Falling For The Park Brothers' Sister ⚊ Nishimura Riki

Chapter Thirty One

Jiyoo's point of view

I woke up feeling oddly refreshed, which was strange considering everything that happened last night.

I sat up in bed, stretching my arms, and glanced at the clock. It was later than I usually wake up, but I could still hear the faint sounds of breakfast being prepared downstairs.

Sunoo was still out next to me, his face buried in the pillow, probably dreaming of something good because he was literally smiling even in his sleep.

As I got up, I couldn’t help but think about my conversation with Jungwon last night. The way he spoke about his distant friend... it hit closer to home than I wanted to admit. I shook my head, trying to push those thoughts away as I got dressed.

Today was a new day, and I wasn’t going to dwell on the heaviness of last night.

After making sure Sunoo was still tucked in, I headed downstairs. The smell of breakfast greeted me first—something savory, probably Jay’s doing. He’s always up early, cooking up a storm.

When I walked into the kitchen, Jay was there, flipping pancakes with a smile on his face. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at me.

“Morning, Ji,” he said cheerily, as if everything was perfectly normal.

Sunghoon was sitting at the table, staring down at his plate with a faraway look in his eyes, poking at his food like it had personally offended him.

“Morning,” I replied, grabbing a glass of water. “You seem like you had a good night’s sleep.”

Jay laughed. “Slept like a log, honestly. Didn’t even hear a thing after I knocked out. How about you?”

I forced a smile. “Slept well enough.”

Sunghoon looked up briefly, his expression unreadable.

There was something off about him this morning—something more than his usual quiet mood. But before I could ask, Sunoo came bounding down the stairs, hair mussed up from sleep but eyes bright with excitement.

“Morning!” Sunoo chirped, heading straight for the pancakes.

“Morning, Sunoo,” I greeted him as he plopped down beside me, already piling pancakes onto his plate.

“Where’s Ni-ki?” I asked casually, expecting him to appear any moment.

He usually wasn’t one to miss a chance for this, especially not if it involves hanging out more in my house.

Sunoo paused, looking around the room as if Ni-ki might materialize out of thin air. “Yeah, where is he? Did he leave already?”

Jay didn’t look up from the stove. “He might have gone home early. You know, his place is just next door.”

Something in Jay’s tone felt off, but he didn’t seem concerned, so I tried to let it go. Still, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I looked over at Jungwon, who was sitting quietly at the other end of the table, picking at his food like he was lost in thought. He hadn’t said a word since I came down.

Usually, he’d be chatting with Sunoo, or at least trying to keep up with Jay’s energy. But today, he seemed withdrawn.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, directing the question to the table as a whole, but mostly looking at Jungwon and Sunghoon.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Sunghoon replied too quickly, offering me a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Totally fine,” Jungwon echoed, though his voice lacked any real conviction.