Chapter Text
Kitty had been back on the KISS campus a total of two minutes before Q miraculously showed up and all but dragged her away from Min Ho by her arm. "Q! Oh my god I missed-- What are you doing?!"
Min Ho, who had been comfortably walking in her company, raised an eyebrow as he watched her try to flail away from Q's seemingly earth-shattering death grip. He and Kitty still hadn't talked about... well, the almost kiss. The confession. They were in a comfortable spot with each other, and the banter was at an all-time high, along with the fluttering heart gazes across the room.
But his heart dropped every time she entered a room. He still hadn't found a time when he could be honest with her. He'd asked her once, on the second to last plane ride of the summer. Unfortunately, she hadn't given him to much go off of.
Sitting next to him in first class, Kitty had simply reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Soon, but not now. I think... I just need a few more days."
"Do you still..." His voice trailed off, the frowning uncertainty settling in the pit of his stomach. Do you still have feelings for me? Have you changed your mind?
Kitty understood without him having to finish his sentence. Her eyes softened when they met his, and she nodded. "I do. I just... want do to this right. You know how hard it is for me to not mess something up I care about without trying."
"You don't mess things up, Covey," He told her softly, giving her a knowing, reassuring glance. Chaos found Kitty. She did not live in a persistent phase of it. Her nickname was undoubtedly chaos queen, but that didn't make it everything she was. Everything she could be.
She raised an eyebrow, staring back in disbelief. "Need I remind you of your madness party last year, or the ski trip, or the first time we met Ji Won and I--"
"Kitty," Min Ho emphasized, "those were all situations you were put in. Everyone makes mistakes." He shook his head. "Learn from them, Covey, don't let them define you."
In gratitude, she flashed him a heartfelt, genuine smile. "Thanks, Min Ho."
He nodded, shrugging. "Anytime."
Now, watching Q pull her away, Min Ho feared not being able to have another conversation like that with Kitty. Sure, he'd see her as much as he was able to, and in the classes that they had together, but it wasn't the same as being with her every waking moment. He wanted to be there for her, just like she'd been there for him all summer. But, most of all, he wanted to be with her. But he couldn't do that if he never got the chance to confess!
"What are you doing?!"
Q's eyes bulged out of his head as he stared at Kitty. "Well?"
"What?" She whisper-hissed back.
"Hello??! I'm dying to hear about what happened between you and Min Ho after you shared that whole there's only one bed trope!! What'd he do? What did you do? Oh my god, Kitty! I've been waiting weeks! You haven't mentioned him hardly at all since!"
He suddenly inhaled sharply, gasping like he'd just witnessed an unspeakable crime take place. "Oh my god!" He whisper-hissed. "Did you guys finally kiss for the first time? Oh- wait, no! Did you guys make out? Is that why he looks so smug over there waiting for you?!"
"Q!" Kitty exclaimed, smacking him on the arm. "Are you serious?! What if he heard you?!"
Groaning dramatically, he placed his hands on the side of his head. "Kitty! I'm dying over here! Just tell me what happened!"
Her eye twitched ever so slightly, and she shook her head. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, when she told him, "Fine, but not here."
Q nodded proudly, crossing his arms as he stood up straight. "So, you want to go to your dorm now or are we gonna wait 'til later so that you can give your goodbye kisses to your glowing boy Min Ho over there?"
"I'm not giving him goodbye kisses," Kitty snickered, clicking her tongue, "but I'll be back in just a minute. Then we can talk. I'm kind of at a loss of what to do about him right now, anyways."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Q asked through a frown as she walked back over towards Min Ho.
A small smile quickly replaced her grimace as she approached him. "Sorry, Q's just really eager to catch up. He had a super busy summer, and he said he wants to hear about our travels too."
"Covey, you can go talk with Q. I'm not going to be all offended. He's your best friend. Besides, I'll see you at the welcome party tonight," Min Ho spoke through a polite smile.
"Yeah, see you then," Kitty said, smiling to hide the nervousness bubbling in her stomach. She gave him a quick side hug, making sure to not linger too long so it wouldn't make Q even more suspicious.
After turning around and taking a few steps towards Q, she heard Min Ho's voice call her name once more. "Hey, Covey?"
Kitty turned around, eagerly raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Try not to fall into the cupcake tower this time," He quipped through a smirk, winking before slowly turning back around to walk towards his dorm like a movie-star.
Kitty was left utterly flustered, standing there in shock.
Behind her, Q giggled like an infant much too pleased to be watching something as simple as a ceiling fan. "Oh my god, he's so hopelessly in love with you!"
She shot him a death glare. "You're evil."
"And you're in love with Min Ho," Q said, shrugging. "What's new?"
~~~
"Wait, so you haven't talked to him about it since then? And he hasn't tried to bring it up again?" Q asked through a frown.
They'd spent an entire hour in Kitty's single dorm going over what had occurred throughout their summers... and they'd spent an extra half hour talking solely about the situation with Min Ho because, admittedly, Q was their biggest shipper ever. Now, they were headed back to the guys dorm so that they could talk in Q's room, assuming he wasn't rooming with Min Ho.
Kitty shook her head. "Not really, but, I mean, there really hasn't been a good time. We had to say bye to Eunji and Joon Ho at the airport, and it was kind of hard on Min Ho. After the way he grew up, this summer was kind of... healing for him. It's crazy how quickly things can change when you're stuck with the same people for months on end."
"Aw, well at least that was good for him," Q said through a kind smile. "I just wish he'd admit his feelings for you. I mean, you said you had feelings for him. He really hasn't said anything in response?"
"It's kind of this unspoken thing. I feel bad, though. He's probably being so hesitant about it because of how I rejected him last time. I don't want to put him through anything like that again. I just wish he'd communicate his worries," Kitty muttered through a sigh.
Min Ho, who was sitting at the kitchen counter, talking to Dae, froze like a statue when she entered their dorm. "Covey? What are you doing here?"
Then, Q entered behind her.
"Kitty!" Dae exclaimed, his face lighting up.
He ran over to her, arms open for a hug. Kitty, who was happy to see her friend again, gladly accepted and warmly reciprocated his kindness. "Dae, I missed you!"
Ouch. Min Ho felt like he'd just been pinched. Was it jealousy? He wasn't sure. He could hug Kitty, just like Dae, but he'd never been able to hug Kitty like Dae had in the past. He just wanted the rawness.
"Hey, Min Ho," Kitty said, walking over to the seat he was sitting in. He returned a smile, his cheeks turning a light pink color. "Kitty. Miss me that much already?"
She visibly winced at the comment. Usually, his casual tone didn't get to her so easily. But today... being in Dae's presence... and Q's... it was different. "Wow, somebody's awfully cocky. Actually, I just came here to help Q unpack."
Min Ho's heart sank. Well played. He could do better, though. His eyes flickered to her lips, and then he smiled like he hadn't looked at her in any particularly romantic way. "Well, best to keep you busy so your usual chaos doesn't ensue."
"Rude," Kitty muttered, rolling her eyes, heading back towards Q's room.
When she opened the door, she froze, then turned on her heels to face Min Ho again. "Seriously?"
He merely shrugged. "What? It's my room too. I don't know what to tell you, Covey. Feel free to unpack as much of my things as you wish, too," He said, winking at her for the second time in less than one day.
Q let out some sort of a hybrid of a snort and a scoff. "This will be fun."