71 votes on the last chapter djshskshsjsksj 😭 tysm yall! <333 let'd do it again okay?
_____
the door remained closed for the rest of the night without any doubts leaking through it. although the heavy weight of the note aera left behind should've haunted down the brothers who always claimed to love her more than their lives. the clothes scattered on the floor and the pillows out of place should've screamed for help when aera struggled to get down from the window all on the support of the bedsheets and a few covers tied together. the locked door itself should've been enough to let the secret of abandonment out like wildfire.
the boys should've known sooner than 6 am when jimin was on his way to wake aera up for another dreading day. he knocks twice before grabbing the shining knob, twisting it like any other day except for that today it didn't unlock. he frowns at the door, trying again and sighs on realising that aera's probably mad about how he scolded her yesterday and that's why she's shut the door lock from inside.
"aera? get up, baby, it's time for school," he says, hoping that she would stop being grumpy when she wakes up for he was definitely in the mood to make it up with her today for last night's behavior. "are you up, princess? open the door,"
there's no response from inside and things remains lifeless as it actually is. jimin looks down at his feet, nodding slowly before walking away. he located hoseok outside his room, giving a warm morning greet, then asks for help, "i guess ri's mad at me, she's locked the door of her room. please try to talk to her if she lets you?"
"oh, yeah sure," the elder nods, following jimin's lead as he places his hand on the younger's shoulder, squeezing gently in assurance, "i'm sure she must've forgotten everything by now and you guys will be cool. don't worry too much,"
"i hope so," jimin meets hoseok's eyes, that are virtually telling him that his sister is a sweet child who doesn't believe in holding grudges especially with her oppas, so jimin should be fine and not have much to overthink about. although jimin has a part of him murmering in his head as though warning him of an impending mess.
as hoseok knocks on the door and calls out for aera a few times, getting only thick silence for answers, it induces a strange feeling within the two. exchanging glances, jimin licks his lips nervously, turning towards jungkook's room just in case he knew something. hoseok nods subtly, almost calling jungkook when the boy walks out himself, dressed in a loose tank top and joggers, headphones plugged in, probably blasting some energetic workout music in his ears.
"mornin'," he lets out dryly, cracking his neck, walking past the elders when jimin calls for him, making him stop. maybe he wasn't literally blasting music? "yeah?" he cocks up a brow, "oh where's aera? is she ready?"
"about that," jimin sighs, his thumb pointing at the youngest's room, "she's not opening the door or responding to us. maybe you should try,"
"not responding?" jungkook frowns, taking off the headphones and nears the door, which has 'little kookie' written on a cardboard in colorful letters and a funky font. "ri, get up champ. don't you wanna go with me today?"
he waits for a moment, knocking few times and also twisting the door knob with more force than the last time as worry takes over him slowly. "aera? c'mon, let's play not right now kiddo. this isn't funny anymore," he lets out, glancing at the elders and mouths, 'keys' to them. hoseok digs in the console by jimin's room, tossing a pair of keys in the air for jimin to catch and pass it on to jungkook.
"do you think she's fine?" jimin asks with horror.
"i hope so," jungkook hushes out, "because if she's not, i know who to blame,"
jimin freezes next to him. mere words that felt no less than a hundred bullets shot right in his chest at once, jimin stares at the void between himself and his brother, failing to understand where he went wrong in all these years. maybe one night of him losing temper weighed more than years of love he poured out like his life depended on it.
the sound of door opening, hurried footsteps and jungkook gasping at whatever he saw wasn't enough to bring jimin out of his train of stillness and unsettled sea of emotions. he's pulled out of it only when a hand drops on his shoulder, making him flinch and cut his view with things he was seeing in a screen of emptiness which although never existed.
"she's gone!" jungkook groans— more like yells, grabbing his hair while his feet kick a chair out of the way, "she fucking left the house... aera... she's—"
"what?" jimin snaps back, frowning at the commotion which has already gathered the rest of the males from every corner of the house, "where'd she go? she must be here— in the bathroom maybe. aera, come out, hon—"
"no," jungkook looks at jimin, facing him with all his might, pupils trembling in fear as he shakes his head and points at the open window, from where the sheets are hanging down outside, "she's not here... she left. our riri— she left this place,"
"wha—" jimin chokes on a gasp, scanning the room for his own sanity and tears pool his eyes almost instantly as the clothes are lying on the floor and some on the bed, things are out of their usual place, the photoframe— oh, it's not there. he nibbles on his lip, reaching out for one of her little t-shirts that she had claimed to always love. it has micky and minie smiling on it, goofy, bruno, donald, daisy and carabelle with them. she used to be just as happy as the cartoon characters on the t-shirt when she wore it.
"why would she do this...?" jimin hushes out, rubbing his eyes as his gaze settles back on the boys, trying his best to ignore what jungkook said earlier, instead convincing himself that the boy is just angry and might've let that out without meaning it.
"maybe because she thinks you're tired of taking care of her?" taehyung says, getting sharp looks from the boys, making him hesitate, "it's written here," he hands the paper over to jimin with a heavy heart, knowing that his best friend would certainly be broken after reading the message from his little princess.
i hope it's koo who's reading this. by the time you get this i'm probably already gone....
because oppa, i don't want you both to fight because of me. jiminie oppa was right maybe i am a trouble and give him headache. even you are always worried about me. i'm so sorry for causing problems in your and jimin oppa's lives. i love koo but not jimin oppa, he's bad.... he was going to hit me and he wanted to take me away from you. he doesn't love me and i think he's sick of me now... i wanna stay you with you, kookie, but i don't wanna create any problem. so i guess i'll just leave... bye-bye. koo. i love you okay? and sorry you got hurt because of me, i didn't mean it.
your little kookie <3
jimin re-read the note as though he believed that the words will change and it was just his mind playing weird games with him. jungkook reads along the lines too, not convinced with the note until he takes it in his own hands and mutters the words to himself as if that would change the meaning of them.
"what is it?" yoongi frowns, not expecting an answer from jungkook but jimin.
"she thinks i don't love her..." jimin drops a tear from his eyes, staring at his empty hands as he lets out a shaky breath, "my aera thinks i'm sick of her and i—"
jungkook crumbles the paper in his hand, rubbing his eyes and glances at jimin, "i told you..." his lips utter between a troubled sigh, "i told you, hyung... what now? what are we gonna do? she's so young and— just, think about it... she left in the middle of the night to god knows where, we have no idea if she's fine or not, if she needs help— i- i told you..."
"i'm sorry," jimin stares at jungkook with crying eyes, stepping forward as he reaches out for the younger. jungkook however, holds his hand in front of him, shaking his head to let jimin know that he's not in the position of getting any support or sympathy from jungkook.
"don't," jungkook mutters, "not until i know my sister's fine,"
jimin frowns at his words, gulping down the bile burning in his throat also latching down the words, making them weigh heavier than ever, "y-your sister? and she's nothing to me, kook?" his vision quivers with tears, seeing bit clearer when a few drops fall on his cheeks instead of collecting in his eyes.
jungkook looks away, not answering and busies himself in looking around the room, leaving jimin to drown on the depth of his words holding the blame of aera taking such a step. jin shakes his head, hugging jimin gently and pats his back, "we'll get her home safely, okay? don't worry, aera will be fine," the eldest speaks with a soft tone of voice and jungkook scoffs at them.
"jungkook—"
"i don't wanna hear it," jungkook cuts jimin off, throwing off a glare at him, "please, don't make me phrase out exactly what you fear okay? you were tired, mad, shit whatever. but that doesn't mean you'll do this. now look what happened,"
"you think i did it on purpose?" jimin frowns, taking a deep breath and rubs the tears away, "jungkook, think of us and aera. do you really think i don't love her? she's my sister too, kook... i've raised her like my own child— why would you say all this...?" he trails off.
"you did, but seems like you're actually tired of your child these days," jungkook says, only to ignite the frustration again in jimin's eyes as tears flow from his eyes, not wanting to believe that it was his own siblings who think that of him.
he steps forward, clasping the hem of jungkook's shirt in his fist, pulling the boy face to face, "stop saying that," he grits out in anger and desperation, "i love aera... i love her you know it!" jungkook's breath hitches as he's pushed back by jimin who breaks into a sob, falling on his knees and groans loudly, "i didn't mean to cause all this... i love her as much as you do! she's my sister too— stop making it sound like aera's nothing to me!" jimin cries out, fingers curling on the carpet beneath him for support, "she's my child... i can swear on my life i would never do anything to hurt her..."
"we know, jimin," jin kneels down next to jimin, hugging him tightly and rubs his back, "calm down, we know you didn't mean this. nobody's blaming you,"
"he is..." jimin lifts up his bloodshot eyes to the younger brother, "i- i don't know how to convince him— what to tell him, it's—"
"you don't have to convince anybody," yoongi says, gesturing taehyung to go out with jungkook and probably try talking, which jungkook notices and glares at yoongi.
"do whatever the fuck you want, but make sure y'all know that if anything happens to aera, we're dead to each other," he declares, storming out of the room, already pulling out his phone.
"it's all my fault..." jimin closes his eyes, "i shouldn't have said anything to aera yesterday. she's just a kid... taehyung was right, kook was right, i should've controlled my anger. aera would be here then... with us, safe at home," he nibbles on his lip, leaning into jin as the elder lets him ease in the hug, "i didn't apologize to her, hyung. she just left... she's so young and the people o-out there are dangerous. what if something happens to her? what if someone hurts my aera? what am i gonna do? i'll never be able to forgive myself, hyung, knowing that i'm the reason she left in the first place,"
"she'll be fine," yoongi assures, "me and joon will head straight to the police station. they'll find our aera, okay?"
"i'll go with y—"
"stay at home," yoongi says, glancing at jin, "take care of things here," the eldest nods, helping jimin up and assures him that aera will be fine and they'll find her in no time while namjoon and yoongi head out.
•••
a few hours earlier
(midnight)
running away was easy, staying was not. especially when it's almost two at midnight and you're all alone in a deserted street in a completely different locality from yours. aera felt scared too, staring straight ahead of her where no human could be seen at this hour, the street lights glow dimly as the only source of light, and the sounds that her ears perceive precisely is of the barking dogs from far away in the invisible darkness.
at least she has a warm, fluffy jacket to keep away the cold.
as she keeps walking with fear in her bones and uncertainty circling her mind, aera also repeats all the words that jimin said. they just don't leave her alone, bringing up suppressed tears again and again until they slip down and new ones form in their place. aera rubs her eyes in the sleeve of her jacket, then adjusts the hood on her head as it engulfs her baby face in it like a tiny safe place. she clutches on the straps of her bag, taking tired steps in the direction of nowhere.
hiccups never quiver each step that she takes, head starting to pound on the inside as though someone was hitting her brain with a hammer. aera stops for a moment, putting her bag down and bends down to take the bottle of water that she had grabbed right before climbing down her window, which is when a low growl makes her flinch. looking back, there's a big, green trash can by the alley a few feet away from her, then the growl gets loud and steps out a dog that looks angry.
aera gulps thickly, stepping back as she stares at the stray animal, thinking if it can bite her or not. it can. the dog has a dirty brown fur and a wounded foreleg for it stumbles a bit on taking another step towards aera. she takes a deep breath, clutching her water bottle in her left hand and holds out the right one, "h-hey... please don't hurt me... i'll go away," she takes her bag and moves further back, only to be stopped on her place by the dog barking at her.
it still hasn't done anything, so aera assumes that it won't hurt her and puts her bag down slowly, "okay, i'm not doing anything," she assures, sighing at herself for talking to a stray dog, "do you want food? are you hungry?" she asks, digging in for a pack of cookies that she had initially kept for herself. but on second thoughts and seeing the situation, sharing one or two won't be a harm.
the dog watches precisely as she opens the pack and takes out a chocolate cookie, holding it out for the canine to eat, "here, eat this, then i'll go," she says and the dog tilts it's head, not taking her presence as a threat anymore.
aera smiles and crouches near the dog, watching it eat and takes a peek at it's belly, nodding to herself as she doesn't see any boobies and comprehends that it's a male dog, "you're a boy," she mumbles, going to pet his head, but stops, not wanting to scare the poor canine and withdraws her hand back. "anyway, it was nice meeting you. now, i've to go, bye," she says, picking up her bag and starts walking away while the dog is still busy munching on the cookie.
after a few seconds of walking, aera groans to herself, turning on her heels to glare at the dog who keeps following her, "go away. i'm not giving you more cookies, those are for me," the dog doesn't bark, walking casually past her, then stops a few steps ahead, glancing back as though asking if she plans on coming or not.
aera stares at him with a surprised gaze, deciding to walk anyway and looks down at him, "so you wanna go with me huh? well, okay, i was feeling a bit lonely," she mumbles, kicking a stone with her feet, staring down at the street, heaving out a deep sigh, "i ran away from home... and i'm scared..." her voice says softly, tears pooling her eyes again, "i miss my oppa— jungkookie, i miss him..."
it's nearly dawn by the time aera spots life in this otherwise lifeless area. she had no idea which direction she kept heading with the dog following her quietly, occasionally looking back and sometimes at her face as though he was worried about the situation too. anyway, the man aera spots is old enough to be taking support from a walking stick, making his way slowly along the side of the street. his back is bent, giving him a difficult posture, and he's carrying a basket in his hands which contains some herbs probably.
aera doesn't utter a word, walking past the old man, looking around the place she has brought herself. there are less houses here, more open fields and a few farmhouses. even the streetlights are too distant from each other, giving minimal light at some points. the air is cooler here and it smells a mush mixture of plants, cattle and dung too.
aera sneezes twice, rubbing her nose on passing a stable of horses awfully close to the street, smelling of poop and who knows what else. but it's definitely disgusting, and aera wonders how the horses are even standing there in such filth, or how the people manage to live here.
"hey, kid," an old voice says, earning a glance from aera as she knows it's the old man she left behind a moment ago.
"me?" aera replies hesitantly and the dog stops, watching the old man approaching them in his own speed.
"yes, you," the man nods, "who are you? and what are you doing here alone at this time?"
"i'm... no one, i'm just passing. don't mind me," aera mumbles, starting to walk again, a bit faster this time and gestures for the dog to come with her. the canine barks at the girl, then at the old man who's petting his back.
"such a nice dog, is it your pet?" the old man asks.
"uhm no, he just followed me," aera says, "you can keep him if you want... i'll go,"
"where are you heading to?" aera falls silent at that, not having any answer to the question although she's certain that any place other home will do for now. she shakes her head and the man sighs softly, "you look too young to be alone like this at night. where's your home? are you lost?"
"i'm not lost," aera says.
"ah i see, did you fight with your parents?"
"no— i... uhm my parents..." aera gulps, thinking for a quick second and licks her lips nervously, "they're at home, i'm going to see my grandfather, yeah," she nods to make her lie more believable.
"he lives around here?"
"uh yeah, i think so," aera nods, "but you don't worry, i'll figure out where i gotta go,"
"are you hungry?" the old man asks with a soft smile, "i assume you've been walking the whole night, so you must be tired now. you can come with me and get something to eat. i don't live too far from here,"
"no, thank you, i'm fine," she shakes her head, recalling all the times her oppas told her not to go anywhere with strangers or trust them, as they could be some weird creeps and might hurt her. the dog walks beside aera, licking her hand gently, earning a glance from her and she sighs, patting his head.
"alright if you say so," the man says, not pressurising the young girl and stops after walking after a few minutes. it's an old house, just like the man himself, making aera frown for she had never seen places like this one. it's not in a bad condition, but not in it's best one either. the house is small and not made with anything that could be called modern.
"this is your house?" she asks out of curiosity, failing to maintain her mysterious persona that she had wished to pull off for the rest of her life now that she has to live away from home, by herself.
"yes," the old man heads towards the front door, opening it with a key that he fished out from the pocket of his loose trousers, "are you sure you don't want to come?"
aera nods quickly, gaining back her personality and acts like nothing surprised her and eveything is under her control. the dog, however, hollers, doing a mini run towards the man, wagging his tail like he was happy to be here. aera sighs at him, shaking her head and steps back, "hey, doggy," she says, "i'm going. bye,"
the dog, who didn't know his name till now, turns to the girl, barking when he probably realises that she's actually leaving him alone here with an old man. he runs towards her, licking around her hands and pants a little, "why do you like me so much? we just met today," aera says, breaking into a smile for the fiest time since she ran away from home, petting the dog's head and stops for a while, crouching down near the dog, "you're really nice, thanks for being with me. i'm not that scared because of you. y'know, i'm not used to being alone," she whispers to him sadly. then takes a deep breath and stands up again, glancing back at the old man's house, seeing that he has left the door open.
"let's go and see what he's got. i hope he's not a bad man..." she sighs in defeat, "i'm starving. my oppa said i shou— i mean, i should eat when i'm hungry," she clears her throat, hearing the dog bark, "i'll get used to it, don't worry,"
____________
a/n- what's your favourite thing ahout aera?
did you like the chapter? if yes, please vote and comment your heart out! let's see what's the new highest number we can go up to 😻✨
____
3.9K words