HIRAETH | Minho 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. "Excuse me? I'm a fantastic roommate."

"You and I are sharing a room," I state, locking eyes with Quincy before turning to Minho. "Minho, you can share with Dae." I step confidently into the shared dorm, already claiming some semblance of order among my childhood friends.

"More importantly," Minho says, his tone suddenly serious as he flops onto the couch, "When did you get with Yuri? And where? And how far?"

"And above all, why?" Quincy interjects dramatically, his voice echoing with mock confusion.

Dae remains nonchalant, walking over to grab a water bottle from the fridge. He settles on a barstool, maintaining an air of neutrality despite the evident storm brewing in the room.

Unable to help myself, I blurt out, "Yeah, why Yuri? I mean, not to pry, but... actually, no, I am prying. Spill it! We need to know." I lean against the counter, eyes wide with curiosity.

Minho leans forward, a teasing smirk on his face. "Dae, you little scammer. How did you convince Yuri to buy you that suit?"

Dae raises an eyebrow. "How do you know I didn't buy it myself?"

"Because it costs 5K," Minho counters.

Dae, mid-sip, chokes on his water, spraying it everywhere as I burst into laughter.

Quincy shakes his head, a gentler tone in his voice. "I don't know, though. I feel kind of bad for Kitty."

"I have to be with Quincy on this! How could you do that to her?!" I express, resting an arm on Minho's shoulder.

"I don't," Minho quips without hesitation, only to earn a sharp slap on the arm from me. "What was that for?" he yelps, rubbing the spot.

"That's cold, even for you," I chide. "Breaking up with someone is brutal. Imagine how Kitty must be feeling right now. She came here for Dae, and now he's not hers anymore."

Minho rolls his eyes. "Except it wasn't a breakup because it wasn't a real relationship. No one's gonna blame you for upgrading a pen pal for an actual girlfriend."

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

Before Minho can respond, a high-pitched yelp cuts through the air. Minho straightens. "Marius?"

"I thought Marius went back to Greece," Quincy says, clearly confused.

"His stuff wasn't here when I moved in," I add. "Maybe he decided to stay last minute."

Curiosity gets the better of all of us as we edge into the bedroom. Minho strides over to the bed covered in a plaid duvet and gives it a tug. "Oi, Marius! Time for class!"

To everyone's surprise, the figure under the covers yanks it back.

Quincy, Dae, and I join Minho, wrestling and pulling the blanket away, only to reveal Kitty, who lets out a startled scream.

The sight triggers a chain reaction as we all scream in unison, stumbling back into the living room.

"Dae's crazy ex-pen pal broke into our dorm to murder us!" Minho shouts dramatically.

"This is my room!" Kitty bursts out, storming after us and thrusting a paper at Quincy.

Quincy skims the assignment sheet, then nods. "You're listed as Song Covey."