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Margot groaned as she stretched, back cracking in a satisfying way. These days have been a full on circus.
Meeting her brother but not brother? Check. And she absolutely loves him.
Dealing with LJ’s moaning about missing Peter and then shifting into saying she loves being single? Check. Margot is not as thrilled for this one.
Staying in a new house instead of home? Check. Surprisingly, she doesn’t mind this too much, maybe she spent so long away from home she doesn’t feel nearly as strongly as she thought she would feel. Besides, she loves this room. She has her own bathroom and even a small walk-in, she would have been happier if she snatched the room with a balcony like LJ.
Getting to know Minho? Underwhelming, really. The child is just as sweet as he is on the phone. If she hadn't met Sebastian then she would have been as struck as LJ is with Minho. Margot likes to think she didn’t stare at Sebastian that way, for her own sanity.
Dealing with Trina? Still awkward, but not nearly as much as the beginning. Margot is perfectly aware Kitty is Trina’s favourite, she has always been, so it really doesn’t bother her to confirm it. If she is being honest, she is relieved. Something tells her she is in no position to ever give her own sisters relationship advice after how… explosive her previous relationships were. At least Trina is an adultier adult in a stable relationship, she can give the love advice.
All in all, she is enjoying her vacation.
There was a knock on her door, Margot lifted her head to see Kitty standing on the doorway. Weird, Margot almost forgot Kitty doesn’t come with a Minho included.
“May I crash in?”
Margot patted the bed. “What happened with lover boy? Lover’s spat?”
Kitty snorted and threw herself on the bed. “He is just busy with his boyfriend.”
Margot took a moment to process that piece of information. “Come again?”
The little shit grinned. “Oh, he is having some quality time with his boyfriend,” Kitty pouted, the started giggling. “LJ made that exact same face. He’s just talking with his friend so I gave him some time alone.”
“His gay best friend,” Margot sighed.
She knows she would be jealous if Sebastian had a gay best friend he shares a living space with. To be honest, she doesn’t understand why Kitty doesn’t mind. To each their own, she guesses.
“Tri says they are going to stay out longer, I think we should go and pick them up from the restaurant when they start drinking.”
Margot shrugged, everyone went out on a triple date and LJ disappeared to have dinner with a friend, she likes to think they are all capable enough to get back on their own.
“So, how is lover boy enjoying his break?”
Kitty’s whole face turned into an expression Margot rarely ever saw before but now it’s almost familiar: soft, almost tender.
“Dad says his burns are healing well. I know he won’t complain but he misses rock climbing. I am genuinely thinking of just kidnapping Q and having him stay over, it would make Minho happy.”
Margot did her best not to grimace. Yeah, that happened. She was brutally reminded why Minho is being so welcome at home when none of her boyfriends were. He literally got second degree burns to protect Kitty. That is the kind of shit that happens in dramas and those corny novels LJ loves. In real life as well, apparently, when the guy is in love.
“So, have you talked with your friends?”
Kitty rolled her eyes. “You are not being subtle Margot, Sebastian broke down when I was talking with Eunice.”
Margot frowned at Kitty’s expression, she doesn't look pleased. “Do you really hate that I’m seeing him that much?”
That is not what she expected, maybe some teasing and whining, not absolute disapproval.
Kitty gave her a deadpan look. “Margot I love you and I know you. Sebastian is the kind of man that wants a serious relationship, he doesn’t date around, he is looking for something serious.”
Oh, how adorable. Margot remembers her little sister is just a baby.
“Honey, we slept together after our third time meeting each other. Trust me, he doesn’t see me as something serious.”
For some strange reason, Margot can’t keep looking at Kitty’s disappointed eyes. Does she even realise how similar she is to mom?
“Just be clear with him and don’t break his heart. I love you but I also love Eunice and she adores her brother, Sebastian has been very kind to me as well, so please don’t break his heart.”
“I am not trying to.”
Kitty sighed, as if Margot is the one being the unreasonable one. “Did dad tell you our summer plans?”
Margot sighed, relieved at the topic change. It chills her a little just how similar Kitty is to mom when she doesn’t even remember her.
“You know he did. Emmy said we are staying at their house.”
Just a small family trip to be at Alex’s wedding. Meeting her brother is not exactly what she expected. When she was little, mom constantly asked her how Margot would like to have an older brother. At the time it made perfect sense, only when Kitty found Alex is that she realised mom was trying to prepare her in case Alex found them.
Still, there is a part of her that can’t understand why mom got so attached to a baby that wasn’t hers in the first place. The other part of her is glad, Alex and Melina have become essential parts of her life in such a short span of time. They just… belong.
“Yeah, no, you are staying at their home. We are staying in Minho’s house.”
Margot rolled her eyes, what a great reminder that Kitty’s boyfriend is a rich boy. Then again, she doesn’t have much ground to stand considering Sebastian is also a rich boy. Then again, he is not her boyfriend.
“Does dad know?”
Kitty raised an eyebrow in response, Margot pouted at the sheer injustice. Of course she will be allowed to stay at her boyfriend’s place.
“LJ is staying with us and we offered Melina to stay with us the night before the wedding.” she shrugged, as if having plans to spend the summer with your boyfriend abroad is common at sixteen.
The uneasiness at seeing how fast Kitty’s relationship is advancing returned. Margot can understand sleeping with your boyfriend at sixteen, she did the same and regretted it dearly, at least her sister didn’t. Margot can sort of understand Dad accepting Minho in the house, the boy did prove himself. Margot can’t understand allowing those two to room together nor why Dad and Trina are allowing Kitty to spend two weeks in Australia unsupervised AND with Minho!
That almost spells a recipe for disaster!
“Are you sure you want to spend two weeks with Minho alone?”
Kitty frowned lightly. “Margot, we have spent more than that alone.”
Well, that is a good point.
“Still, it’s different spending time at school than in his dad’s house in Australia!” Even Margot can hear the slightly hysterical edge in her voice.
Kitty looked away from her phone, giving her a raised eyebrow in response. “Look, just because you chose the wrong person to spend time abroad with doesn’t mean it will happen the same to me.”
Margot winced at Kitty’s harsh tone and the mention of that time. It’s something they don’t talk about, the time when she was young and naïve and agreed to travel to Greece with her then boyfriend. A single scared three a.m. call to her father may be the only reason she is still here now.
Kitty sighed, placing her hand over hers. “Margot, I love you, you know I do, but your mistakes were your own, let me make mine.”
Does Kitty even know how much like mom she sounds? It’s a bit comforting yet heartbreaking to have the living memory of her mother in her little sister.
“Besides,” Kitty smiled, “I am going to be with Minho. Odds are I am going to be the one getting us in trouble.”
Margot decided to give up on the subject for now, the uneasiness is still there however. She has been there before, madly in love and thinking she found The One, only to have her heart shattered. Maybe Kitty does need the experience.
Or maybe she chose a good one, an annoying little bastard whispered.
She ignored it, how silly it is to be jealous of your own sister?
“So how did things go with that girl?” Kitty frowned at Margot’s question. “The one you had a crush on.”
“Ah,” Kitty mouthed, then shrugged. “Nothing. My crush died when I got to know her a little better. Maybe it’s because Minho set the bar so damn high, but Yuri didn’t make the cut.”
Margot bit back a smile, she remembers that night, when she realised Kitty was head over heels for Minho after that perfect date. She would be as well, that kind of date is something women can only dream of.
And live if the guy is truly in love, that pesky voice whispered.
“Well, he is a gentleman.”
Opening doors and pulling chairs, giving his sweaters and always offering an arm to Kitty when they walk… Blow drying her hair because Kitty would rather go to bed with her hair wet. Driving her to have her nails done and helping her pick the design. Spending hours Christmas shopping with Trina and Kitty (a torture even for Dad). Casually typing translations to whatever Korean article caught Kitty’s interest and watching her silly realities (to be fair, Margot thinks Kitty is the one suffering through that, not Minho).
Cooking and cleaning their room, it’s impossible to believe Kitty cares enough about the guy to actually offer herself to wash the dishes after every meal and helps him clean.
Well, he did set that damn bar too fucking high.
“And your ex? Dae?”
Kitty snorted. “I really don’t think that relationship counted. I mean, we never even held hands.” Fair enough. “And we just decided to end everything, no friendship no nothing, just strangers.”
The hint of anger in Kitty’s face makes Margot believe she has a lot of negative feelings towards the guy.
“Then why do you dislike him so much?”
She sighed, “that fucker made Minho sad, he really should thank me for stopping Q from giving him a mighty shiner. Blergh, whatever. Oh, Lulu has an audition in a few days, you have to help me convince daddy and Tri to let her stay over.”
Margot listened to her sister prattle about her friends' vacations and how she misses school, and how ready she is for all the competitions to be over. It’s soothing to see that, while Kitty is growing up alarmingly fast, she is still her little Kitten.
“Where is everyone?” Margot asked her siblings as she entered the living room.
The house is quiet, which means Kitty is out. Which, in turn means Minho is out. No music, no Trina nor dad. Just LJ and Alex chilling in the living room.
“My parents abandoned me. Again!” Alex whined, sitting (for some strange reason) upside down.
LJ didn’t even look away from her phone. “Melina, Trina, and Kitty are out. Dad went with Minho to get that pink Christmas tree Kitty wants and a life size Grinch Trina has been eyeing. Emmy and Oscar abandoned Alex.”
Alex failed at throwing an overly Christmassy throw pillow at LJ’s face. LJ, as the mature woman she is, blew a raspberry at him.
“So just the three of us.”
Great! The one time she decided to go to the gym and is ready to share her painful experience there are only two whinier humans than her to listen. Unfair, dad would listen.
“I really can’t believe they came here to tourist around.”
Margot plopped on the nearest couch. “What else were they supposed to do?”
“Emotional support?” Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure, meeting my family-not-family doesn’t come with a manual.”
“Better than the biological one,” LJ unhelpfully added.
Thank God Alex is not sensitive about his family situation because Margot really wants to smack her sister for being such a little shit… Not that she is wrong.
“Tell me about it, Melina loathes principal Lim. I tried to share a few meals with Yuri but…” Alex shrugged, managing to sit properly without making a show of himself. “I don’t know, it’s weird. It was different when Kitty told me I was her brother, she was so genuine and happy, we just bonded. It was weird with you two at first, but Kitty broke the tension and we just got along. It feels different with Yuri, it feels more like an obligation than genuine interest.”
Margot can sort of understand that. Kitty casually dropping that bomb during their weekly call was definitely a shock, but getting along with Alex was so easy. Maybe because she was desperate to have someone to look over Kitty while she was so far away, maybe just the memories of mom talking of giving Margot an older brother. She is not sure, it was just easy.
“So, how’s Yuri like?” LJ asked, leaning on Alex’s shoulder.
Her brother grimaced. “Pink.”
Pink…
What?
Alex snorted. “I’m not joking, the three meals we shared she was wearing full pink outfits. I didn’t have her in my classes so I don’t know her well.”
“All pink?”
Alex nodded effusively. “Shoes, purse, clothes, and even cards. Our meals were so weird, I mean, what am I supposed to talk about with a seventeen year old?”
“What do you talk about with Kitty?” Margot asked, somewhat curious.
“Her excessive PDA, Minho, baking, Minho, series, Minho, and Melina. That brat has no filter nor respect.”
LJ perked up. “Did she tell you all the grimy details?”
Alex grimaced. While Margot is a little curious, she also doesn’t want to know all the details about her little sister’s sex life. Just… EW!
“Hell no and don’t you dare to give her any ideas. I’ve had enough with you two being overly explicit.”
Margot tried not to giggle, she really tried. She failed just not as miserably as LJ.
“You are the only one of us that watched Kitty and Minho in their natural habitat, what do you think about them?” Margot asked with a tad more eagerness than intended.
Alex deflated like a sad balloon. “I would like to say I hate Minho for corrupting her, but I honestly think it’s the other way around.”
Margot met LJ’s eyes. Yeah, they suspected that.
“We are not close but I know he is a good guy. He is the one that helped Kitty through all the me drama and you know what happened during the talent show,” Alex shrugged, looking almost defeated. “Melina loves him, how sad is that she actually texts with him and I just have his number?”
“Normal, I think,” LJ said. “I mean, Margot only got his contact info because those two love the same book genre while I just talked with him here and there when he was with Kitty during our weekly calls.”
“And he hangs out with dad,” Margot reminded them.
She likes the boy, yes, but not nearly as much as daddy and Trina. Those two genuinely like Minho and make an effort to spend one on one time with him. Josh would have an attack if he learns Minho managed to do in a few months what he couldn’t do in years. Ha! Serves him right.
“Peter is going to have an aneurysm when he comes over.”
Margot almost choked, at least she was not the only one.
“What?” LJ demanded.
“You are still talking with Peter?!”
LJ scowled a little. “Not really, but we met yesterday to talk a few things out so things are not weird when he comes over to visit Kitty and meet Minho. I just told him Kitty’s boyfriend is visiting and he went on full big brother mode, I really want to see his face when he meets Minho,” she almost (evilly) giggled.
Margot just knows that will be a shit show… Wait, how tall is Minho? Because that boy is tall and, as far as she remembers, Peter is also tall. Hmm.
“Is Peter taller?”
LJ shrugged. “Not sure, about the same height I think.”
Alex sighed heavily. “Great, then it's going to be four giants and me in this house.”
Margot tried to bite back a smile. Alex is average, yes. Daddy is tall, very tall (looks huge next to Trina). Alex's dad is also tall, not as tall as dad though. And Minho is almost as tall as dad (and looks ridiculous next to Kitty, huh? Curious casualty).
“Be happy, Peter always complained about neck ache for looking down so much.”
“Melina is taller than me,” Alex deadpanned.
“Not a whole head taller,” Margot reminded him.
Her brother acquiesced to her point.
“How are things with Eunice’s brother?” Alex asked, pushing LJ’s feet off his lap.
LJ glared at him.
Margot just rolled her eyes. “He texts all the time and wants to video call every night. A little too intense for my tastes.”
Kitty’s words came back to haunt her, she ignored them.
“Wait, she is your student. What do you think about Eunice?” LJ asked, almost jumping in her place.
Alex frowned a little. “I don’t know her well, just shared a few meals with her when Kitty organises the gatherings. Quiet girl, but she gets loud when she is with her friends. Good with numbers, a good student.”
“That’s it?”
“Excuse me for not knowing my students well,” Alex snapped, then he crossed his arms. “Did any of you know Kitty is friends with an idol?”
Margot is not sure she believes that despite all the pictures. It’s not her fault! I mean, Lulu? THE LULU? Even Margot has heard of her and she is not into K-pop, big name despite being so young.
LJ sighed, looking strangely dreamy. “It’s unreal, don’t you think? Kitty went to an expensive boarding school on the other side of the world and is living the kind of novel I dreamed of.”
Margot bit her tongue not to say LJ lived her own soap opera.
“She met her knight in shining armour, British accent and all. And she managed to become besties with an idol, we just need a tragic second male lead.”
“Doesn’t Dae count?” Margot asked, already knowing the answer. LJ laughed in response. Margot rolled her eyes and looked at Alex. “What is Kim Daeheon like?”
Alex frowned a little. “Yuri’s boyfriend-not-boyfriend?”
Margot scoffed a little at the description, THAT is how teen relationships should be like. “And Kitty’s ex.”
Alex made a weird face. “You sure? I don’t think I ever saw them even talking.”
“Yup,” LJ chirped, “they met when we went to Korea years ago. Kitty asked him out during a video call and they have been dating ever since.”
“Pen pals,” Margot corrected, shrugging when Alex raised an eyebrow. “Ask Kitty to tell you the full story, it’s a mess.”
“O-kay, no, thank you. Yuri brought him with her while I brought Melina, I don’t really know him.”
“What do you know?” Margot sighed. “You had front row seats to all the drama and still don’t know shit.”
“Excuse you,” Alex huffed, “I was part of the drama. Besides, it would be weird if I tried to befriend the students.”
Fair enough. It really would be weird.
“What I know is all the teachers think butter doesn’t melt in Kitty’s mouth.”
Margot sighed, she is not sure if LJ or her sighed louder.
“Yeah, she is good at that.”
Kitty has this uncanny ability to keep her image spotless despite being so wild.
“She says good grades make teachers overlook things,” LJ sighed again, pouting a little.
Alex opened his mouth, then nodded. “She is into something. Kim is the strictest teacher in school and she loves Kitty, Lee is not far behind.”
LJ perked up. “Your dad, you mean.”
“Uh-uh,” Alex immediately said. “Nope. We had a good talk and agreed to be friendly, but he is not my dad. I have one already and you met him, I don’t want another. And Daniel Lee doesn’t exactly want to take the role either, he just feels guilty for nor stepping up, that is the kind of man he is. We invited him to the wedding.”
“Kitty likes him,” LJ shrugged.
Alex nodded. “She does. Lee takes his duties seriously so he supported her a lot, I think he likes her as well. He genuinely likes Minho though, Lee is always praising him during meetings.”
Great, her little sister is what Margot swore to hate: a teacher’s pet. Oh well, it could be worse.
Now she has to mentally prepare herself to have a huge Grinch in the house and be roped by Kitty into decorating her very own Christmas tree. I don’t have favourites my ass, Margot thought, feeling a strange mix of vexation and amusement.
Maybe she should also get a Christmas tree for her room and compete with Kitty for who has the most hideous bedroom.