Sasaeng Sister [In big roles: Sunghoon, Lee Know, skz, Ateez, Jungkook]

Chapter 64

Here is a longer chapter to make up for the delay in publishing. Enjoy the read! ^^

Sleeping was such a terrifying concept if you gave it some thought. For an unprecedented amount of time, a person was not there, looking close to dead. Almost as if their soul had traveled someplace else. Yet they were physically there, breathing like a programmed robot.

Associating death with sleep made me want to shake Sunghoon awake. But he needed to rest, so I gently lifted his arm that was lying on me, being extra careful since it was the one I had burned. With my other hand, I supported his head and placed it down while shifting away from him. He made a small noise, and his eyes moved under his closed eyelids in the way sleeping people do when they live in hallucinations created by their tired minds.

It was a miracle we slept at all in the chilly temperature.

My hair stood on end. The ripped blanket didn't offer much warmth.

Sunghoon shuddered in his sleep. He looked adorable and pitiful at the same time. His dark hair hung in a tangled mess over his face, and his lips parted slightly as he sighed.

My heart dropped when I saw the bruising on his chest. It was from falling into the pool. I lifted the blanket to see the extent of it. His side was a palette of mixed purple, blue, and yellow, and the skin appeared firm and swollen. Thankfully, I didn't wake him up. At least in a dream, he could escape the pain. I covered him with the shreds of his blanket before leaving to look for Minho.

I didn't rush because I didn't want to believe that something bad could have happened to my brother. He was most likely...

Going back to save Hari!

No!

I dashed outside, where the breeze met me with its morning freshness.

The sky began to lighten, soft colors of pink and orange overtaking the dark blue.

Trees swayed on each side of the house with no sight of Minho.

He wouldn't have gone back. He wasn't that stupid. But Hari could have found us. Although she seemed incompetent most of the time, she made weird things happen when she wanted to. Siding with the kidnappers was proof of that. She could slither her way out of anything.

"Minho," I whispered.

I imagined running into him taking a leak—that would have been embarrassing.

But he couldn't have been peeing for half an hour, could he?

I heard a sniff.

Minho sat against the outer wall near the front door. He had been so quiet and motionless that I had walked past him. His cheeks were red, and his nose was running.

I sighed, relieved but tired of seeing him sad, especially if it was because of Hari. Maybe I shouldn't have assumed he cried because of Hari. He might have simply missed his mom. It wasn't even clear if he cried. He could have just caught the flu from sitting in the cold.

Perching outside in wet clothes was practically flirting with death—or at least with pneumonia. It was a form of self-harm at this point, and that worried me the most.

"Minho..." I searched for the right words. "Why are you here?"

He looked past me as if I weren't there.

"I'm on guard."

Excuses. We had agreed that the person on watch should stay inside by the door, keeping an alert eye on the windows.

I shuffled in place, the wet grass cold with morning dew.

"It's freezing."

Minho finally looked at me. His eyes were puffy, and his damp hair clung flat against his head.