People Watching ★ 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐒𝐮𝐧

23: Clearing the air

The late afternoon sun stretched their shadows long across the pavement as Sunghoon and Sunoo strolled down the quiet street. Their steps were unhurried, the silence between them broken only by the faint hum of traffic.

It wasn't until they passed the police station that Sunoo noticed Sunghoon's posture stiffen, his shoulders squaring as his gaze locked straight ahead. Sunoo, curious as ever, opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud, familiar voice.

"Sunghoon!"

Both turned to see Officer Kim stepping out of the station. The tall, broad-shouldered officer grinned like he'd just spotted his favorite nephew.

Sunghoon's jaw visibly clenched, but he managed a polite, "Officer Kim."

The officer's grin widened. "Good to see you, kid! Still running around cleaning up other people's messes?"

At that, Sunghoon shot a quick, almost imperceptible glare at Sunoo, who blinked in confusion.

Officer Kim, clearly oblivious, turned his attention to Sunoo and squinted. "Hey, wait a second. I know you!"

Sunoo froze, his expression somewhere between sheepish and horrified. "Uh... no, you don't?"

"Yes, I do!" Officer Kim snapped his fingers. "You're the guy from the mall fountain incident! You and your brother were in here not too long ago!"

Sunghoon let out a long, exasperated sigh, and Sunoo groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh, that's what he meant by cleaning up messes," Sunoo muttered under his breath.

Sunghoon, arms crossed, raised an eyebrow at him. "You're really going to pretend that didn't happen?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal!" Sunoo protested, throwing his hands in the air. "Ni-ki and I got into a play-fight! How was I supposed to know mall security would overreact?"

Officer Kim chuckled, clearly enjoying this far too much. "Kid, you were drenched from head to toe, splashing around like it was a water park. And let's not forget the fire alarm went off because someone thought you were drowning!"

Sunghoon pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "I can't believe I paid to bail you two out."

Sunoo turned to him, eyes wide. "You paid? That was you?"

"Yes, genius. You think the cops just let you walk out because of your winning personality?" Sunghoon shot back, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I thought... I thought my mom handled it!" Sunoo stammered, his cheeks heating up.

"She did," Sunghoon said flatly. "After I covered the fine so you and Ni-ki didn't have to spend the night here."

Sunoo blinked, genuinely stunned. "Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me that you saved me from becoming a hardened criminal?"

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. "Hardly. The only thing you were hardened by was embarrassment when you had to walk out in those ridiculous socks."

Sunoo gasped. "Those were mall gift shop socks! I didn't exactly have a lot of options after security confiscated my shoes!"

Officer Kim, clearly loving every second of this, let out a hearty laugh. "Well, it's nice to see you two getting along now. Back then, you couldn't even look at each other without bickering."

Sunghoon smirked. "Not much has changed."

"Hey!" Sunoo shot him a glare but couldn't keep the grin off his face.

Officer Kim shook his head, still laughing. "Alright, boys, I've got to get back. Try to stay out of trouble, Sunoo. And Sunghoon? Keep being the responsible one."

As the officer headed back inside, Sunoo turned to Sunghoon with a mock pout. "Responsible one? That's debatable."

"Really?" Sunghoon shot him a look. "I'm not the one who turned a mall fountain into my personal swimming pool."

"It was an artistic expression!" Sunoo argued, puffing out his chest. "A moment of freedom!"

"It was a moment of stupidity," Sunghoon deadpanned, but his lips twitched upward in the faintest of smiles.

Sunoo huffed, but there was no real heat behind it. As they resumed walking, he glanced sideways at Sunghoon, an unexpected warmth blooming in his chest. It wasn't like Sunghoon to do something so selfless, especially for him, and the thought lingered longer than he wanted to admit.

"Hey," Sunoo said after a moment, his voice quieter. "Thanks. For... you know."

Sunghoon shrugged, his expression unreadable. "Just don't make me regret it."

"Noted," Sunoo replied, a grin creeping onto his face. "But for the record, if you ever need someone to bail you out, I'll totally return the favor."

Sunghoon snorted. "I'll keep that in mind."

The rest of the walk passed in relative silence, but the tension between them felt less heavy. For the first time, Sunoo wondered if their relationship—whatever it was—might actually be changing.