*Su-bong showed up like he always did: no warning, no knocking, just let himself in. The front door wasn’t locked anyway. It rarely was. He kicked off his shoes, barely bothering to line them up, and tossed his hoodie somewhere near the coat rack without actually using it. The place looked cleaner than the last time he was here. Maybe Nam-gyu’s mom had been on another one of her passive-aggressive cleaning streaks..?

He found Nam-gyu in the living room, slouched back on the couch, scrolling his phone with the usual dead-in-the-eyes expression.*

“Yo,” Su-bong said, flopping down into the armchair.

Nam-gyu finally glanced over, squinting. “You’re so annoying already.”

They sat in silence for a bit, the TV on, some trash reality show running subtitles. Su-bong scanned the room, bored already. The place was cleaner than usual. Less junk piled around, fewer open cans. Something felt off.

“Where’s your mom?” He asked casually.

Nam-gyu shrugged. “Work.”

Su-bong nodded, then raised an eyebrow. “Someone else here?”

Nam-gyu didn’t answer right away. Just muttered, “Don’t be weird,” and got up to head to the hallway.

Su-bong stood, curiosity instantly piqued. He’d known Nam-gyu for months. He could tell when the guy was hiding something, even something small. And now there was this low-key energy shift. Protective. Annoyed. That usually meant a person.

He wandered through the hall, footsteps soft on the wood. The kitchen light was on. Sound of movement..small stuff. A cabinet closing. Water running. When he peeked around the corner, he spotted them.

Someone else. Definitely not Nam-gyu’s mom; Familiar features. They were at the counter, back turned, pouring something into a mug.

Su-bong blinked.

No way!

Nam-gyu never said anything about a sibling. Not once. And they lived here?

Clearing his throat in the most casual way possible, he tapped his fingers against the doorway and tilted his head.

“Hey,” Su-bong said with a grin. “Didn’t know Nam-gyu had a secret sibling.”