HIRAETH | Min Ho, XO Kitty

CHAPTER THREE

Quincy, managing to merge shock with a tinge of delight in his tone, pipes up. "Wait, are you serious? You're going to be sharing a dorm with us? Can you handle being in the same space as Minho?" he teases, a cheeky grin playing on his lips. Minho, slightly taken aback, feigns offense at his friend's jest.

"You and me are sharing a room," you state, making eye contact with Quincy. "Minho, you can share with Dae," you say, taking a step into your new dorm shared with your friends from junior high.

"More importantly," says Minho seriously, "When did you get with Yuri? And where? And how far?"

"And above all, why?" Quincy interjects, his voice echoing a stark confusion that contrasts the earlier conversation outside the dormitory.

Dae seems to evade the barrage of inquries, nonchalantly fetching a water bottle from the refrigerator and settling himself on a bar stool. His countenance maintains an inscrutable neutrality, as though a storm of questions and thoughts are racing through his mind.

Minho quips teasingly, with a hint of disbelief in his voice, "Dae, you little scammer. How did you convince Yuri to buy you that suit?"

Dae retorts, no emotions playing on his lips, "How do you know I didn't buy it?"

"Cause it costs 5K," counters Minho, triggering an unexpected reaction from Dae who promptly chokes on his water, spraying it in front of him.

With a gentle and reflective look, Quincy admits, "I don't know. I feel kind of bad for Kitty."

"I don't," Minho responds smugly, prompting you to give him a swift slap on the arm. "What was that for?" he retorts, rubbing the spot where you hit him.

"That's cold. Even for you," you state. "Breaking up with someone is brutal. Imagine how Kitty must be feeling right now."

"Except it wasn't a breakup because it wasn't a real relationship."

"Not to shoot daggers, but if it wasn't a sincere relationship, then maybe someone present should have made that clear," you argue.

Minho speaks up again, "But that doesn't matter. Nobody is going to blame you for upgrading a pen pal to an actual girlfriend."

Out of nowhere, a high-pitched yelp resonates from your adjacent room. Minho perks up and questions, "No way. Is Marius still around?"

"I thought Marius went back to Greece?" Quincy asks, a note of confusion lacing his voice.

"His stuff wasn't here when I got settled. He must have made a really last minute decision to stay," you remark.

The four of you edge into the bedroom, eyeballing the unknown form concealed by plaid covers of the bed. "Oi, Marius! Wake up! Time for class!" Minho teases, gripping the duvet and giving it a firm tug. In response, the assumed Marius yanks back on it. Joining in on the fun, you, Quincy, and Dae add your strength, succeeding in whipping the duvet away, only to have Kitty let out a startled scream. The unexpected sight triggers a chain reaction of screaming from each of you in return.

In a flurry of panic, you, Minho, Dae, and Quincy scramble into the living room, with Kitty hot on your heels. "Dae's crazy ex-pen pal broke into our dorm to murder us!" Minho exaggerated dramatically.

"Isn't that a little—"

"This is my room!" Kitty exclaims, thrusting the crisp white assignment paper that was handed to her at check-in towards you and the boys.

Quincy takes the paper into his hands, scanning it quickly. It undeniably lists Kitty as 'Song Covey', assigned to Room #1 in the Boys' Dormitories.

"Song can be a guy's name. Maybe that's why they assigned you to guys' dorms." explains Dae.

"What?"

Minho spits out his accusation with palpable disgust on his face. "She did this on purpose. To get closer to Dae and me," he deduces, holding her gaze.

"Okay, I'm a girl. You never accused me, so why are you accusing Kitty?"

Minho throws up his hands in a told-you-so gesture, exclaiming with exaggerated exasperation, "I told you lot, she was hitting on me on the plane ride over!"

"I was not hitting on you," Kitty states with firmness in her tone.

"Kitty," Dae speaks out amongst the chaos, "Can we please talk?"

"No, I never want to speak to you again," she says firmly, her voice cold as ice.

Dae steps forward, his voice tempered with quiet insistence as he tries to halt her actions, "Kitty."

"I want my necklace back."

"Your necklace?" Dae questions.

"Yeah, the one I gave you when your mom died."

"Yeah, I have it around here somewhere."

"Somewhere?" Kitty retorts, and it appears as if her heart broke into another million pieces.

"I'll find it," he assures, his gaze fixed on her.

"You don't even know where it is. Dae, that belonged to my mom!" Her voice escalates into an exasperated cry.

"I'll bring it back to you, Kitty. I promise."

"Your promises are literally worthless," she retorts icily, each word a sharp dagger. With that, she storms off into the bedroom, leaving the rest of you standing in uncomfortable silence.

Quietly you big goodnight to Minho, Quincy, and Dae, gently pushing the door to your shared room with Kitty open. Your effort to be silent doesn't go as planned when Kitty's voice rings out in the dim room, "Dae get out! I don't want to talk to you!"

"It's only me, Kitty," you assure her, a soft smile playing on your lips.

She lets out a relieved sigh, sinking back into the comfort of her bed. There's a part of you that wants to delve deeper, to ask questions, but you recognize the boundaries and choose not to intrude. Still, you have an idea to help alleviate some of her tension from the evening's events.

You unzip the smaller of your suitcases and reach for your skincare bag. From the larger case, you retrieve two sets of silk pajamas - the emerald green set you recently purchased, and a rose gold set you've had for a while.

"Hey Kitty~" you chirp, making your way towards her bed, a warm smile on your face. "What do you say to face masks and fresh pjs?"

—-

"Really? You're gifting these to me?" Kitty questions incredulously, her fingers lightly tracing over the luxurious emerald green silk pajamas you recently acquired that are now on her body.

Seeing Kitty's face light up with joy at your unexpected gift, you can't help but let out a soft chuckle. "Enjoy them, Kitty. They're all yours," you affirm, the warmth blossoming inside you making your smile all the more genuine.

Kitty's eyes shimmer as she accepts your gift, her smile widening in response to your genuine joy. "You have no idea how much this means to me, Wonyoung. Thank you," she says, her voice brimming with gratitude. "This night has been so draining, it's nice to be with someone who understands." Her happiness is palpable, and it only serves to intensify the warmth you're feeling.

In response to Kitty's heartfelt admission, you give her an empathetic smile and say, "Isn't that what friends are for, Kitty?"

"Yes, and I'm glad you're my friend, Wonyoung," Kitty's eyes glisten with gratitude as she softly replies.

"Now! What about face masks?"

—-

a/n:

sorry this chapter was a long time coming! It's been a week since last update :/