Chapter 8

Stigma of Sigma

“Oki, Oki, Okinawa~”

Jungyoon flashed an annoyed look towards Hoseok, who kept repeating that endlessly ever since they arrived at this location. It was cute the first handful of times she heard him chime that, but that cuteness flew out of the window when she heard him say it for umpteenth time. She doesn’t know why she bothered to tag along with her brother and his group members back to Japan for their seasonal greeting card photo shoot.

She let out a yawn as she sat on a porch swing set, trying to stay cool from the blazing heat while she inwardly contemplated her life choices. She couldn’t believe that other six members in her brother’s group had already figured out about Savant Syndrome and its drawback. Then again, she knew that they were listening in on her conversation with Jungkook both times – at a hallway at rehearsal venue, and in the living room – and she didn’t bother to tell her brother about their presences.

They would’ve figured it out one way or another.

It wasn’t a huge secret that she wanted to take it to her grave, but she preferred not to let everyone knows about it. Mostly because she doesn’t want to see the pity and sympathy reflected in their eyes – she had seen those emotions in her brother’s group members when Namjoon had asked about her shortened lifespan due to Savant Syndrome. It was her choice, and she doesn’t have the luxury to regret it now.

Having Savant Syndrome was both a blessing and a curse… she was able to survive life-threatening situations easily due to its powers; yet, her lifespan shortened as consequence. To put it simply, she was forgoing her future to survive the present.

“Locate, locate, loca-nawa~” Yoongi snickered, following what Hoseok had said earlier, while several stylists hovered around to fix his makeup and clothes.

She adjusted her sunhat and swung her small blue-colored purse across her shoulders. It was too hot to do anything, and she wasn’t going to sit there to melt like a snowman in summer heat. Additionally, she felt vulnerable wearing a summer dress – a light blue small sunflower and daisy printed A-line dress with V-neckline – because it doesn’t have same protective properties as her uniform does.

“Where are you going, Jungyoon-ssi?” One of the stylists asked when she stood up from her spot.

“I saw a shaved ice store over there.” She answered as she adjusted her dress, making sure that she wasn’t flashing anyone. That would've been embarrassing. 

“Can you get some for the boys too? I’ll give you the money.”

“I’ll get it for them. It doesn’t cost much.” Jungyoon responded with a polite smile.

She gave a slight bow to the older woman and headed towards the store she saw earlier. As she passed by unfamiliar roads, she saw all five members of BTS standing in front of a store posing in front of a camera. There was another cameraman videotaping them, which she believed was for their behind-the-scene documentary for the fans.

“Oki, Oki, Okinawa~” She heard Namjoon mentioned it once again in between shoots, speaking to a camera. “We fell asleep, and when we opened our eyes, we are in Okinawa. Do you think you can come?”

Jungyoon paused momentarily to see what he was going to say, and instantly pulled down her sunhat to hide her eyes when she heard, “Oki! Come and Nawa!”

She doesn’t want to know where Namjoon learned that bad pun from, but she had an inkling it was from Jin. At times like this, she utterly disliked her sensitive hearing. It doesn’t spare her from hearing lame jokes at all. From what she saw, the only one who laughed was Jungkook, and she doesn’t know if he truly found it funny or if it was due to sympathy.

“Jungyoon-ie! Where are you going?”

She turned around when she heard her brother’s voice, and shook her head in amusement when she realized that he disrupted the photoshoot to ask her that. Wordlessly, she crossed the street – she didn’t need to look both ways since they had closed the road for the photoshoot – and approached the five idols.

“I’m going to go get some shaved ice.” She answered when she stood in front of them, and continued, “And yes, I’ll get you some too,” before they could say a word.

“You look pretty in a dress.” Jimin commented with a playful grin.

She smiled and uttered a word of gratitude in response, but doesn’t dare to question why he was the only one sitting on a window sill with one leg drawn against his chest. She doesn’t want to comprehend the complexities of photoshoot and whatever it entailed – it was already the reason why she doesn’t question why they were wearing a jacket when it was this hot. 

“Don’t flirt with my baby sister, Jimin-hyung.” Jungkook rebutted with a huff.

“How is that flirting? I’m just telling her she looks nice!” Jimin retaliated in disbelief that clashed with mischievous glint in his eyes.

“I’m just going to go… yeah…” Jungyoon shook her head, and slowly backed away from the bickering duo.

.

.

“Aren’t you going to come down now, Jungyoon?” Jungkook called out to his sister, who was sitting on a rooftop with her legs dangling over the edge.

She had followed him and his group to that location when they did a photoshoot up there, and that was hours ago. It didn’t matter that he had asked their cameraman to take a picture of her or that he was going to ask for that picture later, and most likely make it his lock screen image. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw her standing by the edge with a half-eaten shaved ice in her hands.

“Eh~ But it’s cooler up here.” She peered playfully, sounding as if it didn’t bother her that she was making him worried.

“Jungyoon-ie~” He whined with a pout as he tried to figure how to make her come down.

“Jungkook-ie~” She repeated what he said in the same tone, but chuckled when he gave her a scowl in response. “Alright, alright. I’ll come down, don’t have a heart attack.”

He heaved a relieved sigh when he heard that remark, and said, “I don’t know where they put the ladder, so I’ll catch you,” even though he had a feeling she could come down without his help.

His heart nearly leapt out of his throat when Jungyoon jumped without any warning. She didn’t give him any time to brace himself, but he managed to catch her without stumbling much. He was about to scold her to making him worried when she grabbed his hand and dragged him away from that spot without missing a beat.

How did she move that fast?

“Come on, Jungkook. Don’t be a party pooper.”

He sputtered incoherently at her words, not knowing where she got that idea, because he certainly wasn’t doing anything of that sort. He was just being a good older brother… well, he was only 2 minutes older than her, but who minded about such technicalities? He certainly didn’t.

He let her drag him as he silently looked at her. He couldn’t help but feel that it was a rare treat to see her looking this carefree, especially when he knew what her line of work demanded. He might not know the full details of her work; however, what he saw and knew made him understand how difficult it was. He knew she had to put numerous hours of training and practice for that sharp accuracy with her pistol. Moreover, the fact that she was free from such duties meant that she wasn’t exerting herself to use Savant Syndrome. He doesn’t want to think about that at all.

“So, what were you doing up there?” He decided to ask that instead because he didn’t want to think about other things.

“Listening to your group’s songs.” Jungyoon replied with a smirk as she turned around to face him. “You guys are truly talented.”

The bunny grin he showed her morphed into a smirk when he heard her second remark, “So, do you have a favorite now?”

This was the third time he was asking this type of question. He didn’t get answer the first two times, so he hoped that he would get one this time around, especially when she looked relaxed now.

Third time is a charm, and all that.

“Hmm… I don’t know. Do I?” The teasing grin on her expression made him groan and believe that she wouldn’t give an answer. She then laughed as if she was having fun poking fun at me, “Why do you want to know my favorite?”

“Because all our fans have a favorite? Because I’m your favorite twin? Because I’m the golden maknae so I should be your favorite?” He listed out the reasons and gave her another bunny grin to convince her to choose him.

“You’re my only twin, so that second reason is invalid.” Jungyoon replied with a dramatic eye roll, and heaved a sigh when he gave her an expectant look. “But I can’t choose a favorite. You guys are exceptionally talented, and it depends on the song I listen to. If I were to rank you guys… Jungkook, you’re a number 2.”

He stopped in his track and openly gaped at her for the score she gave, “A two! Why am I a two? I’m supposed to be number one. Who is number one? Why am I not number one?” He paused momentarily to think about it before he looked at her knowingly with a scowl on his face, “Don’t tell me it’s Jimin-hyung. Did you choose him because he complimented you? Was that it?”

“I won’t say anything then.”

“I can't believe you, Jungyoon-ie~! You’re so staying away from him from now. Like, ten meters away from him.” Jungkook retaliated with a shake of his head.

“I just appreciate his vocal color. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Jungyoon replied with a brow raised.

He couldn’t believe that she doesn’t see a problem with what she said. He might be overthinking, but that so-called appreciation could turn into something more, and his baby sister is too young to be dating. Now, there was nothing wrong with Jimin-hyung – aside from occasional flirting with his baby sister in front of him, which he doesn’t appreciate – but he wouldn’t know what to do if they started dating… not that he believed they would, but one never knows. He wasn't ready for that at all. 

“You can’t date him, Jungyoon-ie.” He stated firmly with his arms crossed.

He had a bad feeling when that teasing smirk appeared, once more, on her face, and he was right when she uttered, “Why not? He’s cute and y at the same time.”

“You can’t date him, Jungyoon-ie.” He repeated just as firmly. “I don’t approve of this!”

Instead of agreeing with what he said, his sister just laughed and dragged him to their destination. It was as if she wasn’t listening to him at all. Really, why couldn’t she be a good baby sister and listen to him?

Either way, he was going to make sure that she doesn’t sit next to Jimin when they arrived, especially now that he knew Jimin is her favorite.

It irked him to know that he, her favorite (and only) twin, was not her favorite. The only consolation was that he wasn’t at the bottom of her list… he wouldn’t know what to do if he was.

Still, he wondered who was number 6 and 7.

.

.

Jungkook let out an annoyed twitch when he saw that his baby sister was sitting next to Jimin. It didn’t help with his mood that she gave him a teasing yet challenging smirk when their eyes met.

They were not supposed to sit together!

He had a feeling she was doing it on purpose because she knew it would annoy him. As much as he liked that she was enjoying herself, he wished that it wasn’t at his expense… Still, those two were not supposed to sit together. He doesn’t trust that look they shared with one another or that smile, almost like they were planning something.

“So, Jungyoon.” Namjoon’s voice snapped him out of his musing, and looked over to the older male. “Your school is in Japan. Where is it at? Is it near here?”

“It’s on a man-made island in Tokyo. A lot of people called it an ‘Academy Island’.” His sister remarked nonchalantly. “Even though it’s public knowledge that one of ICJ’s headquarters is in Japan, no one knows its actual location. The only way to get there is to take a specific train from Tokyo station to get there. Normal citizens can go there, but you need a specific pass to get inside the school.”

“Why doesn’t anyone know about it? I thought everyone in Japan would’ve known about it.” Taehyung questioned curiously.

“No, it’s more like they don’t care to find out. The public, in general, only like us for what we can do… then again, it’s the same everywhere. The only times they truly care happened to be when they need our assistance.” Jungyoon answered in the same tone. “Those who transferred out of our Japan branch had difficult times getting enrolled to a normal school because they think we’re ‘too roguish’. Adapting into normal society is also difficult because of our training and what we can do.”

Jungkook openly frowned at the information he heard, and glanced at that his sister to see that she looked completely unaffected. He doesn’t know if she truly felt like that or if she was hiding her emotions – it wouldn’t surprise him if it was the latter considering there were times he doesn’t know her line of thoughts.

“But they respect you, don’t they?”

Yoongi’s blunt inquiry made him believe it so. The public livestream of her in court openly displayed her prowess as a prosecutor and her presence alone commanded respect. Additionally, the way she protected him and everyone else a few days ago opened his eyes to her abilities as an armed detective. There was also the fact that she worked with government officials… someone who wasn’t skilled couldn’t do any of that.

“More like respect through fear.” She gave a wry smile when everyone’s confusion rang out, and shifted her gaze away from their inquisitive ones. “I mean, it’s not every day you see students have a license to wield weaponries or make arrests. Or that they have higher authority than local law enforcements. They’re afraid of what we can do.”

He could see the truth in her statement. Such thing made him feel like it was Jungyoon’s fault for being good at what she does when it wasn’t her fault to begin with. He knew she put in a lot of effort and perseverance to get to where she was, so it doesn’t make him feel any good for people to fear her.

“Stop right there, you thief!” He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a man’s voice from a mega-horn.

“And here we go again.” Jungyoon sighed exasperatedly as she looked outside the window. “Seriously, doesn’t the police understand by now that thieves aren’t going to stop just because they demanded it?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to go stop them.” Jin commented with a frown.

He instantly felt relieved when he saw her shake her head, and verbally said, “Why would I? Fourth law for ICJ’s Armed Detectives: Do not interfere without a request for help. If I go out there every time these incompetent fools don’t know how to do their job, I wouldn’t have time to sleep.”

“That’s good. I don’t want you going out there risking your life.” Jungkook chimed in. He might not agree with the way she phrased it, but he could see the truth in her remark. He then decided to change the topic with a, “And why are you sitting next to Jimin-hyung?” as he pointed an accusing forefinger at her.

“Hey! What’s wrong with sitting next to me?” Jimin cried out in an offended tone.

“You can’t sit next to him, Jungyoon-ie. I forbid it! I forbid it!”

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IrisButterfly
First time doing a fanfiction. I don't know how it'll goes, but enjoy?

Comments

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XRC2Sehun
#1
Chapter 12: This was such an amazing story with all that action n sweet sibling stuff. I enjoyed reading it.
AminahKarima #2
Chapter 12: Oh my god, oh my god! This is awesome! I rarely enjoy a scifi fanfic since they usually lack of detail. But this is greaaaaat. Oh and i love that yiu choose the sibling relationship as a focus instead of romatic one. Good job author!
bangndan_1306 #3
Chapter 12: This story is inspired me.. Its a good story.. I love IT
hallyu2010 #4
Chapter 12: I had a feeling it was gonna end soon. Oh well
Thank you for the story author-nim I enjoyed reading it especially since I haven’t read many fics that involves just family drama without romance :) :)
Baekhyun1234567890 #5
Chapter 11: No offense at all to the characters in Stigma of Sigma, but to me, it was not the most shocking occurrence in the book for Jungyoon to be dying soon. In all honesty, I expected it to actually happen sooner than the age of 27. Maybe it's just me and how "dark" (lmao) my brain is. Hopefully, I'm just wrong and the prototype works against Savant Syndrome because wouldn't want for the protagonist (?) to die so soon, am I right? So far, I've enjoyed many aspects of Stigma of Sigma, and I'm really hoping that there will be more plot twists (just gotta love unexpected situations). Keep up the good work and sorry for the rant like comment :)!
hallyu2010 #6
Chapter 9: Whaaaaaaaat?!!

Nooooooo jungyeon!!! Call back up call the other six....
hallyu2010 #7
Chapter 8: I can definitely imagine jimin saying “hey! what’s wrong with sitting next to me?”
hallyu2010 #8
Chapter 7: So all of bts already knows jungyoon’s secret...
lucyboo99
#9
Chapter 5: oh my gawddd!!! (0.0)
hallyu2010 #10
Chapter 3: Woah! I can’t believe their mom would do that.
I wonder who are the other 6...

They won’t live until 25?
This is making me emotional because of Jonghyun :(
#RosesforJonghyun