Chapter Text
Plane rides aren’t the same without Minho.
When she first made the trip to Seoul years ago for spring break, she had her sisters, and with the second trip, she had pure excitement to keep her company. Then there was the ride with Minho a few weeks ago, but now, on this trip, she’s truly alone.
Excitement isn’t thrumming through her body; if anything, she’s nervous. She decided to not tell anyone she’s coming back, partially because surprises can be fun but also because she’s scared Principal Lim’s offer will be rescinded— she doesn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. At least, that’s what she’s telling herself.
They weren’t exactly lies, though. Yes— she wants to surprise them and ensure Principal Lim is serious, but when she left KISS, she wasn’t on good terms with any of her friends, and sending them a text during break saying she’s coming back after their goodbyes felt wrong.
Kitty sighs as she drags her gigantic bag up the stairs to KISS’s lobby— why there isn’t an easier way to haul luggage around campus is beyond her.
The lobby is bustling with people, students and parents alike, saying goodbye and checking in with the head admissions lady. Kitty goes past all of them, heading straight to the elevators to see Principal Lim.
She requested Kitty come to her office as soon as she arrives at KISS, but with the looks Kitty is getting, lugging her suitcase around, she begins to think Lim didn’t mean it literally. The elevator dings, and it’s too late to go back.
“Come in,” Principal Lim says in reply to Kitty’s knock at the office door. The brunette huffs, bringing her bags through the door’s threshold and bowing in greeting to the principal.
“Miss Covey, welcome back,” she says with a soft, closed-lipped smile, pulling her eyes away from the computer screen.
“I’m glad to be back,” Kitty beams.
“So I know we talked about the requirements the board and I have for your reinstatement over the phone, but I wanted to go over it in person as well.”
Kitty nods, and Principal Lim continues, “You’ll need to pick one extracurricular— a sport or running a club and maintain a B average in all your classes. Have you considered what you might want to do for your extracurricular activity?”
The younger spent a long time trying to come up with something easy she could juggle with her studies, but everything was either taken or too involved.
“I have, but nothing solid yet,” she replies shyly. Kitty’s answer didn’t bother her, though, almost like she wanted to hear it.
“Well, I have an idea if you’d like to hear it?”
“What is it?” Kitty asks, curious.
The corners of her lips turn up, and she opens a drawer in her desk, pulling out a stack of old newspapers. The paper is turning a desaturated yellow from age— they must be at least a couple decades old. Kitty raises an eyebrow but accepts the stack.
At first, she doesn’t know what she's looking at; parts are in Korean, and some are in English. The familiar Korean International School of Seoul logo at the top of the front page clues her into it being copies of their old school newspaper.
“Turn to the third page, bottom right corner,” Principal Lim says. Kitty obeys and finds the section she’s referencing— an advice column called “Ask E” .
“Wait— E as in…?”
“Evie. Eve Song,” she finishes for Kitty.
Kitty pulls her eyes away from Principal Lim’s and back to the newspaper. She traces the words of the column, taking in this piece of her mother’s history— another piece that’s hers alone.
“I want you to continue it,” she says. “You’re like your mom in many ways, especially in your heart. I think the students of KISS could use your guidance like we heeded hers.”
The idea of following in her mother’s footsteps is exciting and an honor, but she doesn’t feel remotely qualified to be giving advice on anything while her life is such a mess. Principal Lim can see the hesitation on her face.
“I know, whoever feels like they have the right standing to advise others— it’s daunting. Your mom thought the same thing; I was the one who talked her into it, too,” she laughs. “It’s less about being qualified and more about the desire to help. And since coming to KISS, I’ve seen you help countless people without a second thought.”
Helping people comes naturally to Kitty, especially in matters of love. What harm could come from letting people ask her for help before she offers it herself?
There’s one problem, though, “I don’t want people to know it’s me.”
“Why?”
Kitty sighs and plays with a rip in her jeans, “Giving advice either goes really well or really bad. It’s even riskier when you don’t know the situation firsthand— I don’t want people to hate me if what I say makes things worse. KISS is already hard enough without the mass hatred of my peers.”
Principal Lim thinks for a moment before replying.
“So stay anonymous. Keep the old name, and don’t tell anyone you’re ‘E.’ ”
It’s a happy medium; in fact, she kinda likes it— it’s like a secret superhero identity. ‘ Kitty Song Covey, a normal high school student by day and ‘E,’ renowned advice guru by night.’
After talking logistics with Principal Lim, Kitty leaves feeling really positive about everything. She’s actually excited about this semester; most of the dread she harbored on the plane ride over is gone.
She drags her bags back down the elevator and to the lobby, getting in line for the dorm assignments. KISS doesn’t have many new students this semester, so the line moves quickly.
“Katherine Song Covey,” she says to the dorm coordinator with a blinding smile.
The lady starts thumbing through the files on the left, pulling hers relatively quickly, “And this is yours.”
She checks if her name is correctly listed at the top, “Did you put me in the right dorm this time?”
Kitty laughs, knowing her name is right on the paper but unable to resist a joke.
“Are you going to stay in the right dorm this time?” she counters with a raised eyebrow— that shuts Kitty up immediately. With an awkward laugh, she leaves and begins the final trek to her dorm, where she’ll finally be able to put down her damn luggage.
Room 102…Room 103…Room 104…
“Room 105, finally!” Kitty whispers to herself, zeroing in on the code for the dorm written on the paper and typing it into the keypad.
“Knock, knock,” she says, trying to alert her roommates. For all she knows, they could be in the middle of applying eyeliner or waxing an eyebrow, and her unannounced presence could lead to a wax mishap, and suddenly, her roommate is down an eyebrow. If she’s going to do one thing, it’s always expected of the worst possible scenario.
Surprisingly, absolutely no one, none of her roommates are in the middle of waxing; in fact, they’re doing nothing when she opens the door— except staring at her. Surprising absolutely everyone, Han Yuri is one of the three staring back at her.
“Yuri?” she manages to get out before she’s engulfed in a hug. Kitty is confused and alarmed at the mass of pink throwing itself into her arms but warms into it quickly. Her heart skips a beat as she breathes in Yuri’s sweet, floral perfume.
A throat clearing breaks her out of the gay thoughts she’s having about her best friend.
“I’ve missed you,” Yuri says into her shoulder before pulling away. Kitty tries to look unbothered— like she doesn’t miss the warmth Yuri always brings, but by the way Juliana is looking at her, it’s not convincing.
Yuri doesn’t notice, or if she does, she doesn’t care.
“This is Juliana,” she says, throwing an arm over the curly-haired brunette’s shoulders.
Juliana extends a hand, “Her girlfriend.”
Kitty can’t miss how her smile doesn’t reach her eyes but takes her hand, giving her a genuine smile back. She’s happy for Yuri and promised herself a long time ago she won’t do anything to put that happiness at risk— and she tries her best to convey that in her smile.
The handshake is firm and quick; Kitty’s nervous that her sweaty hands may be off-putting, wiping them on her jeans subtly afterward. She doesn’t realize it might look offensive, like she’s some kind of a germaphobe, and wiping off Juliana’s touch until after she’s done it.
Crap, play it cool.
This introduction is not going how she planned at all. At least Yuri isn’t picking up on the bad vibes between the two.
“I wanted to introduce you guys before break at the airport, but you ran off before I could,” she says, directed at Kitty.
Kitty laughs awkwardly, “Yeah…I had a plane to catch.”
Yuri isn’t fazed, “Anyways, I pulled some strings with my mom to get you two forming in the same room, so we can all hang out!”
Now that the initial shock of Yuri being so nonchalant about everything has worn off, Kitty is just confused. She pulls Yuri aside, away from Juliana and Madison— her other apparent roommate, though they haven’t been formally introduced as such yet.
“I thought, when I left, you hated me? What changed?”
Sighing, Yuri looks down at her feet, “I may have been too quick to anger.”
Kitty is shocked but lets her continue, “I talked a lot with Alex over the break, and he made me see it from his side— your side too. While I’m not thrilled about the secrets you kept, I realize now they weren’t your secrets to tell.”
“Just don’t keep more life-altering secrets from me, and I think we’ll be okay?” Yuri finishes, bumping her shoulder against Kitty’s playfully. Kitty has to ignore the sparks she feels every time they touch and reply.
“I think I can manage that,” Yuri grins at her answer and pulls her back to Juliana and Madison.
“So you’ll be rooming with Madison; her roommate dropped this semester, so she had a free spot. And after much convincing, Eunice gave up her single to room with Juliana so we can all chill here together!”
The other two girls look at her reassuringly, having probably heard this speech and plan from Yuri a million times before she set foot in the room. Madison motions to the room on the left, and Kitty follows, giving Juliana and Yuri a wave.
“This side is yours,” Madison points to the empty bed. “I’m pretty lax with rules— just don’t touch my stuff or stray from your side of the room, and we’re good.”
She and Madison never got close before the break, but they were friendly enough; this shouldn’t be a problem for either of them.
Kitty begins unpacking and asks, “So why did your last roommate leave?”
The redhead hums and flops onto her bed, “Classic story— the American school system didn’t properly prepare her for rigorous Korean classes, so she flunked after the first semester.”
Something in her stomach churns. Kitty has never been one for superstition, but sharing the bed of someone who just failed out of school miserably can’t be good.
FML.
. . .
K-pop music and body spray fill the air as the six girls finish getting ready for the Welcome Party. Eunice came home to the dorm a few hours after Kitty arrived, and Yuri was back, Minhee in tow, after changing at home.
Kitty hasn’t had a chance to talk to her one-on-one since earlier but surmises things are better with her parents, considering she’s living at home again and not in the boy’s dorms.
Everyone looks stunning, and it makes her wonder how lucky she is to have so many beautiful and amazing friends, but it also makes a tiny part of her insecure. Kitty knows she’s pretty— there’s no doubt about that, but she feels out of place next to her gorgeous friends with 10-step skincare routines keeping their skin flawless while wearing the latest, trendiest clothes and having perfect makeup and perfect hair. She’s pretty, yes, but not perfect in the way they are.
Yuri would hit her over the head if she heard her comparing herself like this to other girls, but it’s a thought that hasn’t left her mind since moving to South Korea. Being surrounded by beautiful people everywhere, you look is intimidating, and if she was someone who didn’t know their own worth, existing here would be exhausting.
She pulls herself away from that train of thought and looks at herself in the mirror. Giving her reflection a once over and nod, affirming that she is just as beautiful as the others and needs to get out of her own head. She looks fantastic, and she’s going to have fun and show herself just
how much she belongs here with them.
They leave and walk down the dorms to the events room. The setup of the welcome party is pretty much the same as last time— down to the fluorescent orange cupcake tower. Kitty shivers at the memory and makes a big show of avoiding the towers as she walks.
A familiar head of curls is bopping to the music, and Kitty squeals.
“Q!” she yells, rushing towards him, arms wide. Q stops what he’s doing and runs to her, swinging her body in the air.
She comes down with a laugh, struggling to find her footing at first.
“I can’t believe you’re here?” he gasps, arms out. “And you look amazing.”
Kitty twirls for him, jokingly, but he eats it up. Q pulls her back to his group consisting of a few people. Florian is expected, and Kitty can’t say she’s happy to see him, but the feeling isn’t mutual. She gives him a half hug as he tells her how pretty she looks over the music, to which she smiles and pretends it’s all okay.
The next one she sees is Minho, who is suspiciously trying to avoid eye contact with her.
“Minho? Aren’t you going to say hi to your friend?” Kitty teases, poking at him while he tries to dodge. It’s fun for her initially, but Minho is actually pretty uncomfortable seeing Kitty like this in person. Surprising Minho seemed like a fun idea, but it’s hitting Kitty that some people don’t like big surprises. Especially when you’re surprising a guy who just confessed his love for you, expecting to not see you for a long time. Then not even a month later, they’re thrown together face-to-face with all those feelings and things too awkward to discuss.
“Kitty!” he says half-heartedly, trying to save face in front of his friends. He pulls her into a side hug, then sticks his hands in his pockets, looking like he’s curling into himself.
“Now, what is up with you and surprising people in Korea?” Q says, throwing an arm over Florian’s shoulder.
Kitty looks around; they’re missing a very key person, “Speaking of surprises in Korea, aren’t we missing someone?”
Q and Florian immediately avoid her gaze, looking everywhere around the party but at her. Florian quickly excuses himself to get a refill on his mocktail, and Minho gets pulled away by Eunice asking him to dance, which he readily agrees to— probably because he can’t stand to be around Kitty. Q tries to leave, too, but Kitty isn’t letting him out so easily.
“Not so fast. What aren’t you telling me?” she demands, physically cornering him. His eyes flick around, trying to find a way out before accepting defeat.
“Dae lost his scholarship,” he sighs.
“What, how? Was it because of me living with you guys?” Kitty feels sick; she can’t be the one responsible for him missing out on his dream. Especially when everything worked out relatively okay for her.
Q shuffles his feet, “He was second in class this semester,” he takes a deep breath. “Apparently, if he doesn’t keep the top spot, he loses his room and board scholarship.”
At first, she’s confused; Dae has always been number one. What changed this semester? Her— she’s what changed. Her presence must’ve gotten to his head somehow and distracted him from his studies. Just like how Q was a distraction to Florian after they got together, she was the same for Dae. Wait, Florian and his cheating— where did he place?
“Q, what rank did Florian get?” She’s praying she’s not right. Q doesn’t say anything, and his silence is confirmation enough.
“No…” Kitty shakes her head, feeling the walls closing in.
“He wasn’t trying to take first place; he just wanted to pass!” Q defends his boyfriend, but there’s no belief behind his words; his guilt is apparent.
Kitty feels like she’s going to puke; she’s partially to blame for Dae losing his dream. Dae would still be here if she had told someone about Florian’s cheating before leaving for break.
“You have to tell Principal Lim, like now,” Kitty looks deeply into Q’s eyes, conveying all seriousness she can before she turns to leave. “Or I will.”
“Kitty, you can’t. I don’t know under what terms you’re back at KISS, but there’s probably some probation involved, right? And I don’t think coming clean about knowing someone cheated on exams weeks after you found out will earn you any points.”
She stops in her tracks; he’s right. Her probation is the most precious— and delicate— thing in her life right now, and she can’t afford to harm it.
“Then Florian needs to fess up; this isn’t fair to Dae at all. He worked for that spot. You’re an athlete; this can’t sit right with you?”
“It doesn’t sit right with me at all, but I love him, Kitty. What wouldn’t you do for love?” Q begs, but Kitty isn’t listening to a word he’s saying.
“I wouldn’t ruin someone I care about’s entire future for love, that’s for sure.”
“You’re not being fair.”
“None of this is fair!” Kitty uncrosses her arms and throws them up in frustration. “I can’t talk to you about this right now. You know what’s right, Q. You need to stop lying to yourself and do something about it.”
She storms away, just wanting to get as far away as possible from Q and Florian right now. Pushing past people, she must be making a scene— when she’s upset, she can never hide the emotions from her face, so she must look ready to hit something or sob uncontrollably.
“Woah, woah. Kitty?” Someone grabs her shoulders and stops her. “Are you okay?”
Looking up, she’s faced with a very concerned-looking Minho. His earlier discomfort of being around her is forgotten as he pushes a strand of loose hair from her face and stares at her with such intensity she has to look away.
“What’s going on?” he prompts.
“It’s nothing, Minho,” she says, wiping a stray tear.
“Doesn’t look like nothing,” he squeezes her shoulders in encouragement.
“Me and Q are just fighting, and Dae not being here sucks,” she manages to get out in a quiet huff. It’s not a lie, but it’s not a complete truth, either.
Minho lets off her shoulders and puts his hands back in his pockets. Sighing, he starts, “Do you want to get out of here?”
“Are you asking me to play hooky with you?”
“Hooky? Please, this isn’t even a required event, no need to be dramatic,” he laughs, trying to lighten the mood— it works a bit. Kitty nods, blinking away unshed tears and smiling— fake it until you make it, right?
They wave goodbye to Yuri and her group on the way out. Yuri gives her a questioning look, finding it odd the two were leaving together, to which Kitty shrugs and waves again. They haven’t had time to catch up much since coming back, and Kitty doesn’t know if she wants to tell her (or anyone) about Minho’s confession. Despite her best efforts to ignore it, it seems to always be at the back of her mind and telling other people feels wrong.
“So,” she draws out. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t know, I’m acting on impulse again,” he sighs but smirks.
“It worked well last time,” Kitty says.
“Did it?” he questions, mostly to himself, but Kitty hears it too.
“Well,” she starts. “We’re still friends, aren’t we? I know you were kinda uncomfortable seeing me earlier, but you’re doing okay now.”
“Am I?”
“So much doubt— this is unlike you, Minho,” Kitty teases, and he blushes.
“I guess you make me question a lot of things.”
Kitty doesn’t push further. Instead, they fall into a comfortable silence as they walk the KISS campus at night. During the day, it’s packed and bustling, but at night, it’s serene. The lit-up pathways and perfectly manicured landscaping are beautiful under the moonlight.
“Thank you for this; I needed the fresh air,” Kitty breaks the silence.
Minho just nods with a smile, and they keep quietly walking. Eventually, Minho walks her to the dorms and says a simple goodnight. She doesn’t know how long they stayed out that night, but somehow, it was exactly what she needed at that moment.
She’s always thought of Minho as a pretty, rich boy and nothing more, but there’s something deeper there, and she wants to find out more about him— if he’ll let her.