"Is hyung still upstairs?" one of the younger boys asked, glancing toward the staircase for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Someone should go and check on him," another added, his tone restless. "It's been over an hour already."
"Two hours," someone else corrected quietly. "It's already been two hours, hyung."
The room fell into a short, uneasy silence. No one said it out loud, but everyone was thinking the same thing: Taeyong never disappeared for this long without a reason.
"I'll go," Jaehyun said suddenly, pushing his chair back. "I want to check on my sister too. She's been upstairs for over an hour and a half."
His voice was calm, but the worry underneath was unmistakable. Ever since the night before, he had been hyper-aware of every small change in her behavior-how quiet she had been, how little she ate, how often she disappeared to be alone.
"Here," one of the older boys said, reaching for two bottles of water and handing them to Jaehyun. "Take these with you. Soul needs to drink a lot, especially after yesterday... and I'm pretty sure Taeyong will be thirsty too."
Jaehyun nodded immediately, gripping the bottles a little tighter than necessary, as if that alone could already help.
"Okay, hyung," Jaehyun replied, forcing a small smile as he took the bottles.
"Hyung," Chenle called after him, hopeful despite everything. "Can you ask Soul if she wants to play basketball with us later?"
Jaehyun paused for a moment at the foot of the stairs, then glanced back. "Let's see how she's feeling first, Lele. You know she hasn't been feeling well."
He didn't add what he was really thinking-that even if she said yes, he wasn't sure he'd let her.
With that, Jaehyun headed upstairs, his steps slower the higher he climbed.
He stopped in front of the room the girl usually slept in and knocked lightly.
"Come in," a male voice answered from inside.
Jaehyun frowned, confusion flickering across his face, before he carefully opened the door.
"O-oh, hyung," Jaehyun said when he recognized who was inside.
"What is it?" the older one asked, looking up.
Jaehyun hesitated for just a second. "I... do you know where my sister is?"
"No," he answered honestly. "I haven't seen her since breakfast. I thought she wanted to rest."
Jaehyun nodded slowly. "Yeah... but she went upstairs. And usually she sleeps here. I thought she maybe went here..."
The unease in his chest grew heavier.
"I'm not completely sure where she is either," the older one said after a moment. "Doyoung told me he said she could stay in the medical section while I'm here."
Jaehyun's brows furrowed. That didn't feel right either.
"But she went upstairs with us last night..." Jaehyun murmured, more to himself than to the other man.
Something about this didn't add up, and his worry kept growing with every unanswered question.
"Well," the older one said gently, "maybe she stayed in Taeyong's room. You two stayed in your brother's room, right? Or maybe she went there as well."
