her. i- i don't understand hyung, she needs to calm down she'll pass out like that," jimin speaks, rummaging through the drawers, finally finding his medical bag.
"give her the pills then," namjoon sighs, "anti-anxeity— it must be there somewhere with her. i prescribed those,"
"she's not letting us near her, hyung. how is she gonna swallow the goddamn pills i give her?" jimin hisses, glancing back on hearing some movement behind him and realises he just woke his wife up who says nothing and slips out of the bed, noticing his worried expression.
"give her an injection then, let her sleep for a while."
"yeah," jimin nods slowly, tearing the packet of the needle and gets the injection in his hand, taking a deep breath as he jogs out of the room with a tiny glass bottle that contains a the drug that would make aera sleep.
"jimin, what ha— oh god! aera wha—"
"don't go near her," jimin stops haewon, giving her his phone and moves her aside, kneeling down near the sister who's crying in a hoarse voice now, tired but not tired enough to give up and sleep. "hold her jungkook," he tells the younger brother, getting a look from him as he watches jimin getting dosage of the drug in the injection.
"what is that?" jungkook asks.
"she needs to sleep," jimin hushes out, a tear leaving his eyes as he stares at the needle, pressing the bottom a little to see a droplet coming out of the tip.
jungkook sighs softly, nodding his head and holds aera's hands that she's been using to hit him and protect herself all this while. "aera, please calm down baby, it's nothing," he tries again, but earns a louder cry from the girl as she wriggles to get her hands free.
"no— please, listen to me... i- i didn't do anything— don't- don't hurt me! don't— ahh!"
jungkook shuts his eyes close, tears flowing down his cheeks too as he kneels above her, holding her onto place while jimin rubs a tiny piece of cotton with rubbing alcohol on her arm, "what is that?" aera snaps at them, "leave me! don't tie me please... it hurts a lot..." she whimpers and jungkook averts his eyes from the sister, "i'm sorry, please don— ah!" she flinches, panting lightly with all the crying and the needle inserted in her arm.
"shh, it's done, relax," jimin whispers, wiping his tears as he pulls out the needle after injecting the sleep inducing drug into her and hugs her, "you'll be okay, don't worry. you're my princess aera, you'll be just fine," he bites in a sob, rubbing her back as jungkook lets go of her from holding her down forcefully.
"don't hurt me..." aera trails off slowly, not moving much like before and falls still in jimin's arms in a few seconds, "don't..."
jungkook turns away, hand pressed on his forehead and lower lip caught between his teeth, "jungkook," haewon's voice meets him as the first thing after the heart wrecking scene, making him break into a sob as he glances at the elder girl who also has tears in her eyes. she hugs jungkook gently as he sits on the chair, crying in the fabric of her shirt.
"what happened to aera?" he sobs out, glancing at jimin, who's leaning against the counter wall with aera in his arms, his eyes closed but tears still flowing down from his cheeks, "she was never like this noona... she used to cry if we ever refused to carry her. she wouldn't eat if we didn't eat with her... and now— i don't know what happened to scare her like that..."
haewon wipes her tears, stroking jungkook's hair gently while her eyes travel to her husband. jimin probably notices her stare for he opens his eyes, glancing down at his little sister and then at his wife, who mouths to him, 'it's gonna be okay'.
"jungkook-ah," jimin calls softly, getting attention from the brother as he rubs his eyes, sweeping his hair back and stands up, taking a deep breath, "hold her a little," jungkook nods, bending near the siblings and carries aera up in his arms, noticing how light she is. as if she never gained any weight since the last time they met.
"i'm gonna call mom and dad home, we need to talk," jimin declares in a firm voice and jungkook nods, heading upstairs to aera's room.
___________
a/n- okay now be honest with me, who cried?
this chapter was supposed ro be out tomorrow but i did it today itself because you guys really wanted it 😉 so thank me with a long ass paragraph written for me by you with all your heart (nah just kidding lol, but i won't mind if you actually do it. i would die blushing pls do u know i'm not used to compliments? whenever you guys say sweet things and how you're like my work and all i get so flustered 😭)
anyway moving on please vote the story and comment all you want i literally LOVE reading your comments ❤️ and trust me i read all of them. yeah i may not reply every time and to all of you, buti do read them. so don't think your words, thoughts, wishes for me are being ignored. they're never being ignored okay? i cherish them so much. i literally keep some screenshots of your comments which really touch me yk. 🥰❤️
bye, thanks for reading. next part will be up again as per the demand 😉 take care guys 💜
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