People Watching ★ 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐒𝐮𝐧

4: Family Matters

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As soon as Sunoo got home, he kicked off his shoes and tossed his backpack onto the floor, flopping onto the couch with an exaggerated groan. Today had drained every last bit of energy from him, and he was certain he could sleep for a century if given the chance.

But as soon as he tried to relax, his mind wouldn't shut off. Ideas buzzed around like a swarm of bees, and before he knew it, he sprang up and grabbed his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he began typing furiously. "Make him fall in love and then—"

The sudden crunch of chips in his ear startled him, and he nearly dropped his laptop. He turned to see Ni-ki lounging next to him, casually munching on a bag of chips. "Whatcha doing?" Ni-ki asked, mouth full and completely oblivious to the fact that he'd just scared Sunoo half to death.

"Niki, what the hell!" Sunoo snapped, clutching his laptop protectively.

Ni-ki, unfazed, leaned over to peek at Sunoo's screen. "'Make the bad boy fall in love'? Sounds like someone's got a secret crush," he teased, grinning wickedly.

Sunoo slammed the laptop shut with a sharp thud, glaring at his younger brother. "It's none of your business," he grumbled, but Ni-ki just shrugged, popping another chip into his mouth.

"We live in the same house, so it kinda is my business," Ni-ki retorted with a playful smirk.

Sunoo's fist clenched, and he narrowed his eyes, ready to give Ni-ki a piece of his mind—or maybe his fist—but just then, the sound of the front door opening stopped him. Their mom had come home, and her timing couldn't have been better.

"Sunoo, don't even think about hitting your brother," she warned sternly, not even needing to look to know what was about to go down.

Ni-ki took the opportunity to stick his tongue out at Sunoo before rushing over to their mom with an innocent grin. "Need help with the groceries, Ma?" he asked sweetly, his sudden shift from brat to angel making Sunoo's blood boil.

Their mom smiled and kissed Ni-ki's forehead. "That would be wonderful," she said, then shot Sunoo a pointed look. "And you, Sunoo—no excuses. You were about to hit him, so you owe him an apology."

Sunoo opened his mouth to protest, but his mom cut him off before he could get a word in. "No buts. Apologize."

With a deep, dramatic sigh, Sunoo plastered on the fakest smile he could muster. "I'm sooo sorry, my dear brother," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sorry you're such a pain in the ass!"

Before Ni-ki or their mom could react, Sunoo grabbed his laptop and bolted up the stairs, ignoring his mom's sharp "Kim Sunoo!" as he fled.

He slammed his bedroom door shut behind him, leaning back against it as he caught his breath. "What a nightmare," he muttered, opening his laptop again. "Now, where was I?"

As he tapped his fingers against the keys, a thought suddenly hit him. The girl! The one who had asked for help with Sunghoon! He didn't even remember her name, but he knew she was key to his plan. Without her, his whole scheme would fall apart.

Grabbing his phone, he quickly initiated a video call to the one person who might help: Jungwon.

"Sup, loser," Jungwon answered almost immediately, looking up from his desk where he seemed to be buried in homework. Sunoo, whispering now, leaned closer to the screen. "Do you know anyone in the math club?"

Jungwon blinked, his expression going from confused to concerned. "Why are we whispering?" he whispered back, despite not knowing why.

Sunoo waved a hand frantically. "Just keep your voice down! I'm in a situation right now, but that's not important. I need to find this girl, and I'm pretty sure she's in the math club."

Jungwon raised an eyebrow, sighing as he flopped onto his bed, phone in hand. "And how exactly do you plan to do that? Just go to the math club tomorrow and look for her, genius."

He sounded exasperated, and Sunoo could tell he was getting a bit fed up with his antics. "I swear, sometimes I wonder how you even got into college. It's not rocket science, Sunoo."

Sunoo let out a groan of frustration but didn't argue. Instead, he ended the call with a quick, "Love you, bye!" and tossed the phone onto his bed.

Letting out a long sigh, he sank to the floor, feeling the soft carpet beneath him as he stared up at the ceiling. This whole mission was going to be way harder than he'd thought.

"This is going to be a disaster," he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes. But deep down, even through the exhaustion and frustration, Sunoo couldn't help but smile. Because no matter how chaotic things got, he thrived in chaos. And this was only the beginning.

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For the lazy, by yours truly 4 ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ

Chapter summary: After a long day, Sunoo finally arrives home and wastes no time in getting to work on his plan. However, his concentration is quickly interrupted by his brother, Niki. Despite the distraction, Sunoo manages to make some progress before retreating to his room. Once there, he can't resist the urge to reach out to Jungwon for some help on finding the name of the girl, who is critical to his master plan.