Falling For The Park Brothers' Sister ⚊ Nishimura Riki

Chapter Fifty Two

I felt like I was in my element.

The moment I stepped back into Jungwon's house, it felt like nothing had changed. The familiar scent of his kitchen, the hum of his refrigerator, the slightly worn-out counter where we always ended up making a mess-everything felt right. There was something about being here, in this place, that made me feel like I was finally home again.

Just like old times, except now there was Sunoo, his laughter echoing through the house as he fumbled with the cutting board.

It was strange, how much I missed this-this easy camaraderie between the three of us. We'd done this so many times before, cooking together and joking around, always making more of a mess than we intended but never caring.

It was the kind of chaos that felt comforting, almost like a tradition, and now with Sunoo here, it felt like the circle was complete.

"Ni-ki, stop staring at your phone!" Sunoo laughed, nudging me with his elbow as I caught the screen of my phone light up for what seemed like the tenth time.

I frowned. It was Jiyoo's name-again. But still no new message. I swiped my screen, checked her contact, but nothing.

I shook my head. "She's probably just busy. I don't know why I keep checking."

Jungwon glanced over at me, grinning. "It's obvious, man. You're just waiting for her text."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm not waiting."

Sunoo snickered, lifting a half-chopped carrot in the air like a sword. "The poor guy's all mopey because Jiyoo's gone quiet. Dude, just admit it. You're totally into her."

I rolled my eyes. "I just-I don't know, okay? She always replies. It's weird for her not to text me back. It's been a whole day!"

Jungwon smirked, pushing the frying pan away from the stove as he turned to face me. "You know, you're being a bit dramatic. She's probably just busy. Jay's talking about the baby all the time. They're probably preparing for the shower today."

Sunoo laughed, almost spilling the pot of boiling soup as he stirred. "Don't worry, man. Jiyoo's probably getting ready for the shower. She's always busy with stuff like that."

I nodded, but a sense of unease was gnawing at me. I tried to shake it off, tried to focus on chopping the veggies in front of me, but my fingers kept twitching, wanting to check my phone again.

I couldn't help it. Something felt off.

So I reached for it. Again.

Another glance at the screen, but still no message.

Maybe I was overthinking things. I started to put the phone down when it buzzed, startling me so much I nearly dropped it in the pot of soup.

I looked down, hoping it was her.

The name on the screen read: Sunghoon.

That's... weird. Sunghoon never calls me unless Jiyoo forces him to.

"Hello?" My voice came out shaky, despite my best efforts to keep it steady.

My heart was already starting to race, a knot forming in my stomach.

What happened next, though, was nothing like I expected.

"Ni-ki..." Sunghoon's voice was low, strained.

There was something wrong, something fragile about the way he spoke. The usual calm in his tone was completely gone, replaced by an unmistakable crack of fear.

I felt it-everything in the room seemed to freeze. My hand tightened around the phone.

"What's going on?" I demanded, suddenly tense, my senses sharpening.