Jungkook's Little Sister Imagines

Diamonds

"it's okay, jungkook. i can apply on some part-time jobs around my university. i heard a café just a few blocks away from yonsei pays well."

"i told you that you don't have to worry about the finances, uno. i got it cove—" jungkook was cut off by a loud cry coming from our eighteen-month-old nephew who stays at his small apartment. "give me a second, uno. heejung has been really fussy these past few days."

i pursed my lips and nodded even though i know too well that jungkook won't see me because we're in a normal call, not a facetime. i heard his faint parent-like voice in the background, trying to calm heejung down but i still heard his weeps and screams that gradually became louder as seconds pass. the cries were then followed by jungkook's stressed out groan and a small whimper that still made its way to my ears.

i know how hard it is for jungkook. and it's hard for me, too. life took it all out on us. we weren't born in a wealthy family. we're born in a middle class family. as kids, we weren't able to get everything we want unlike other kids who gets all the things they want in a snap. i'm the youngest and i have two older brothers— junghyun, the eldest, and jungkook my youngest brother. junghyun was an engineer, he's a licensed engineer. married young and built his own family at the age of twenty-three.

a year and four months ago, heejung was born. his first son. yeoreum, his wife, was an architect. they were perfect together. they were doing great and he even pays for my school fees with the help of the decent salary jungkook gets from his hospital shifts as a resident doctor. but yeoreum died due to childbirth complications. she did survived during the childbirth but two days after, she experienced blood loss. all of us were shocked that she died unexpectedly because she was doing well— even held heejung and named him. got to breastfeed him for the first time.

junghyun lost his mind and wasn't able to function well for a few months but he kept accepting construction site projects because he was thinking of his two younger siblings that relies on him. six months after the death of yeoreum, he got into an accident. he fell off of fourth floor of the building he's assigned to work at. he miraculously survived but was put into coma as his skull is severely fractured. our parents are in their late-sixties so they couldn't take care of heejung. we declined the offer of putting him in foster care for the meantime because we didn't want him to grow up away from us, from his family. so jungkook took him in because he's the best choice we had.

working as a resident doctor, it was hard for jungkook. he brings heejung to work and because i'm in my last year of medical school, i do hospital rotations so i sometimes babysit heejung whenever i study at the library. it was hard and i got kicked out of the library so many times that i'm pretty sure the librarian holds a grudge on me or is secretly cursing me behind my back. but she had no choice, it's my responsibility to take care of heejung in behalf of my brother. plus, jungkook's workload is heavier than mine so i always try to help even if it's only the bare minimum.

"hey, do you think heejung is sick? he hasn't stopped crying. i did everything already— change his diapers, feed him but he wouldn't stop fussing."  heejung isn't a fussy baby. so jungkook and i found it odd that he suddenly became whiny and fussy. and as a doctor (and a doctor-to-be) we are aware that it's normal for toddlers to get sick. especially with ear infection. jungkook and i both got it when we were young plus we learned what the symptoms are in medical school— but heejung wasn't showing any of the common symptoms of ear infection in toddlers..

"is he running a fever, hyung?" i asked..

"no . . . his temperature is normal."