The Moon Family Yacht
The sun has just climbed past the horizon, casting golden light across the yacht near Gwangalli beach.
Even though the sky is no longer dark, it doesn’t feel like daylight has fully taken over either. It’s like being in that space between the end and the beginning.
Kitty and Min Ho walk midway through the yacht now, the last of their bickering trailing off into comfortable silence.
KITTY: It’s so quiet… where do you think everyone is?
MIN HO: Maybe they went back to their hotel?
They round the corner toward the karaoke space and stop.
Through the glass doors, they see Madison and Mihee sprawled across one couch. Q and Jin are slumped in a corner, using each other as pillows. Dae is curled up on another couch with one arm hanging off the edge. Yuri is wedged into an armchair that’s pretty small, but she’s somehow making it work.
MIN HO: Hm.
Kitty nudges Min Ho and they carefully walk past the doors like two people sneaking past a dragon’s den.
They reach the main deck, which is empty now, with chairs stacked and tables cleared. Kitty slows as she glances over the railing.
MIN HO: What’s wrong?
She points into the distance past the yacht, past the water, where there’s a stone pier. And beyond it, Gwangalli Beach. And beyond that, the bridge the fireworks exploded over.
KITTY: Isn’t that the pier you were on?
Min Ho follows her gaze and squints.
MIN HO: I think it is…
They both stare at it for a moment. At the pier where she found him. The beach where she confessed. The spot where they kissed while fireworks painted the sky.
It’s right there. Clearly visible from the yacht… From the party.
Kitty looks at Min Ho with her lips pressed together. She’s both a little embarrassed and a little amused.
KITTY: It was dark enough, right? And there were a lot of other people on the beach watching the fireworks. (with a light chuckle) And Q absolutely would have told me if any of our friends saw us…
Min Ho winces as he does the math he doesn’t want to do.
How many people were on deck? How many were looking at the fireworks? What even is the likelihood that someone in particular looked down instead of up? That might have seen two figures on the beach they recognized?
Before either of them can spiral further, footsteps approach.
Two staff members walk past and glance at Kitty and Min Ho, who are still in party clothes, clearly just returning, standing very close together at dawn with his arm draped over her shoulder.
Min Ho drops his arms to his sides and they both bow.
MIN HO: (in Korean) Good morning. Thank you for your hard work.
KITTY: (in broken Korean) Good morning. Thank you.
The staff bow back and keep walking. But the moment they’re past, Kitty catches the way they lean toward each other for whispered conversation.
Kitty and Min Ho exchange a look because this is a problem for future Kitty and Min Ho. They turn and keep walking, maybe a little faster now, toward the cabins.
They’re walking side by side with their shoulders brushing occasionally.
Kitty feels every one, and with each one, her heart does a little version of that thing it did all summer. Almost like she’s allowing it to happen now.
MIN HO: Oh, did you still want to go to that café today?
KITTY: Nn, they close at noon and I really want to sleep in… (shrugging) Q was supposed to just go with Jin anyway.
MIN HO: (slowing) Wait wait wait. You mean it was supposed to be their date? And then you were going to crash it by inviting yourself?
KITTY: Technically I invited the both of us so we were going to crash it together.
He looks at her in full indignation – the expression of a person who just remembered that this is the girl who invites third wheels onto her own dates, so why should he have expected differently?
KITTY: (brightly) It would have been a double date?
Min Ho suppresses a smile. She clearly invited him as her companion date anyway.
Before the beach, the confession, the fireworks.
She wanted him there.
He’s shaking his head in amusement as they approach the alcove. The one he stopped to see. The one where…
Min Ho’s eyes flicker over for just a glance. Kitty catches it.
KITTY: (quickly) Besides, you promised me bingsu today, remember?
Min Ho’s attention shifts back to her. The flicker passes as quickly as it came.
MIN HO: (with a smile) I do.
They reach the residential cabins now and slow down as they approach her door.
KITTY: (slowing down) So…
MIN HO: You look tired.
KITTY: I am tired.
MIN HO: (smiling softly) …I’ll see you later?
He leans in for a goodbye kiss. The kind people do when they’re parting. The normal, expected kind.
But her arms go around his neck before she realizes she’s even doing it, and the kiss shifts. It’s not a particularly long kiss, but it is a deep one. It’s soft and tender, full of gratitude and deep satisfaction.
And when they pull apart, her arms don’t move.
MIN HO: (soft) Covey, you’re going to have to let go.
KITTY: (quiet) Right…
The thing is, she can let go. If she did, she’d probably plop right down on her bed and fall asleep immediately. She might even get some of the best sleep of her life. She just… doesn’t want to.
Min Ho feels the reluctance as she slowly begins to lower her arms.
The responsible part of Min Ho’s brain is telling him to say goodbye.
But the rest of him is reminding him he just got her.
After all this time.
MIN HO: (quietly) Come on, then.
He removes her arms completely, then offers his hand. She smiles and takes it, because she wants the bubble with him more than anything else right now. Even more than sleep.
They walk further down and he opens his door.
Min Ho’s Room on the Yacht
The room is dark when they enter. Min Ho flips on a low light, one that gives off just enough to see, because his blackout curtains work too well.
Kitty’s been in here before. To show him something on her phone. To drag him on one of her chaotic adventures.
But she’s never stayed.
She hovers near the door as he moves to the dresser and looks through his clothes. He finds what he’s looking for: a pair of soft pajamas she’s seen him wear before. The most comfortable ones he owns.
He crosses the room to give them to her and their fingers brush as she takes them.
KITTY: (soft) Thanks.
She heads into his bathroom.
The moment she closes the door, she releases the breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
What is she even doing right now?
She shakes her head because she must be suffering insanity from lack of sleep.
But it’s too late. She’s in his bathroom with his clothes in her hand, so she commits herself to getting changed.
The shirt is soft, softer than she expected, and it smells like expensive detergent and something else she can’t name.
She gets to the pants and realizes they’re a little wide. She takes two steps and they’re already giving her trouble.
She stands there, holding them up as she stares at her reflection.
She could try to make them work. Keep pulling them up when they fall.
But she’s been awake for over 24 hours and her brain is running on fumes and she just… steps out of them.
The shirt hits halfway above her knees. It’s long enough… right?
He’s seen her in a bikini. It can’t be that different.
She looks at herself in the mirror – in his shirt, her legs bare and her hair undone now.
On second thought…
She cracks the bathroom door open, just enough to peek out.
A click echoes in the room as Kitty closes the bathroom door behind her.
Min Ho wasn’t thinking about it before, but now he’s standing there in disbelief at himself.
What is he doing?
He just offered her clothes to sleep in. She didn’t even really say anything and he just invited her here like it was that simple and now she’s-
But it’s too late.
He shakes it off and wills himself to move to the dresser for his own clothes.
Between the lack of sleep and his brain clearly running on nothing, he starts unbuttoning his shirt.
He gets his pajama pants on and is in the middle of getting his arms through the sleeves of the matching shirt when-
The bathroom door opens.
KITTY: Min Ho. Do you have different pants?
He turns to find her peeking through the crack in the door.
KITTY: (immediately) Oh, sorry-
She starts to pull the door closed but it’s too late.
MIN HO: It’s alright, Covey. You’ve seen me without a shirt on the beach anyways.
KITTY: Right…
MIN HO: Why are you asking for pants?
KITTY: They don’t fit.
Of course they don’t. He didn’t think about that.
MIN HO: I don’t think I have anything that would fit better.
KITTY: (quieter) Okay well… don’t make fun of me.
The door opens fully and she steps out in just his shirt, causing Min Ho’s brain to short-circuit.
He’s seen this before. Not in real life. But in one very specific dream he’s been trying not to think about since.
He forces his eyes to stay on her face as she crosses to his bed.
MIN HO: I won’t, Covey.
But he’s about to bloody lose it.
He looks away to finish with his shirt because he knows he’s making the face of a person who is using every ounce of willpower he has to not look anywhere below her chin.
She sits on the edge of his bed while he finishes the last of his buttons. Then she realizes something.
She gets up and disappears into the bathroom, returning a moment later with her sequined dress and his jacket. She holds the jacket out to him, then looks around for somewhere to put her dress, setting it on the chair in the corner.
Min Ho finds two hangers in his closet, then picks up her dress from the chair and hangs it first. He then picks up his jacket and pants, folding them neatly over the hanger.
Suddenly Kitty chuckles out loud.
MIN HO: What’s so funny?
KITTY: We didn’t get any sleep, and you’re still taking the time to hang up your suit. It’s very you.
MIN HO: It’s a $5,000 suit.
KITTY: (grinning) That’s why I said it’s very you.
Min Ho shakes his head, but he’s smiling.
He hangs his clothes on the same hook on top of her dress, then turns back to find her already climbing into bed on the side closest the door.
MIN HO: You don’t want to sleep closer to the window?
KITTY: No, I know you like sleeping on the right side.
He blinks at her. She just dropped that and she’s not even looking at him. She’s just… arranging herself. Pulling the covers up. Getting comfortable.
He stands there for a moment, then crosses to the other side and gets in.
The mattress dips under his weight and the sheets feel cooler against his skin in a way he never noticed before.
He reaches over and turns off the lights. The both of them shimmy and settle into their respective sides.
And now there’s just… silence.
Just silence and breathing and the yacht rocking gently beneath them.
Suddenly Min Ho isn’t sure if he’s tired anymore…
KITTY: Thanks for letting me join you.
He’s surprised she’s even engaging right now, given how tired she is.
MIN HO: I figured if I didn’t, you’d have kept me in the hallway for the next twenty minutes.
She goes to smack his arm, causing Min Ho to chuckle.
KITTY: I meant for the summer.
He turns his head to look at her. It’s probably pointless for him to do it since he can’t really see her. But he does it anyway.
MIN HO: What would you have done if I said no?
KITTY: …I don’t know. I guess… just see you at the beginning of senior year and… hope you didn’t find someone else.
MIN HO: …Hm.
She hears the skepticism and turns to face him.
KITTY: (pointedly) What did you think my answer was going to be?
MIN HO: I don’t know. Write a goodbye letter?
KITTY: Yeah, because that worked out so well for me last time.
MIN HO: That’s true… I guess I just thought you’d move on. Summer is a long time.
Kitty can tell he’s exhausted because he’s chosen not to say something sassy.
KITTY: You’re the one who said I needed to admit it out loud before I could move on.
MIN HO: And that clearly worked out so well for me.
She smiles now that his sarcastic self is back.
KITTY: Did it not though?
MIN HO: It sure did, sasaeng.
She goes to push him, but he somehow manages to catch her hand. He pulls it toward him, causing her to shift a little closer in the bed.
MIN HO: (softer) Thank you for coming with me.
It’s dark in the room. So dark that neither of them can really see each other. But Kitty can feel him smiling, can feel the softness in his expression from just his voice. It makes the warmth spread from her chest slowly into the rest of her body.
KITTY: Mm… you’re welcome…
Her voice trails off. Then, softly and unmistakably, she lets out the tiniest snore.
Min Ho chuckles quietly in the dark. Of course she would fall asleep like this.
His thumb brushes over her knuckles once, and then he’s drifting too.
Kitty drifts awake slowly.
There’s no light. No real sense of time. Just warmth and weight and the steady rhythm of breathing behind her.
It takes her a moment to register the position. His chest is against her back. His arm is around her waist. Her body is curved into his like they’ve been doing this for a while.
They haven’t, obviously.
But she’s too comfortable and too tired to move and clearly they managed to do this at some point.
His arm tightens around her, even though he’s clearly asleep.
She doesn’t pull away, though. If anything, she settles back closer into him.
They stay like that for a while, just drifting. She’s not quite asleep, but not quite awake either.
Then she feels his voice, low and rough, close to her ear.
MIN HO: You’re quite loud in your sleep, Covey.
KITTY: I’m not that loud.
MIN HO: Stop trying to be precious about it. We were roommates for a semester. We all know you snore.
KITTY: I will end you.
MIN HO: Hm. I’d like to see you try.
She can practically feel the smile on his lips.
Actually, now that she thinks about it… can’t she?
She’s beginning to really wake up now, and she finally realizes that she feels his lips right there behind her.
He must be beginning to wake up too, because the next thing she knows, he’s pressing a kiss against her neck softly.
Her breath catches.
He’s barely awake. He’s not trying to go anywhere. He just finds her whole defensiveness endearing.
Then he pulls away. She feels the loss of his arm around her waist as he turns over.
She hears a click and soft light fills the room.
MIN HO: It’s past noon.
KITTY: Wow, I would not have guessed that.
She feels the mattress shift as he turns back toward her. She’s already turning toward him, so when his arm settles back at her waist, they’re facing each other.
He’s looking at her the way one does when one wakes up next to someone they care about.
And she’s giving that same look back.
He leans in slowly for a real kiss this time. She’s already tilting her chin up to meet him when-
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
DAE: (through the door) Min Ho, you in there?
Their eyes go wide. They whip their heads toward the door, then back to each other.
The conversation is completely silent.
Because they both look disheveled from the long night. Because his arm is still around her waist and they’re in bed together. Because she’s wearing his shirt and only his shirt. And if Dae sees this-
It won’t matter that they didn’t do anything. Because it looks like exactly what it isn’t.
Kitty moves fast. She’s out of the bed and sprinting for the bathroom as Min Ho yanks the covers off. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, pausing for a second-
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Q: (through the door) Yo, Min Ho. Wake up.
Min Ho braces himself and crosses to the door, opening it with a very measured smile.
MIN HO: Hello.
Dae, Q, and Jin are standing in the hallway. All three of them are disheveled, still in yesterday’s clothes, clearly having just woken up.
DAE: Oh, you’re actually here. When did you get back? We were looking for you.
MIN HO: Early. I saw you all passed out in the karaoke room so I came back here to sleep.
JIN: We can tell. We just got up and we’re gonna grab lunch, so hurry up.
Jin walks past Min Ho like he owns the place, making a beeline right for the bathroom.
MIN HO: (too quickly) You can’t go in there.
JIN: (turning) Why not?
MIN HO: …Because I don’t trust you not to steal my hair products.
DAE: True. Plus he might stink up your bathroom.
JIN: Okay, first of all…
Jin is already falling into his usual rhythm against Dae and Min Ho.
Behind them all, Q rolls his eyes and then pauses when his gaze lands on the hooks by the door. On the peek of shiny pink sequins hanging behind Min Ho’s suit.
Q’s eyes go wide. Isn’t that… Kitty’s dress?
Min Ho happens to look over at Q at this exact moment, catching the shift in Q’s expression. Min Ho follows Q’s gaze and finds the dress.
Then their eyes meet. A silent conversation happens in the span of two seconds.
Q points subtly toward the bathroom. Min Ho gives a tiny, reluctant nod.
Q presses both hands against his mouth. He’s barely containing himself. They’re finally together and now she’s hiding in his bathroom in not the dress she wore after they were gone all night?
DAE: Whatever, I need the bathroom too.
Dae is already moving toward the bathroom door. His hand has barely reached the handle when-
Q: Wait!
Dae stops and turns back.
Q: I just… I’m really hungry. Like, actually starving. Can we please just go?
Q is already moving to put an arm around Dae, guiding him back out of Min Ho’s room.
DAE: What? I’ll only be two minutes-
Q opens his mouth to respond but gets distracted as he almost trips over something on the floor.
Q, Jin, and Min Ho all look down.
Kitty’s heels.
Q’s eyes go wide and he panic-urges Dae forward, practically shoving him toward the door.
Jin looks at Min Ho with a giddy and knowing look. But Min Ho doesn’t notice.
Min Ho is too busy kicking the heels under the bed because Dae is starting to turn around to see what all the ruckus is about-
JIN: (too quickly) Yeah, we were gonna go to this café to get their special spicy cheese toast. I’ll treat you.
DAE: Aren’t you lactose?
Q: (with a nervous laugh) That’s literally why Lactaid exists.
Q nods fervently as he drags Dae out of the door and into the hallway.
Jin hovers at the doorway and turns back with the biggest smirk on his face.
JIN: You can’t complain about me stealing your hair products. For the rest of the year.
He’s gone before Min Ho can respond.
The door clicks shut and Min Ho exhales. Wow, was that close.
Min Ho stands there for a second, then he crosses to the bathroom and knocks.
MIN HO: Kitty, they’re gone.
The door opens slowly. Kitty peeks out, and they look at each other as they talk at almost the same time:
KITTY: We have to tell him today.
MIN HO: We absolutely need to tell him today.
Then Kitty is moving. She grabs her dress off the hanger and spots her shoes under the bed. She takes them, then clutches it all to her chest.
Meanwhile, Min Ho has opened the door and is checking the hallway.
MIN HO: You’re clear.
She bolts for her room with her stuff clutched against her chest like contraband. Luckily, her room is not very far. She beeps herself right in and her door clicks shut behind her.
Kitty’s Room on the Yacht
Kitty stands in front of a small vanity mirror as her fingers work through her damp hair. There’s no time to blow dry, so braids it is.
She’s in well-fitted denim shorts and a simple sage green crop top. Something that looks good on her without looking like she’s trying too hard, even though she agonized about what she’d wear while she showered.
She doesn’t think about how she’ll be wearing this when things change. She just knows she needs to look human and she has three minutes to do it before the friend group starts blasting her in chat for holding them up from lunch… Or is it breakfast?
Her mind drifts to earlier. The warmth of waking up with Min Ho. The way he looked at her when they woke up-
KNOCK KNOCK
Kitty crosses to the door with a little skip in her step.
She opens her door with a smile.
It’s Yuri. Somehow, amazingly, she doesn’t look that disheveled.
KITTY: Oh… Hey, Yuri.
YURI: Ugh, finally. Madison and I knocked earlier but I guess you were in the shower.
Kitty steps back to let Yuri in. Yuri heads right for Kitty’s bed and plops down.
YURI: Hurry up. We’ve been waiting forever.
Kitty begins to pack her purse.
Meanwhile, Yuri’s eyes drift and land downwards on the bed. Specifically, on the shirt on the bed.
Yuri reaches over and picks it up, examining it with the eye of someone who knows clothing – noting the quality of the stitching, the buttons on the wrong side.
Kitty looks up from putting on her sneakers and sees Yuri’s face, which is practically screaming judgement.
KITTY: Oh, that. (with a light chuckle) I just borrowed that from Min Ho.
YURI: (raising her eyebrows) Why would you borrow his pajamas when you have your own clothes on the ship?
Kitty doesn’t have an answer for that. But she doesn’t need one, because Yuri has already put it together.
YURI: So that’s where you disappeared to last night.
KITTY: No!
Kitty almost loses her balance because she’s straightened herself up too quickly.
KITTY: We just- we walked around Busan.
Yuri looks at Kitty flatly as the very obvious deflection hangs in the air between them.
KITTY: And we want to tell Dae first.
Yuri tosses the shirt back on the bed.
YURI: I won’t say anything.
Kitty sighs in relief because even though they’re not trying to hide anything, she really doesn’t want Dae to find out any other way.
YURI: Plus everyone already knows.
KITTY: What? How would they know?
YURI: Kitty, you spent an entire summer with him and his family. You’d have to be stupid not to figure it out.
KITTY: But we didn’t get together until last night.
Yuri looks at her skeptically, almost pitying.
YURI: Congratulations? We already thought you’ve been hooking up all summer. Why else would Madison joke about you being joined at the hip?
Kitty’s face falls. This is a problem she hadn’t considered.
KITTY: Does Dae think that too?
YURI: I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything.
Kitty is fully lost in her thoughts now. She only considered whether Dae thought they were together together, not… together.
YURI: You can have your existential crisis later. Right now, we’re all starving.
Yuri is already moving toward the door when Kitty pulls herself back to the present.
KITTY: Yeah. Okay.
Gwangalli Beach
Kitty takes the first few steps off the gangway. Yuri follows just barely behind her.
It’s so different from last night, when she walked off searching for Min Ho like she needed to find him.
She’s still looking, but not in the same way.
Kitty spots the friend group gathered loosely on the sand next to the car road. There’s no Min Ho.
But Madison is loudly complaining about her hunger to anyone who will listen. Mihee is nodding along.
Dae is occupied with Eunice… but she should probably wait for Min Ho anyway. They said they’d tell Dae together and he isn’t here-
She smiles because he’s probably still doing his hair.
Kitty and Yuri have barely made it to the group when the first cab pulls up to the curb.
Before Kitty can stop, two familiar voices bellow from behind.
Q: Dibs!
JIN: And dibs on Kitty.
KITTY: Wait, what?
But Q and Jin have already looped their arms through hers and are now lightly dragging her towards the cab.
Q opens the cab door and Jin guides Kitty inside. They pile in after her. The moment the door slams shut, Q looks knowingly over at Kitty because they’ve been holding onto her little secret for way too long now.
Q: Katherine Song Covey. I underestimated you.
JIN: Yeah, we didn’t think you’d actually hook up.
KITTY: We didn’t! We just slept together. Not like slept together. We just slept. Together.
She shakes her head because she realizes this isn’t helping.
KITTY: We just fell asleep, in the same bed, together. Nothing else happened.
Q and Jin look at her with matching flat expressions of disbelief.
KITTY: Come on, you would know if I’m lying.
Q and JIN: (sighs) We know you’re not.
Q: (deflated) Well, chaos queen, you owe us. I thought I was going to have a heart attack trying to cover up for you two.
JIN: I don’t think Dae noticed. He was too busy being annoyed that we couldn’t get the cheese toast.
KITTY: We’re going to tell him. Today. We just don’t know how we’re going to bring it up or how he’s going to react because Yuri told me Dae might think we’ve been hooking up all summer?
Q: Mm. It doesn’t matter if he does.
KITTY: Why wouldn’t it? If Dae thinks we’ve been hooking up, he’ll think we’ve been lying to him this entire time.
Q: Babe, you kind of already have.
Kitty just blinks at Q. She’s trying to find out what he means, because as far as she can tell, neither she nor Min Ho lied about the summer.
Q: Remember when Dae threatened to kill Min Ho before the plane confession? Dae probably saw something.
KITTY: …But nothing was happening then. I was dealing with my massive feelings for Yuri, remember?
Q: Maybe not officially. But did you feel anything for Min Ho?
Kitty stops and thinks back. To the bickering that felt like more than bickering. To the things she told herself didn’t count because she was focused on Dae, then Yuri, then anyone but the boy who kept showing up anyway.
Q: It counts. Especially to Dae.
Kitty nods as she files it away. She’s going to have to be honest with Dae, which means Min Ho will hear it too…
She rolls her eyes because she knows Min Ho will somehow be insufferable about it later.
Restaurant at the Hotel
The cab pulls up to the restaurant with several large outdoor tables.
Juliana and Praveena are already seated at one. They look refreshed, with their hair done and clothes fresh, like people who slept in actual beds and showered at a reasonable hour.
They were the only ones who did.
Juliana spots them as they exit the vehicle and waves them over. As they approach, Juliana clocks Q’s state of dress.
JULIANA: You look like you could use a shower.
Q: (flat) Haha. We slept on the floor.
JULIANA: Bet you won’t make fun of us next time for leaving at 11.
Kitty slides into the seat across from them, with Q and Jin settling in to her left.
PRAVEENA: Where’s everyone else?
Right on cue, two other cabs pull up in front of the restaurant.
Madison spills out first, still mid-complaint about her hunger, with Dae and Yuri following behind her.
From the other vehicle-
Soft chimes and a low whoosh begin to play.
Min Ho exits casually, wearing bespoke sunglasses and a short-sleeve linen shirt unbuttoned over a white tank. The denim of his jeans is the same shade as her shorts, but Kitty doesn’t notice that yet.
She’s too busy noticing everything else.
The way his hair looks casually done. The way the linen drapes off his shoulders. The way his arms look as he’s holding the door open for Mihee and Eunice to step out.
Kitty thinks about the tent this morning.
About the moment he rolled up his sleeves to get more comfortable and more serious for gonggi, and she felt a soft flutter in her chest.
Min Ho looks at the group of people at the table, and Kitty sees the corner of his mouth lift as his head turns in her direction.
She forgets she probably shouldn’t be looking. Not this obviously, at least.
JULIANA: Wow, you two match on purpose?
The comment brings Kitty right back to reality.
Kitty pauses, then looks down at what she’s wearing.
The denim. It’s the same exact shade. And the sage of her crop top is the undertone of his linen shirt.
KITTY: What do you mean we’re a match? We didn’t talk to each other about what we were wearing or anything.
Kitty is talking so suspiciously fast that it doesn’t take a spy to figure out she’s got something to hide.
PRAVEENA: Oh my god, you’re totally together.
But Kitty is already panicking because Dae is barely a few feet behind Praveena.
KITTY: (aggressively) Sh! Incoming!
Yuri makes her way over to the end of the table by the wall, putting as much distance between herself and Praveena as she can. Dae sits down next to her and Eunice sits on his other side.
On the other side of the table, Madison makes a beeline for the empty seat next to Kitty. Mihee settles in beside her, and Min Ho arrives last, taking the remaining seat by the wall across from Yuri.
Orders get placed in waves, with Madison first because she’s “literally dying,” then a cluster of people who just point at what she got, because they’re all too tired and all too hungry to care.
Juliana orders for both herself and Praveena without asking, a casual intimacy that Kitty clocks and then un-clocks when she notices Yuri noticing it too.
And then the menus are gone and there’s nothing to hide behind.
Someone brings up the karaoke room. Mihee claims Jin was snoring. Jin denies it and accuses Dae of stealing the only good pillow.
It’s easy. It’s normal. It’s the kind of chaos Kitty thrives in.
But today she’s only half in it. The other half is tracking Min Ho’s laugh from three seats down. The way Dae is participating just enough to seem… fine?
The food arrives and the conversation shifts as people eat. Tour stories start surfacing. Eunice mentions something about a venue in Daegu with the worst acoustics she’s ever heard.
EUNICE: And Kitty almost set me on fire.
Q: Wait, what?
EUNICE: I was singing the slow bridge when the pyrotechnics went off right in front of me. I screamed.
KITTY: I didn’t mean for that to happen! I was just supposed to tell the team to put the fireworks after the bridge… In… Korean.
A chorus of “ahs” echo around the table.
MIN HO: (with a smirk) She literally told them to burn the bridge.
Kitty whips her head in Min Ho’s direction.
KITTY: Min Ho. Not helping.
Q: Kitty does have a knack for trial by fire.
MADISON: Which totally ruined the fan dance last year. (sighs) My K-pop dream. Shattered.
MIHEE: Yeah, I heard Min Ho had to run and save you.
The table goes quiet for a moment. But Kitty doesn’t notice.
She’s too busy thinking about the fire on her dress. About how she was panicking and the next thing she knows Min Ho is just… there, looking at her like all that mattered was that she was safe…
Dae was right. She did feel something.
YURI: Sorry, Kitty.
Kitty blinks back to the present.
KITTY: Oh… that’s okay. Everyone’s friends again.
She means it. They are friends again.
But across the table, Dae has gone silent as he thinks about what “friends” means now.
Q: Okay, I’m bloated. Anyone want to hit Haeundae Beach before our train leaves?
MIHEE: Yes! But I need to head upstairs and shower first. I feel disgusting.
The group starts dispersing in agreement. People reach for wallets, push back chairs, and gather their things.
Min Ho, however, is still quiet.
He’s thinking about the fire too. About running towards Kitty without thinking. About the wall – his back against it, Dae’s hands on his shirt.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know!”
He remembers the hurt on Dae’s face. The anger in his best friend’s voice. And even though he hadn’t done anything wrong – not technically, not yet…
He had feelings. Dae saw it before Min Ho was ready to admit it.
Now here they are again.
Dae gathers himself. He’s about to get up and walk away. He’s about to go shower, and go to the beach – go through the rest of the day not knowing.
Min Ho looks at Kitty and she’s already looking back at him.
Now?
Kitty thinks about everything she hasn’t told Min Ho. What Yuri said. What Q said.
But Dae is getting up and they said together, so she nods.
Min Ho catches Dae’s eye just as Dae gets up.
MIN HO: Dae. Can we talk?
Eunice glances at Min Ho, then at Kitty who is clearly tuned into the conversation. She turns to place a light supportive hand on Dae’s arm.
EUNICE: I’m going to enjoy the AC. See you inside.
PRAVEENA: Yeah, me too.
Then, quietly, even the friends who don’t need to shower all get up to move somewhere else.
And now it’s just the three of them – Dae on one side, and Kitty and Min Ho on the other with space between them.
Like a triangle.
Dae slowly sits down in his seat.
The silence seems to stretch, and suddenly all Kitty can hear is her heart beating loudly.
There’s a breeze in the air, which feels chilling somehow, even with the sun out and the comfortable temperature outside.
MIN HO: Dae… something happened. And I want you to hear it from me before…
Min Ho closes his eyes.
Because this is hard. This is his best friend. And the words aren’t coming the way he wants them to.
Kitty looks at Dae’s face. He looks serious, like he already suspected something the moment Min Ho opened his mouth. Dae is wearing the kind of face someone makes when they’re not going to accept humor.
Which means he’ll only accept the truth.
KITTY: I confessed to Min Ho last night.
The blunt calmness in Kitty’s voice makes Dae whip his head over. Because he… wasn’t actually expecting her to do… this.
Neither was Min Ho, apparently, because he’s now looking at Kitty in mild disbelief. But he knows she’s as honest as one goes when she commits.
And she has. Committed.
KITTY: And we’re dating. We wanted you to be the first to know. We really care about you.
Dae takes in what Kitty said and the silence stretches, again.
Then Dae turns back to Min Ho.
DAE: You didn’t know before last night?
MIN HO: …I didn’t… I thought she might have felt something, but we never talked about it.
Dae was expecting Min Ho to deflect a little. But he… isn’t?
DAE: And before that?
MIN HO: How could I believe in this? Not after the plane, or Seollal.
Kitty feels something twist in her chest. It’s not guilt. It’s more like an understanding, because of how hard it was to climb the wall she built between them.
DAE: But you thought there was something.
Min Ho struggles to answer for a moment. He meant to move on, especially after she called him her friend over and over again.
But if he really did think there was nothing… why hope?
MIN HO: …A little bit, yeah.
Dae nods slowly, because now that they’re together, neither of them are putting up the walls he’s used to feeling.
Dae looks over at Kitty. He knows what he’s going to ask, but he still has to brace himself for it.
DAE: And before that? Was I right? At the fan dance?
Kitty feels it in her stomach, because this is the real question, isn’t it?
She knows Dae isn’t the type to get truly violent. And Dae knows that Kitty knows that. They’ve known each other since they were 12, after all.
KITTY: Dae, I never lied to you about Yuri-
DAE: I know why you broke up with me. That’s not what I asked.
Because Dae has known Min Ho longer than he’s known Kitty. And Min Ho is too proud to actually fantasize.
DAE: Were we right?
Min Ho looks right at Dae.
Dae just said “we,” like they were both somehow on the same page the whole time.
And Kitty accepts, finally, that she was the origin of a triangle she’d drawn. However subconscious that was.
KITTY: I think so. Yeah.
Dae’s jaw tightens. His gaze drops and he nods lightly. It’s the kind of nod someone does when they’re trying to convince themselves they’re okay with what they just heard.
Kitty and Min Ho watch Dae’s face for anger or hurt. For anything, really. But Dae isn’t giving much of anything to read.
DAE: Okay. I’m going to shower.
Kitty and Min Ho exchange a look. A flicker of panic passes between them.
Is this it? Is he just going to leave?
Dae gets up and starts to walk away. Both Min Ho and Kitty are already up before they realize.
Min Ho is faster, though. He puts a brief and gentle hand on her shoulder as he passes, like a reassurance.
And Kitty understands. That the people who need to figure out if they can survive this… doesn’t include her.
MIN HO: Dae.
Dae turns around to find Min Ho right behind him.
DAE: What do you want me to say?
Min Ho opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.
DAE: (in Korean) You got what you wanted. What do you want from me? My blessing?
MIN HO: (in Korean) No.
Dae lets go of all pretense now. The disappointment, the relief, the resignation, the grief for how things turned out in this reality where his ex and best friend fell for each other – it all hits at once. And frankly, he slept like shit.
DAE: So let me go take a shower.
Min Ho nods, just slightly, because he doesn’t really know if this means he’ll never get to talk to Dae again.
But Dae asked for space. So he stands there and watches as his best friend turns and walks away.
After a few moments, Min Ho feels Kitty’s hands on his arm. He looks over at her and his expression softens.
She knows that was hard for Min Ho. Letting Dae go.
But there’s something in the look they share. They knew this was the risk. And they did it anyway.
Min Ho puts his arm over her shoulder and she leans into him. Then they both turn to look at where Dae went.
KITTY: You didn’t get punched though?
Min Ho turns to give her a flat look. Is she being for real right now?
Kitty blinks back all innocently, because of course she is.
The both of them walk toward the hotel entrance as they process what just happened.
KITTY: He also didn’t say he was done with the friendship. Or yell at us, or anything…
MIN HO: I guess. It almost feels worse this way.
KITTY: Oh my god, it does, doesn’t it?
They walk through the automatic doors-
Eunice, Juliana, and Praveena scramble to look like they weren’t watching everything. Juliana and Praveena actually manage to look normal, but Eunice definitely doesn’t. She’s frozen mid-motion in a pose that makes her obviously guilty of spying.
Everyone just looks at each other for a moment.
JULIANA: So were you together the whole summer, or…
KITTY: Not the whole summer. Just from yesterday.
EUNICE: Congratulations, you two! Joon Ho’s been so excited about it.
MIN HO: What do you mean? We didn’t tell my family yet.
Eunice immediately blinks back as she realizes she definitely shouldn’t have said that.
KITTY: Eunice…
EUNICE: Joon Ho overheard Madison talking about how you two left for a late night rendezvous. And then he told Eunji. And your dad overheard…
Kitty and Min Ho’s eyes widen. Now they know why Mr. Moon posted that Instagram.
MIN HO: (exhaling) Well, that also explains why Mihee air-quoted when she asked me how our “bingsu date” went last night.
KITTY: (gasping) You still owe me bingsu!
Min Ho looks at Kitty fondly, because her chaotic priority system would put the bingsu above the conversation that is currently happening.
The friends, on the other hand, exchange a look because Kitty just confirmed they weren’t doing what they weren’t doing, so what were they doing?
The implication hangs in the air as everyone tries very hard to keep a straight face.
Min Ho catches the looks on everyone’s faces. His expression flattens as he realizes what they’re all thinking.
Suddenly Eunice’s phone buzzes.
EUNICE: Oh, it’s my manager.
JULIANA: I’m thirsty.
PRAVEENA: Hotel bar?
And before they know it the three of them have walked off, leaving behind a staring Min Ho and a Kitty whose expression shifts because it looks like it just clicked for her.
Min Ho just presses his lips together and shakes his head as he looks for a diversion, because talking about it would be so much more embarrassing than just letting it go.
He looks out of the window, and suddenly it’s like the universe gave him the perfect out.
Lo and behold, across the street, in the distance, is a bingsu spot.
MIN HO: Come on, Covey.
He goes to grab her hand. Casually. Like there’s really no need to prevent it at all.
MIN HO: I owe you dessert.
Bingsu Café
Kitty and Min Ho walk into the bingsu shop, still holding hands. Kitty is swinging their hands between them. She’s clearly in a much better mood.
KITTY: That’s how Q figured out I was in the bathroom? I can’t tell who’s scarier, him or Madison.
MIN HO: Mm, definitely Madison. Q will at least keep things to himself.
KITTY: True.
The person in front finishes ordering and moves aside.
CASHIER: (in Korean) Hello! What can I get for you?
KITTY and MIN HO: (in Korean) Two injeolmi bingsus, please.
Kitty and Min Ho look at each other all amused because they’ve clearly done this so many times that even Kitty knows what to say in her broken Korean.
CASHIER: (in Korean) Oh, we have a large size. It’s popular with couples.
Min Ho almost instinctively says no, but then he realizes… there really is no reason to say no.
MIN HO: (in Korean) Let’s do that. Thank you.
Kitty doesn’t catch all of the conversation, but that’s probably because she’s already moved on to eyeing the toppings display.
KITTY: Extra almonds?
MIN HO: Oh, good idea. (in Korean) And extra almonds, please.
KITTY: So your dad really hasn’t texted you?
MIN HO: Surprisingly, no. He might be too busy putting out the Bianca and Sujin fire to focus on us. Last time my sisters fought on tour, Dad had to open a 24-hour emotional damage café for all the angry fans.
KITTY: Huh.
MIN HO: I just hope he’s focusing on his new rising stars instead of forcing us to take his arts electives for senior year.
KITTY: He still hasn’t decided if he’s coming back to teach at KISS? Classes literally start the day after tomorrow.
MIN HO: (exhaling) That’s my dad.
The cashier walks over with a comically large bowl of bingsu, topped with condensed milk, red beans, injeolmi rice cakes, and a generous pile of almonds.
But that’s not what makes Min Ho’s eyes go wide.
It’s the two heart-shaped spoons. The pink and red sprinkles around the rim. The little flag sticking out of the top that says “COUPLE SIZE” in glittery letters. The bowl itself that has tiny hearts printed all over it.
It looks like Valentine’s Day threw up on a dessert.
CASHIER: (in Korean) One large injeolmi bingsu with extra almonds. Enjoy.
KITTY and MIN HO: (awkwardly, in Korean) Thank you.
Min Ho stares at the bowl as he slowly grabs it from the cashier. Kitty is already giggling in the background.
KITTY: I didn’t know you were into stuff like this.
MIN HO: I didn’t know it’s what I ordered.
Kitty laughs louder now and points directly at the sizing chart on the counter to the right. There’s a large sign with very blatant advertising on said couples size bowl.
Min Ho makes a little wince as he realizes this is absolutely his own fault and that Kitty is probably going to-
Aaaand she’s already snapping photos in complete delight.
Min Ho sighs. He knows it’s going to come back to bite him at some point. But he’s already committed, so he just takes one of the obnoxious heart-shaped spoons and holds it out to her. Kitty takes it gleefully, and they walk off together, with Min Ho carrying the most aggressively romantic dessert in all of Busan.
Kitty and Min Ho are seated at a table outside the café with the bingsu bowl between them. Min Ho nods as he takes a bite. It’s actually pretty good.
Kitty takes a bite, then checks her phone when it buzzes with a message.
KITTY: Huh. Lara Jean told Peter we’re together now and Peter is having the time of his life.
MIN HO: Really? Why’s that?
KITTY: Peter bet that you never actually got over me and now Lara Jean owes him one very expensive steak dinner.
MIN HO: They had a bet?
KITTY: (too brightly) They sure did! Remember when he visited me at KISS last semester and we bumped into you at the stationery store? See, Peter thought you still liked me because you kept calling me by my last… name…
Kitty trails off and Min Ho pauses mid-scoop as they both arrive at the exact same conclusion.
Kitty sees Min Ho’s mouth drop with the realization and she’s already mentally pinching herself for giving him ammunition-
MIN HO: Oh. My. Gosh. That’s why you panic confessed when I called you Kitty last night!
Kitty sighs because Min Ho is already way too smug.
MIN HO: (amazed) You didn’t want me to, because you tell all your friends to call you Kitty.
KITTY: (muttering) Okay.
MIN HO: You thought I friendzoned you!
KITTY: (pointing knowingly) You were friendzoning me. And need I remind you that you only did that because you thought I was friendzoning you first so who was actually overreacting here.
MIN HO: (smugly) You, sasaeng.
KITTY: I-
Kitty is stuck. And she knows that he knows that she’s stuck. Because he’s figured out that she wanted to – wants to – be special to him.
MIN HO: Hm.
Min Ho is wearing a full smirk now, as if this completely recharged his battery.
Kitty narrows her eyes at him. She wants to wipe the smirk right off his face.
KITTY: (pointedly) Okay, don’t get too comfortable. (teasing) Peter is full of himself right now because he knows how jealous you were of him.
MIN HO: (scoffs) Jealous? Why would I be jealous of your sister’s boyfriend?
KITTY: (with a smirk) I don’t know, Min Ho, you tell me. Because you were all weirdly British with him.
MIN HO: How was I weirdly British?
KITTY: You called him “mate” and I have never heard you call anyone that before.
MIN HO: (smirk fading) It’s how you address people in London.
KITTY: Okay but we were in Seoul and he’s American. Also…
Kitty leans in with a bright and knowing look.
KITTY: You were totally jealous that I asked Peter to buy me a pen.
MIN HO: (caught off guard) You asked him to?
Kitty giggles as Min Ho’s face flattens, because she’s absolutely caught him.
MIN HO: (sighs) It’s just something you do for someone you care about… that way.
KITTY: I did bring him there so he could buy something for Lara Jean, not me. It’s not like he’d have a reason to buy me anything without her.
MIN HO: (quietly) Yeah. He wouldn’t.
Kitty’s grin falters. Because the way Min Ho said that…
Oh.
Min Ho didn’t have a reason. He wasn’t her boyfriend. Or her brother-in-law. He was just… her friend.
That’s why Min Ho was jealous. Because he wanted to be special to her too.
Kitty is grinning now as she realizes they’re just two silly people who wanted to be special to each other.
And the good news is: now they can.
KITTY: Well, I could use a trip back there. I broke that pen.
Min Ho looks up from eating and sees the softness in her expression, like she’s reminding him he has more than enough reason now.
MIN HO: (softly) It’s a date.
She smiles widely, then goes back to the bingsu, scooping a bite for herself. Then she uses her spoon to nudge the extra almonds toward his side of the bowl.
Min Ho smiles and takes a bite with the almonds she pushed his way.
They eat in comfortable silence. And there’s something really sweet about it. About the two of them finishing this ridiculous, heart-covered, couple-sized bingsu in the afternoon sun, together.
They both take their final bites when both their phones buzz. Min Ho’s eyebrows raise as he reads the message.
MIN HO: It’s the group chat. (reading) “You two losers are taking too long.” “Yeah, we all left already. We barely have two hours before our train leaves.” “Meet you there.”
KITTY: Oh, we should go then.
Min Ho nods, and in a split second they’re already standing up. Kitty puts all the trash into the bowl and Min Ho picks it up to throw it out. They work like a very efficient team that has had more than enough reason to make this work.
Haeundae Beach
It’s not quite golden hour yet. But the bright light has started to soften, casting long shadows across the sand and turning the water a deeper blue.
Kitty and Min Ho walk along the shoreline with their shoes in hand. The beach is crowded around them.
Kitty checks her phone again, as if that’s going to help.
KITTY: Yuri said they’re by a lifeguard tower.
MIN HO: There’s like five of those.
KITTY: (pointedly) Yes, Min Ho. I am well aware of the problem. (groans) I can’t believe we ran into so much traffic on the way over. I didn’t think everyone would want to come to the beach this late in the afternoon.
MIN HO: I can’t believe anyone would want to come to the beach at all. It’s an SPF nightmare.
Min Ho shudders slightly as he mentally plans his recovery routine – vitamin C serum, aloe, a hydrating sheet mask… Maybe two sheet masks.
KITTY: Okay, pretty boy. It’s really not that big of a deal. Plus you can just hide underwater.
MIN HO: Covey, that’s not how that works. You should know. You literally got sunburnt in Okinawa while swimming.
KITTY: (sighs) I do wish I had a swimsuit on. I’m melting right now… You know what. I don’t care.
Kitty drops her shoes and purse on the sand right there. And then she’s beelining for the water before Min Ho can respond.
The moment her feet hit the water, Kitty breathes a sigh of relief. It’s cool and perfect and she immediately understands why the beach is so crowded. She finds herself wading deeper until the water reaches her knees.
Kitty looks out at the green hills of Dongbaekseom Island to her left and the skyscrapers of Marine City rising to her right. She’s just standing between ocean and city. It’s beautiful.
She turns back to Min Ho with a grin already on her face.
KITTY: Min Ho! Take my picture! I want to rub the view in Lara Jean’s face.
Min Ho shakes his head in amusement. He would’ve taken the picture anyway, but hearing her reasoning makes it way more entertaining.
He pulls out his phone and they get into the rhythm of things, not unlike what they’ve done all summer. In fact, they’re so busy taking photos that neither of them notices the wave building behind her.
It crashes right into Kitty, causing her to yelp loudly. She’s standing there in disbelief because she didn’t think she waded that deep. But the left half of her shirt and some of her hair is now drenched.
Min Ho is just laughing because he managed to get it all on camera.
KITTY: Delete it!
MIN HO: (grinning) No. It’s my new wallpaper now.
KITTY: Min Ho!
Min Ho zooms right in on her face and turns his phone screen towards her in triumph.
Kitty is about to march over there when a bigger wave hits. It knocks her off balance completely and she disappears under the water.
Min Ho’s laughter cuts off immediately, and what feels like a few seconds too long passes.
MIN HO: Kitty?
He tosses his phone onto the sand next to her bag and runs into the water without thinking.
MIN HO: Kitty!
He’s reaching into the water where she went under when her arm shoots out and grabs his wrist. Before he can react, she yanks. Hard.
Min Ho goes down face-first into the water.
He comes up sputtering to find Kitty just standing there, already laughing so hard she can barely breathe.
He pushes his hair back and looks at her like she just told him she used all his anti-aging serum.
MIN HO: Covey! The shirt is bespoke!
KITTY: How sad for you.
She’s just grinning. Completely unrepentant.
And then, against all reason, he starts laughing too, because how many times is he going to ruin his clothes for this girl?
Kitty watches his face shift from annoyed to something softer, and she feels it in her chest. That warmth she’s still getting used to.
She wades closer to him and pulls him in for a kiss. And even though all she can taste is salt water, it somehow tastes sweet.
When she pulls back, he chases her lips for another one. Because he didn’t really get to when they woke up. Not properly, anyway.
Another wave swells behind them, threatening to crash, and they both break the kiss just in time to see it coming.
KITTY: Oh.
They wade out quickly, laughing and stumbling as they make it back to shore. When they reach their stuff, Min Ho looks down at his ruined linen shirt.
He looks around and spots a gift shop in the distance.
MIN HO: We might need to buy some towels.
But Kitty isn’t paying attention. She has her phone out and is working a little too intently on something. He knows because she has that signature mischievous smile on her face.
MIN HO: Wow Covey. Trying to get the last word in with your sister before she falls asleep?
KITTY: (triumphantly) Nope. I moved on to a different kind of revenge.
She turns her screen toward him, and Min Ho swears that mischievous grin on her face just got worse.
Her wallpaper is now a photo of Min Ho holding the bingsu from earlier. The one with the glitter. And the heart spoons. And his expression of dawning horror.
He knew it would come back to bite him.
Min Ho is just looking at her, his expression completely flat, because he’s dating chaos incarnate and chaos incarnate is enjoying this way too much.
Min Ho narrows his eyes at her and Kitty’s grin falters because he’s analyzing her like a predator eyeing their prey from a distance.
Kitty blinks once innocently, then drops her phone and bolts.
Min Ho presses his tongue against his cheek in that way that says he accepts the game.
MIN HO: Mhm.
He pulls off his linen shirt, then his white tank, then drops both down on the sand before he’s off to chase her.
Kitty runs straight for the water because she’s betting he won’t risk his designer clothes again.
She’s not wrong. She’s not right either.
But the water is up to her thighs and she thinks she’s won. She’s about to turn around to taunt him when she feels his arm hook around her waist. He lifts her deeper into the water and she flails as much as she can until they’re both submerged up to the waist.
He spins her around to face him and whatever words she was about to taunt him with die in her throat.
Soft chimes begin to play.
She notices he’s shirtless now, with water droplets clinging to his skin. His hair is pushed back, almost like it was at the Cherry Blossom ball, and he’s looking at her with that infuriating smirk because he knows exactly what advantage he’s given himself.
MIN HO: What’s wrong, Covey? Cat got your tongue?
Now it’s Kitty’s turn to try very hard not to look below his chin.
KITTY: (blinking) I’ll… remove it. If you remove mine first.
MIN HO: Come on, Covey. You really think that’s a fair trade?
KITTY: What’s a fair trade then?
MIN HO: You can still use a picture of me, but I get to choose which one.
KITTY: That’s not fair at all.
MIN HO: (tilting his head) Isn’t it?
He pulls her closer by the waist and suddenly she’s trying to compose herself as she looks above the chin too.
MIN HO: (low) I never did collect commission for being your personal on-call photographer this summer.
KITTY: (flustered) Well, good luck finding a good picture on my phone because I only took them to blackmail you, so-
MIN HO: Hm. See, I happen to remember you didn’t… In Tokyo. In my hotel kitchen.
His hand starts traveling down her side and under the water to her leg now. And the combination of sensations is causing Kitty’s breath to catch and her brain to short circuit.
Because she also knows exactly what he’s talking about.
MIN HO: When I caught you looking at me.
She’s caught. In fact, they were almost this close when he caught her that time, weren’t they?
Because after she thought she snuck a picture of him, she walked over to try a bite of the fried rice from the pan. She looked up to compliment the chef and-
He was mid-bite, nodding his head in approval at his own cooking. He was wearing just a tank top and it made her remember a very specific dream based partly on a very specific memory of him cooking in that exact tank.
She snaps back to the present and he’s still smirking.
His hands find her thighs and he hitches her legs up around him. She lets him, and her arms slide around his neck instinctively.
He says nothing. He just raises his eyebrows at her all knowingly, like he’s got her trapped exactly where he wanted her and is just waiting for his prize.
KITTY: …It is a nice picture.
MIN HO: And?
He’s insufferable right now. The smirk, the low voice, his way he’s holding her… Kitty realizes how respectful he’s been this entire time. Because they’ve been dating for less than 24 hours and he’s already caught her so many times.
If he’d been allowed to do this before, if Dae wasn’t really a factor, if she hadn’t rejected him on the plane… she would have been cooked.
KITTY: And… it’d make a nice wallpaper.
MIN HO: Hm. I like that answer.
He leans in, still smirking, and kisses her slowly and deeply. Like he’s been waiting to kiss her like this all day.
They stay like that for a while, kissing as the waves lap around them and the beach noise fades into nothing.
When they finally pull apart, he’s still smirking. But it’s different now. Softer at the edges.
Because underneath all the teasing and the game he just won, he just feels special that she chose to claim him.
She’s still wrapped around him as he’s holding her up. And for a moment, the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
Then, from a distance:
JULIANA: Wow. They really are attached by the hip.
Kitty and Min Ho look over to find a very amused Juliana and Q looking at them from the shoreline. Min Ho slowly puts Kitty down as Kitty tries very hard not to look too embarrassed.
The four of them are walking past entire crowds of people all trying to enjoy the last of summer. They’re heading towards a lifeguard post that was a little further away but also a lot closer than Kitty and Min Ho realized.
Min Ho has his linen shirt back on, but the tank is now gone. Kitty has her purse and shoes, looking mostly intact, except for the obvious fact that she’s completely drenched from head to toe.
Q: Yuri said you got lost and sent us to come find you.
JULIANA: And by “sent,” what he really means is we lost at rock paper scissors.
KITTY: We actually were lost. I guess it is hard to find people on a crowded beach…
Q: You two didn’t look too upset to be lost.
MIN HO: We were just negotiating.
JULIANA: That’s a weird way to say making out.
MADISON: Who was making out?
The four of them startle immediately. They look over to find their friends all sitting calmly on the sand to their left. Apparently it’s so hard to find your friends on a crowded beach that you don’t even realize you’ve found them.
MADISON: Oh. Wait, I see what happened. You-
But before Madison can continue her taunt, Jin alerts the group.
JIN: Everyone shut up.
Because Yuri and Dae are now making their way back to the group.
As they approach, they spot Kitty and Min Ho with their matching outfits, completely soaked, like two people who threw all caution to the wind and stopped caring about how they looked to everyone else.
YURI: I said by the lifeguard tower. Not in the ocean.
MIN HO: Cute.
Dae silently walks around them to grab his stuff.
DAE: We should probably head out soon if we want to make it to the train on time. Lots of traffic.
Everyone begins to look at the time, including Q, whose eyes go comically wide the moment he looks at his smart watch.
Q: Oh shit.
And then everyone’s scrambling. Towels get shaken out, bags get zipped, sunscreen gets tossed into totes. And for once, the only two people not involved in the chaos are Kitty and Min Ho.
JULIANA: Well, it was nice seeing you two for like five minutes this weekend. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow for move-in?
KITTY: We-
Kitty is about to protest… but she did disappear with Min Ho this weekend… On second thought, who is she kidding? She disappeared with him all summer.
KITTY: Yeah. Have a safe trip.
DAE: Bye.
Dae is already walking off. Yuri glances over at Kitty and Min Ho, then goes to follow him.
Everyone notices the way Dae walks off. The weird edge in his tone.
Especially Min Ho, who is thinking about whether move-in would even happen at this point.
Q notices and puts a reassuring hand on Min Ho’s shoulder.
Q: He’ll come around eventually. He probably just needs time.
Min Ho nods back, and Q holds his seriousness for all of two seconds before he really looks at the two of them, soaked head to toe with their hair dripping.
Q: Also, you two look like absolute disasters. Here.
He tosses them each a towel with flair, then speed walks away toward the rest of the group, with everyone hurrying to the cabs.
The Moon Family Yacht
Kitty zips up her yellow suitcase. She’s changed into a flowy blue skirt and white tank, an outfit she actually didn’t agonize that much over. At least, not as much as she did earlier.
She slowly looks around her room one last time, at the one that’s been her third home for this last stretch of summer, then exits with her luggage.
She sees Min Ho leaving his room at the same time. He’s changed too, into a light blue shirt and white pants, looking just as casual as she is.
He flashes her a smile as he walks up to meet her, and together they make their way to the gangway.
There’s something bittersweet about leaving this ship. Kitty has come to grow fond of it, even though she barely slept through the loud music most nights. It’s so quiet now that it feels weird to only hear the sound of their suitcase wheels rolling…
Kitty looks down and notices that Min Ho is only rolling one suit case. Where’s the rest?
KITTY: (eyeing his suitcase) You only packed one bag? Let me guess – it’s just all your skincare.
MIN HO: It’s my leftover wardrobe. After you destroyed half of mine this summer.
KITTY: I did not destroy half your wardrobe.
MIN HO: (scoffing) You destroyed half my shirts. You know, I’m starting to think you were just trying to get me to take my shirt off.
KITTY: (rolling her eyes) Okay.
Min Ho chuckles, but Kitty is already slowing as they reach the main area.
KITTY: Oh no.
Min Ho looks over and sees the same thing. His face pulls into that little wince he does when he knows what’s coming.
Mr. Moon walks over with his arms spread wide like he’s greeting an audience.
YOUNG MOON: My favorite students!
He pulls them both into a hug, one on each side.
MIN HO: …Students?
YOUNG MOON: (releasing them) I hope you’re both ready for the new semester. I have a brand new masterclass planned. I’m calling it (dramatic pause) “Viral Instinct: Fire Edition.” After you, Kitty.
KITTY: Wait, what?
YOUNG MOON: The pyrotechnics at the Daegu show? The internet LOVED it.
He pulls out his phone and shows them a TikTok. Someone has looped Eunice’s little yelp on stage – the moment she startled from Kitty’s accidental fire mishap – but it’s been edited with sparkles and a cute sound effect. It’s actually adorable.
YOUNG MOON: Eight million views. Eunice is a sensation! The fans are calling it the “Euniq Spark.” There’s merchandise in development.
KITTY: Huh.
YOUNG MOON: Oh, and don’t worry about the comments speculating about you two. I’ve already drafted a press statement.
MIN HO: (mortified) Dad-
YOUNG MOON: We should also do a family welcome party for Kitty. Kill all the bad press now.
MIN HO: What press?
But Mr. Moon is too busy looking at his phone.
YOUNG MOON: I’ll send you the draft later. You can approve the photos!
KITTY: What photos?
But Mr. Moon is already speed-walking away as he takes a call.
Min Ho watches him go, his expression completely flat. The look of a boy who is figuring out how much of this he can still turn around.
Kitty’s eyes are fully wide now as she slowly turns to look at Min Ho.
KITTY: …He said press statement, didn’t he?
Min Ho just sighs deeply because he wasn’t sure what to expect out of his dad but somehow this is both on brand and not on brand at the same time.
Min Ho shakes it off, grabs Kitty’s hand, and guides them back on their journey off the yacht, because this is clearly a problem for future Min Ho and Kitty.
Busan KTX Station
Kitty reaches out to grab the hotteok bag from the vendor.
KITTY: Gamsahamnida.
She takes a bite, savoring the sweetness as she walks over to the train platform. She finds Min Ho standing by both their suitcases and walks up to him, holding out the pastry.
KITTY: Want some? It’s your favorite.
Min Ho leans over and takes a bite right from her hand.
MIN HO: (nodding) Mm.
She takes a second bite as he grabs both their suitcases, and they board the train together.
Min Ho swings the luggage cases onto the racks above them and they settle down into their seats. The moment Min Ho sits down, he begins shifting uncomfortably, like he’s trying to adjust to the space and the little bit of armrest real estate he has.
Kitty takes another bite and notices.
KITTY: (with a smirk) What’s wrong, rich boy? Too disoriented in coach?
MIN HO: I literally had first class tickets. But you insisted the vibes were better back here.
KITTY: They are. First class is too quiet. It’s like sitting in a library.
MIN HO: Hm. Are you sure it’s not because the seats in coach are closer together?
Kitty looks over at him. There’s something about the way they’re seated, shoulder to shoulder, knees almost touching, that reminds her of the first time he sat in coach. On the plane.
Kitty smirks and elbows him on the armrest.
KITTY: Are you complaining?
He elbows her right back, and now they’re both sharing the armrest.
MIN HO: (smiling) …No.
KITTY: Okay then.
She takes another bite of her hotteok, then hands him the rest. He takes it and finishes it without comment. Like this is just what they do now.
His phone buzzes. He pulls it out, reads the notification, and his eyebrows furrow.
KITTY: What?
MIN HO: …Remember last year when you wrote your name wrong on the form and got assigned to the boys’ dorm?
KITTY: I didn’t write my name wrong. Song Covey is my name.
MIN HO: You did. That’s why you got assigned to our room, because our roommate Marius had just moved out.
KITTY: Oh yeah. You thought I was Marius and tried to pull the covers off me.
MIN HO: (nodding) You had a death grip on that blanket.
KITTY: (pleased) Hm.
MIN HO: Well. He’s back, apparently.
KITTY: Oh. Is that a bad thing?
MIN HO: No. Marius is a fun guy. Very confident. Throws the second best parties.
KITTY: Who throws the best?
MIN HO: (as if it were obvious) Me.
Kitty rolls her eyes because she absolutely should have seen this coming.
MIN HO: (eyes wide) I guess Marius will be my roommate now.
Kitty nods, and then it’s her phone that buzzes this time. She looks at it and her eyes widen.
MIN HO: What’s wrong?
KITTY: I just got a text from Alex. They approved me for a single this semester.
MIN HO: They did?
KITTY: Apparently KISS got a bunch of donor money after the tour. Something about “investing in schools that nurture viral talent…”
They both pause for a moment as they realize Kitty has somehow managed to fund her own single.
MIN HO: (with a light chuckle) Your chaos knows no bounds, Covey.
KITTY: (nodding) It does have positives. Plus, I thought you’d be thrilled. (smirking) The singles have bigger kitchens, you know.
Min Ho’s expression goes completely flat.
MIN HO: You did not.
KITTY: Come on, you love cooking.
MIN HO: (indignant) Who did you promise this time?
KITTY: A bunch of us aren’t going anywhere for Chuseok, and Madison thinks your japchae slaps, and I was thinking your mom could join us? If she wants.
Min Ho looks over at her and she’s just blinking back at him in what he knows is fake innocence.
But his heart is doing that thing again. The skip. Except this time it doesn’t just skip.
He feels something rise in his chest. Like something surfacing after being held underwater for a long time. Something that finally has room to breathe.
Because she’s sitting there talking about Chuseok like it’s nothing. Like she didn’t just remember it’s for his mom. Like they haven’t been dating for less than 24 hours and his dad didn’t just throw her into Moon family chaos. Like it didn’t faze her at all.
The thought comes slowly. Quietly. Like a door opening to a home he didn’t know was his.
He tries very hard not to smile, but he’s fighting a battle he never stood a chance of winning.
Kitty smiles back at him with her most mischievous grin, because she sees his answer from the cheeky little smile he’s wearing.
He looks at her a moment longer. They’re shoulder to shoulder in coach, in the same seats, with the same proximity… but now, with a completely different ending.
He leans over to kiss her. Slow and deep and soft, like he’s savoring how simple it all feels right now.
When he pulls back, she’s still smiling.
KITTY: What was that for?
MIN HO: Chuseok.
She laughs, and he catches it with another kiss – a shorter one this time, just because he can.
The train hums beneath them. Outside the window, Busan starts to slip away.
Kitty notices and settles against his shoulder.
The sun is finally setting now, painting the sky in deep golds and fading pinks. Soon the last of the daylight will be gone.
But that’s okay.
Because before sunrise, everything felt like an ending. And now, after it, everything feels like a beginning.
The summer is officially over. Senior year is waiting. And somewhere between the sun going down and the moon coming up, a new season is about to start.
Kitty closes her eyes and Min Ho rests his head against hers as the train carries them home to Seoul.