People Watching ★ 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐒𝐮𝐧

32: Chaos, Confusion, and Confessions (Kind Of)

Sunoo barely had time to process Niki's betrayal—because, yes, this absolutely counted as betrayal—before Niki had the audacity to keep laughing.

"You're actually such a loser," Niki wheezed, doubling over as he dodged another pillow. "All this drama because I doodled some hearts? Hearts, Sunoo!"

Sunoo's eye twitched. "You ruined my life!"

Niki grinned, far too pleased with himself. "I made it interesting."

That was it. Sunoo lunged.

They crashed to the floor, limbs flailing as Niki shrieked with laughter and tried to escape. Sunoo managed to get him in a weak headlock, hair already a mess from rolling around like two rabid gremlins.

"Take it back!" Sunoo growled, knuckles digging into Niki's scalp.

"Never!" Niki cackled, kicking his legs like a dying fish. "Sunoo and Sunghoon, sitting in a tree—"

"—I will end you!"

"—K-I-S-S—OW, HYUNG!"

The chaos might've continued indefinitely if not for the unmistakable sound of their mom's footsteps approaching. Both brothers froze, Niki still halfway pinned beneath Sunoo, eyes wide in mutual horror.

Too late.

The door swung open, and there she stood: hands on hips, expression stuck between exasperation and amusement.

"Do I even want to know?" she asked, voice dangerously calm.

Niki, ever the survivor, immediately pointed at Sunoo. "He started it!"

"Liar!"

Their mom sighed like someone carrying the weight of the world—and then, without warning, reached out and grabbed both of their ears.

"OW, OW, OW!" Sunoo yelped, flailing as he was dragged to his feet.

"You're eighteen, Sunoo," she scolded, giving his ear an extra twist for good measure. "Eighteen! And you're still wrestling like you're ten?"

"Tell that to him!" Sunoo protested, gesturing wildly at Niki, who was too busy trying to escape her grip to defend himself.

"I don't care who started it," she snapped. "Both of you, sit down and act like civilized humans before I confiscate every screen in this house."

That shut them up real fast.

As soon as she let go, they scrambled to opposite sides of the couch, glaring at each other like two stray cats after a turf war.

"I hate you," Sunoo muttered, rubbing his sore ear.

Niki grinned, completely unbothered. "Love you too, hyung."

—

Later that night, after Niki had retreated to his room (probably to plot more chaos), Sunoo flopped onto his bed, phone in hand. He scrolled mindlessly for a few minutes before his thumb hovered over Jungwon's contact.

Should I?

Jungwon was his best friend. If anyone could make sense of the mess swirling in his head, it was him.

Before he could overthink it, Sunoo hit the call button.

"Yo," Jungwon answered after two rings, sounding suspiciously awake for someone who claimed to sleep early.

"Hey," Sunoo said, voice quieter than he meant it to be.

There was a pause. Then, "Okay, what happened? You sound like you just found out your favorite idol got married."

Sunoo snorted, despite himself. "It's not that serious."

"Uh-huh. Spill."

Sunoo hesitated, staring up at the ceiling. "It's Sunghoon."

"...Obviously."

"Shut up."

"Not my fault he's the only thing you talk about lately."

Sunoo groaned and rolled onto his side, pressing the phone closer to his ear. "I feel weird around him. Like... I don't know. Everything's complicated now."

Jungwon hummed thoughtfully. "Weird how? Butterflies-in-your-stomach weird? Or I-want-to-throw-up weird?"

"...Both?"

"Yikes. You're down bad."

Sunoo threw an arm over his face. "I hate you."

"Get in line."

Silence settled between them, not uncomfortable but heavy with everything Sunoo didn't know how to say.

Finally, Jungwon spoke again, quieter this time. "Do you... like him?"

Sunoo's breath caught.

Did he?

He used to think the answer was a firm no. Sunghoon had been nothing more than a target for his ridiculous matchmaking project—a way to prove to himself that the stupid notebook didn't mean anything.

But now?

Now, all he could think about was how Sunghoon had looked at him after Hanna's confession. How broken he'd sounded. How his head had fit perfectly on Sunoo's shoulder, like it belonged there.

"...I don't know," Sunoo admitted, voice small.

Jungwon sighed. "Well, figure it out fast. Because if you don't, you're gonna lose him."

The call ended not long after, but the weight of Jungwon's words lingered.

Sunoo stared at the ceiling, heart pounding in his chest.

He was officially screwed.