𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 - 𝐥𝐤

chapter twenty three: next door

"Yoongi, man!" Jimin greeted his friend with a brotherly hug.

"Oh, right. We have Jungkook here," Jimin said, reintroducing the younger to his friend.

"Oh, I remember you," Yoongi said, accepting Jungkook's handshake.

"Yes, hyung, I do too," Jungkook replied, suppressing a smile.

"Let's go. It's still a long drive from here." Yoongi grabbed one of their bags and put it in the back of the car.

The car ride was peaceful. Yoongi drove with the windows down, letting the cool breeze and fresh air of Jeju wash over them. It felt like a new place, a welcome escape from Seoul.

Yoongi's place was a bit far from the airport but was close to many of Jeju's famous tourist spots.

"You're still into photography, hyung?" Jimin asked, halfway through the drive.

Yoongi hummed in confirmation. "I've got a team now, and it's going well. It's what I do for a living."

"Wow, maybe I'll book you for some of my photoshoots, huh?" Jimin joked. Yoongi just laughed.

"We'll do it sometime," he said, and they all chuckled.

"Oh, Jungkook, you're awake," Jimin commented, seeing Jungkook staring into space, a habit he had after waking up.

"Oh, yeah. I got tired from the trip," Jungkook said.

"Are you all hungry?" Yoongi asked.

"No denying I am," Jimin said.

"I'm fine, hyung. What about you, Jimin-hyung?" Jungkook asked.

"Well, hate to break it to you, but I am, too," Jimin said with a shy smile.

"We could drop by my parents' ramen house. It's on the way," Jungkook said, as the streets began to look familiar.

They stopped at the ramen house and ordered some ramen and skewers. "Don't worry, hyung. It's on me," Jungkook said, seeing Yoongi reach for his wallet.

"Ah, no. I also got some for your neighbors. They've been craving old-style ramen since they arrived two days ago, but they were too tired to go out," Yoongi explained.

"How about this? I'll pay for our food, and you can pay for the neighbors' food," Jungkook suggested, which made Yoongi smile.

"Fair enough."

They went back to the car and endured another five minutes before arriving at Yoongi's place. Yoongi parked in the garage and told the boys to go inside and prepare the food so it wouldn't get cold. He volunteered to bring the bags to their room.

"How about this? I'll get the food ready," Jimin suggested. "Jungkook can help you and show me our room." Jungkook just shrugged; helping was no big deal.

"Whatever floats your boat, Chimmy," Yoongi smirked, grabbing the first bag. Jungkook followed, carrying two bags of his own.

Yoongi went upstairs. The second floor was wide with three large rooms. He led Jungkook to the room at the far end, which was the only one available. One was occupied, and the other was Yoongi's.

"Hope you'll be comfortable," he said, opening the door to reveal a spacious, tidy, minimalist room with black and white walls. "This is perfect, hyung."

"Every room has the same style, except for one," he said, pointing to the room near the stairs.

"Why is that?" Jungkook asked.

"Well, they—"

"They?"

"Yeah, the siblings who arrived two days ago practically paid for everything new in that room," Yoongi explained as he showed Jungkook around their room. "It's also a friendly room for my sister, who sometimes visits."

"You mean those siblings who live in the room opposite ours are here more often than your sister?"

"No, those siblings are just close friends of mine who have a special place in my heart," Yoongi said. Jungkook simply nodded and left, as they were all getting hungry.

It was dark by the time they went downstairs, and it felt like they had spent a lot of time upstairs, which was understandable since they arrived late in the afternoon.

"Where are the neighbors, Yoongi-ah? Call them down so we can eat together," Jimin suggested, seeing the two of them come down.

"Oh, Yoongi, where are your bowls?" Jimin asked.

"Let me handle that. You're a visitor, you dumbass," Yoongi said. "Jungkook, you can go knock and call them. Just say I'm calling them down, and they'll follow."

Jungkook agreed and went upstairs, stopping in the middle of the hall in front of the neighbor's door. He knocked once, then twice. No response. He knocked again, louder, and still nothing.

"Is Yoongi-hyung sure there are people here?" he wondered. He shrugged and knocked three more times. When there was still no response, he tried his usual method for waking Jimin. "Maybe it'll work," he thought, shrugging.

But before he could slam the door, it opened wide, revealing the entire room. Jungkook's eyes widened.

"L-Lisa?" he choked out.

"Uh, yes? What do you want?" she asked sassily, annoyed that her sleep had been interrupted.

Jungkook's eyes widened even more when he saw a shirtless man on the other bed, but he quickly realized it was her brother. "Uhm, uh—Yoongi-hyung called and said you should come down to eat," he stammered.

Lisa scrutinized him for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face. "Oh, right. We can go down together."

Jungkook was caught off guard and felt pale. This was all so surreal.

"Wait a minute, I'll wake him up," Lisa said, disappearing and tackling Taehyung on the bed.

Within a minute, a sleepy Taehyung, shirtless and in his checkered boxers, followed his sister.

"Let's go," Lisa said. Jungkook went down the stairs first, his steps light, feeling like he was floating. He couldn't believe what was happening. He jogged the rest of the way to the table before he could collapse.

"Did you call them already?" Jimin asked, but Jungkook didn't reply. "Are you okay? You look sick and pale. Is it still from the trip? We'll eat in a minute—oh, food is here," he said as he saw Jungkook and Yoongi setting the food on the table.

"You okay, kid?" Yoongi asked, also noticing Jungkook's pale face.

"Oh, doll. Good thing you went downstairs. Let's eat," Yoongi said as he saw the siblings approach.

"Oh, understandable," Jimin smirked, a small laugh escaping him as he finally understood why Jungkook was so pale.