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

Chapter 77

I stood before the door to apartment 803, a note between my fingers, listening for sounds from inside.

The doorbell echoed beyond the door, but no one came to open.

Jungkook was never home.

I turned to leave when the door rattled.

One by one, safety locks snapped open.

The door cracked, held in place by a chain lock.

Jungkook peeked outside, his hair a tangled mess, eyes barely visible beneath the dark strands. A red streak ran from his ear to his lips. For a moment, fear jolted through me as I thought it was a scar from when I hit him, but no, it was only a press mark. He had just woken up. It was even more obvious when he lifted his head, squinting against the bright light from the corridor.

"Oh... Hi, come inside," he said, unlatching the chain lock.

I hadn't planned to enter, but maybe it was better to explain the note inside his apartment where other neighbors couldn't overhear. If Jungkook had forgotten, that is.

After he made space for me to step over the threshold, he glanced behind the door, and then back at me.

"Where's Minho?"

So, he didn't remember. He thought we'd come to hang out.

"Um... I have the note."

I extended my arm, offering him the folded piece of paper.

He took it before I could remind him it was for Sunghoon.

"I'll take it to him," he said, walking into a combined kitchen-living room area, similar to ours on the lower floor.

So, he did remember.

I followed him with my gaze, standing awkwardly near the door.

Jungkook left the note on the table and vanished into the kitchen.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked, reappearing to check why I was still at the door. "You can leave your shoes on the rack."

I did as he said, though that hadn't been my plan at all.

His apartment was surprisingly clean—or maybe it just looked that way in the dim light. Black curtains covered the glass doors to the balcony, blocking what must have been a sunset view at that time of the night. The only light came from the kitchen, where Jungkook poured juice into two glasses.

An array of empty wine and beer bottles sat on his counter.

Jungkook noticed me looking at them and quickly shoved smaller bottles behind the toaster as if that would make me forget what I'd seen.

"It's not what you think," he mumbled, offering me a glass of orange juice.

"I didn't say anything," I replied and sipped.

Jungkook leaned against the table and drank slowly, his eyes narrowing.

"I don't drink anymore," he said, then seemed to realize that denying it twice only made it more dubious. He turned the claim into a half-hearted joke that sounded like the truth. "Because my doctor found out..." He laughed, but it soon turned into a dry chuckle. "Didn't think he'd find out..." he muttered under his breath, unsure whether to add it to the joke or just grumble about it to himself since it was most likely what had truly happened.

The doctor must have noticed right away, if not from blood tests and exams, then from Jungkook's poor lying skills.

Jungkook might have even shown up drunk to an appointment.