Chapter Text
Death for a child is a concept that no true parent wishes them to learn. It all happened in a blur, being young and naive with a twin brother, and playing games in the yard after being sent outside by their father for an unknowing reason. Soaking up the sun on their pale, thin skin, the Min Twins enjoyed their time together.
They always knew their family had secrets, tales that no one could utter a word about. For y/n, this harsh reality came quickly and faded even faster than she could manage. Screams could be heard from the kitchen of their skinny two-story house. The two kids played in the small backyard once more, tracing and weaving their hands through the flower beds.
“Is this our fault?” A young Y/N muttered, a thought no 7-year-old should think.
“No, dad’s just mad, we have no control over it…” Yoongi responded, a comfort a 7-year-old shouldn’t be able to offer.
This fateful day started no differently than the others. Yoongi and Y/N awoke to their mother quietly cooking a simple meal for the two. Not that their sparsely decorated house had any real food to offer, the two climbed out of their small beds. Matching pajama pants adorned their thin bodies as they made their way downstairs. Silently shuffling past their drunken father, who was sprawled out on the couch as usual, a few beer bottles knocked over. A future mess, one of the two will have to face the consequences later on.
Their mother silently plated up their breakfast as the two sat down. Not many words were spoken, but their eyes followed their mother's movements just as smoothly as words would have done. The three had gotten used to this quiet lifestyle once their father had begun his wretched ways. Y/N watched as her mother covered her arms in a different manner today, and wore her hair down her back. Her mid-length black hair was pinned in a nice half-up style, with a slight wave to her locs. Yoongi kept his eyes on his plate, picking away at the egg and leftover rice they were served.
“Eat as much as you can,” their mother whispered, her loving eyes wavering a slight bit, something Y/N took notice of too as she spent hours analyzing her mother.
The two hummed in response and hastily ate their food. Soon they were sent upstairs to prepare for the coming school day, something the two hated. They would go, only to sit alone together as they watched other children play. The few times they did attempt to socialize, they were quickly reprimanded by their father for the thought of interacting with such “normal children”. Besides, not many young kids took an interest in the two pale anomalies that never spoke quite much anyway.
Their school day would end with a nice walk home, where the two would get most of their talking in for the day. Politely discuss with one another what they saw that day in school, even stopping by a small stand to listen to the latest song playing. The two never understood what drew them towards such sounds, but they both found a longing sense of comfort towards the repetitiveness and predictability in the tunes, or perhaps it was the comforting memory of their mother humming to them.
Eventually, they found their way back home, slowly opening the door, and they were greeted with shouts of anger once more. Her brother flinched at the sound, while Y/N gripped her bag a bit tighter.
“This is ALL your fault!” Their father shouted, followed by the breaking of glass.
The pair walked into the hall to be greeted with the sight of their mother sobbing in a pool of her own blood. The scent of burnt food lingered as well, and the two stood in shock as they witnessed their mother's disarray.
“Hey lovebugs… how about we go outside?” She attempted to mutter in between bloody coughs and smiles.
At that moment, something overtook Y/N’s body, dropping her bag in the corner of the living room. She swiftly moved to shield her mother from the wrath of her father.
“Stop it, you're hurting her!” She pleaded, arms up in defense.
“Gosh, what brats,” He slurred his words, as he raised a large fist.
The hit had been grand, nothing like she had taken before. Knocking her to the ground, she attempted to get back up but slipped in the blood splatter on the floor. That's when she realized she had been hit with a broken bottle.
“Y’know what, maybe it’s time, I teach you a lesson as well…” With heavy stomps, her father approached.
Dragging her by her hair, her small body was faced with lethal hits and plows. What felt like hell, she curled into a ball, and from the corner of her eye, she saw her brother flee the house. Her mother was lying across the living room, no longer able to move. As the thwacks echoed throughout the house, Y/N’s vision soon began to fade.
“I’m… gonna… die… dad…” A slight muttered plea left her bloodied mouth.
As the last thing she saw was her father's foot coming down on her once more, she braced for impact.
Small feet hit the ground as the door behind him slammed. Hot, steaming tears ran down his face as he made his way to the nearest safety spot. Out of his neighborhood, he ran and ran, till his legs burned. Soon, he found himself in front of a polite young woman and what he assumed to be her boyfriend.
“Help me… please,” He said in between loud sobs.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” The lady knelt down to his height.
“He’s going to * hic* kill my * hic* sister and my * hic* Momma, please.” He rubbed his wet eyes.
“What…” The lady's face went pale as she fought to understand his words.
Quickly, she pulled out her phone to dial 112, and a small hand met hers.
“Please save me…” He pleaded with big eyes.
She gently lifted him into her arms as she handed the phone to her boyfriend. The two swiftly walked towards their car. As she sat down in the backseat facing the sidewalk, her feet hit the ground perfectly to allow him to sit on her lap.
“What’s your name, little guy?” she smiled wistfully.
“Min Yoongi, “ he whispered.
What felt like a century for the boy, but in reality was about 10 minutes, the cops eventually arrived. Quickly pressing the child for further information and details. With shaky hands, he wrote out his address on a small notepad handed to him by one of the officers.
“Thanks, kids, um, my partner here will take you somewhere safe to get cleaned up, I’ll go handle this alright.” He said while kneeling down at eye level, standing up to head to his car, he was stopped by a small tug on his sleeve.
“Please save my sister, sir, we’ll be good, I promise,” Yoongi said determinedly.
With wistful eyes, the officer mustered the courage to give the boy a slight smile.
“ I will, I promise.”
30 minutes had passed since Yoongi left the house. 30 minutes had passed since Y/N was forced to face the cruel beatings of her father. Now beaten to a pulp, she lay in a pool of blood and booze, tears swelling in her bruised eyes, the cuts stinging from the alcohol that had fallen on her. Her father decided to grab another beer while muttering something about her being a wasteful brat and him needing to recharge.
Summoning all the courage possible, she weakly crawled towards her mother's body, which lay a few feet diagonally from where she had been beaten.
“Mama…” she whispered, “Mama, please don’t leave me, I ate all my breakfast, I was good today… Please, mama…”
She crawled around her mother's body, to be met with her closed eyes, her face also bruised, and a slight sour smell lingered around her. However, there was still a slight breath exiting her lips, which gave her hope. She wiggled herself into her mother's arms and lay in her embrace. Wondering about the day she had, she kept herself distracted with thoughts of her brother's well-being. So distracted, she eventually pulled herself to sleep, not noticing how her mother's faint breath had left her lungs, and her warm body soon grew cold.
An hour had passed, and Yoongi was sent to the nearest hospital, where he was examined and held in custody. His body showed signs of malnutrition, bruising, incorrectly healed breaks, and layers of psychological damage. The woman he had met, whose name he learned to be Minji, still lingered in the room with him. As he refused to let go of her, although he knew in his chest that the security this stranger brought him was not meant to last long.
An hour had passed, Y/N lay in her mother's arms back at home, sound asleep. So unaware that she hadn’t noticed when the banging at the front door began, the slurred speech of her father rang throughout the halls. When rapid footsteps came rushing towards her, she simply buried her head further into her mother’s slightly chilled body.
“You can’t take me! I’m the man of this house, those wretches deserved what happened to them~” He hollered, as handcuffs were placed on him, and he was forcefully escorted outside.
Y/N began to move her head, attempting to see what all the commotion was about.
“ Oh my go-... BOSS, THE KID’S STILL ALIVE, GET THE PARAMEDICS HERE.” A young man yelled once the two made eye contact, as well as much eye contact as a 7-year-old can make after being beaten ruthlessly.
The young man rushed to pull her up from her mother's embrace and placed her against the wall. Checking on her vitals as the two waited for the paramedics' arrival.
“Yoongi?” She managed to croak out.
“Yoon?- oh.. Yes, he’s alright, you two will meet again at the hospital, he brought us to you, don’t worry, he’s safe.” He responded.
“Bring our mama too, save her too, he’ll want to see her.” Her head wobbled with the statement, slowly leaning into the man's shoulder.
With a strong gulp, the young man placed a firm hand on the back of her head. Caressing her as the ambulance arrived, taking the young girl first in order to prevent her from seeing which part of the hospital their mother was being taken to.
The following days consisted of Y/N in a hospital bed, surrounded by multiple monitors and a multitude of unfamiliar people. She regained her vision after the first few nights, and the young cop kept visiting in return. Yoongi was also there, holding her hand each night as the two shared a bed. Something within both of them felt as if they were going to be pulled apart, so they stayed as attached as possible. On today's visit to the children's ward, the young cop brought a middle-aged woman with him this time.
“Hey Y/N, this is my friend Eunha, she wants to speak with you alone for a bit, is that okay? I’ll take Yoongi down to the shop for a bit while you guys can speak.” He smiled.
With an uncertain nod, Yoongi hesitantly slipped out from the bed and walked towards the cop, whose name was soon to be discovered as Hanbin. Hanbin and Yoongi made their way to the first-floor shops, while Eunha stayed upstairs with Y/N.
“Hello Y/N, I wanted to talk to you alone today, so you could understand what would be happening in your future…” She began with a warm smile.
However, the words that followed left an everlasting bitterness in Y/N's mouth. Eunha explained that, as her job with the NCRC, she was obligated to find a safe place for Y/N to stay and grow up. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone available to take both of them, meaning they would have to be separated. She elaborated that depending on their conditions, the two could stay in contact with one another, but Yoongi had already had a young married couple waiting to take him in. Y/N, on the other hand, had a woman willing to take her.
In the daze of information, Y/N was still unable to process the reason for all this. In her mind, that is, her mother was also in the hospital. Their father was taking a visit out of town for a while, so maybe this was just some kind of sleepover set up for them. They would stay at someone else's house, and eventually they would all be reunited once more.
“Do you understand Y/N, is this okay?” Eunha asked.
“Umm.. mhmm,” Y/N nodded, an affirming action that she did not understand the weight of. At such a young age, she did not expect to be agreeing to such terms. Eventually, Yoongi came back up with Officer Hanbin, clutching a small box in his hands.
“Hey Y/N, I got us these… they told me what’s happening, I'm scared…” he whispered, as he climbed back into bed with her, “but look, we can wear these and whenever we miss each other, we’ll know we can find each other again.”
He smiled a weak, gummy smile as he revealed he had bought, with what she assumed was Hanbin’s money, a pair of matching sibling necklaces. Silver chains with pendants encapsulating their initials, a heart split in two with the words “partners in crime” written on them, and on the side of this heart, was another pendant, this time rectangular in shape, and there the words “brother” and “sister” were etched into them.
With small hands, Yoongi put the necklace on his sister. Eunha and Hanbin dismissed themselves to talk outside their door. As Y/N lay back down, Yoongi followed suit.
“I won’t lose you, I promise,” Yoongi whispered.
“Mmm, I know…” Y/N responded.
The two held one another and drifted into a nap, knowing this could be the last, they held a bit tighter than usual.
10 years had passed, and the separation of the twins had appeared to be permanent. As they both were adopted by different people. Yoongi was taken in by the same couple that found him that fateful day, turning out they were married young, and the idea of adoption warmed their hearts. Y/N was taken in by a strong single woman who longed for a girl to take under her wings. Unfortunately for the pair, keeping in touch at such a young age appeared to be difficult, and it was even worse when Y/N’s adoptive mother decided they would be moving to California, USA, to get a fresh new start on the world.
10 years apart from one another. The two hadn’t gone a day without thinking of the other. Pursuing their own interests, they always hoped that the other was also interested in them.
“Sweetie, it’s time to take your zoloft, make sure you’re back in time for dinner. I’m making curry.” Her mother called from downstairs.
The pair had relocated to Southern California, in an area called Arcadia. Y/N had been diagnosed with PTSD and Depression after such a rough childhood, but the move to California has gone smoothly. After a few rough patches in her early years, Y/N managed to make friends with a boy named Mark Tuan. The two had met at dance class, and later learned they would be attending the same high school.
The two grew close, spending most afternoons together. Practicing their dance moves and even some special acrobatic training. They both took an interest in rapping and often teased each other about who was better. Recently, Mark had been showing some interest in moving back to Korea to pursue an idol career. The idea didn’t seem too bad in Y/N’s books; she did miss her homeland.
“Y/N!! You’ll be late,” Her mother called once more.
“Coming!” She responded.
Taking one more deep look into the mirror, her skin was still as pale despite living in California. Her hair was now dark and mid-length, she had kept layers and a fringe to it, her ears were decorated with piercings, and one extra facial piercing on her bottom right lip. Grabbing her bag, she rushed downstairs. Once downstairs, she grabbed a cup of water and took her medication. Lingering in front of the pantry, her mother spoke from behind her.
“Feel free to invite Mark to dinner, he’s a sweet boy, you know~” her mother teased.
“Gosh, mom, come on, he’s like a bro-... he’s a good friend to me.” Y/N bit her tongue, the word “brother” hadn’t been said from her in a while. The spot could never be replaced by someone who wasn’t her twin; they both knew that.
“I know, I know, now grab your snacks, remember you have therapy for an hour at 5, dinner will be at 7.” Her mom came around the counter to the pantry, placing a small kiss on Y/N’s forehead.
Before handing her the keys to her car, her mom wished her luck on her day. Y/N headed out to school. She was now 17 and a junior in high school. She had plans on attending Chapman University in hopes of pursuing her arts degree, but the idea of being an idol rang in the back of her mind. Once getting to school, she parked in her spot, which was conveniently next to Mark's. Making her way down the hall and to class, she spotted him with a few of their other friends.
“Hey dude, so the test today got cancelled, there's a sub today.” He said with a smile.
“Cool, ‘cause I sure didn’t study…” She plopped into her seat.
Their other two friends, Catherine and Dylan, broke off to bother some other people. Leaving Mark with Y/N, who sat next to her, resting his head in his palms as he leaned on the desk.
“Sooo, have any thoughts about joining me in Korea? I got this super cool audition lined up for me tomorrow, if I pass, I get to go train at this company called JYP. It’s pretty legit, he,y I'm sure you could be an idol too.” He spoke.
“Ehh, I don’t know man, I’m good but definitely not like Hyuna idol kinda good, maybe I’ll ask my mom and just visit with you. My plans with Chapman seem pretty solid, too.” She responded
“Oh come on, I know Auntie would be thrilled for you to see Korea again, you never go back with her…” He trailed off; he knew very well about her past and the dark stories that came along with it. He always did a good job at never bringing it up in public, though.
“Gosh, bro, I-I’ll think about it, o,h she invites you over for dinner tonight too, she's making curry.” She said, as the bell conveniently rang.
As class began, Y/N was left with the lingering thought of going back to Korea.
It was humid, and she placed her bags down next to Mark's. The two found themselves alone in Korea, together at least. The heat was bearable, it was similar to Californi,a but the humidity was a different story. Mark had made it into the company, and Y/N agreed on going to help him settle down. She would venture back home in a month, once Mark was fully established.
The two had found a small apartment to house both of them, though the company explained that Mark would move into the dorms once he was placed with a group. The two spent most mornings and afternoons apart, while Mark was busy training, Y/N spent her time searching for fun activities to do, mainly to distract her from any depressive thoughts. Especially episodes, though she often did hurt herself, she was trying hard not to, being in Korea, though. It made it harder than she realized.
One afternoon, she found herself in the Gangnam district. Looking through shops, she even toured a few dance rooms available for use. That was until her attention was pulled towards a sign that said open audition. Her anxiety grew as the voices in her head rang, telling her she was unworthy of trying out for anything. That she shouldn’t bother people with her horrible talent, until she thought of Mark. His idiotic words came into play, “you could be an idol too”, swallowing a large lump in her throat. She walked down the alleyway, following the signs towards the open audition.
That was how one month in Korea turned into a year. One year turned into two, and two turned into three. BigHit was the company she had entered, despite the GLAM Scandal that closed the company from accepting any more female trainees, Y/N was held back. With the statement of “having a plan” for her. Mark had already made his debut with the group Got7. The two rarely had time to see each other now, especially since Mark was warned to keep away from any dating scandals; the idea of one-on-one time in public was strictly forbidden. Y/N grew lonely, and her depression stayed the same, but she found happiness in training.
Spending hours dancing, singing, and rapping, she worked herself ruthless. She kept a low profile around other trainees; most thought she was just some teacher they hadn’t gotten lessons with yet. Others simply never heard of her. Today was like no other. Hours dancing in front of a mirror, keeping herself toned and refined, never missing a beat. She grew overly emotional, and it was around this time of year when the incident happened as a child. She paused, normally dancing helped her release her emotions and stress, today, however, she decided to take a break.
Grabbing a towel, she wiped the sweat off her forehead, pausing the music, and a small tear slipped out. Feeling herself at her wits' end, she decided it would be best to just get out of here before the waterworks began. Attempting to rush out, she ended up running into a solid soft wall. Knocking her back, she looked up to be faced with a tall boy. She had heard rumors of his looks around the building, but never once did she see it in person. There stood before her, Kim Seokjin.
“Ah, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He reached out to help her up.
“Umm.. no no, it’s fine, I’m… fine.” Y/N choked on her words, pulling herself up.
Quickly wiping her face one more time before coming face to face with a ghost of her past. Another boy came out from behind her, it felt like looking in a mirror. His skin was pale like hers, hair as dark, practically a replica of one another. The two stood in silence, staring at each other.
“Uhhh, care to fill me in on… whatever this staring match is?” Seokjin tried to crack a joke.
But the air was too stale, the room was too still, and staring into his eyes- practically her own eyes- made Y/N break. Silent tears began to fall from her eyes, as she reached to wipe them, she heard a small jingle of jewelry that wasn’t hers.
“... Y/N?” the boy muttered.
“No… it can’t be, please be true… Yoongi?” She whispered.
“Uhh and I’m Seokjin… I feel there's something you two need to talk about, so I’ll just… see myself out…” He butted in before swiftly walking away.
Y/N reached for her necklace, and in that same moment, so did Yoongi.
“So it is you…” He spoke, his voice was deeper, his hair was short and gelled up.
This was all too much for her to take in. This entire time she was training, her long-lost brother was in the same building as her?