HIRAETH | Minho XO, Kitty

CHAPTER FOUR

I'm sitting at the couch with Kitty, a small mirror on the coffee table in front of us. Kitty puts on a simple yellow barrette while I brush through my lightly curled hair. We had just finished dressing in our KISS uniforms. Mine includes a white button-up shirt, a dark blue plaid tie, a cream-colored vest, and a matching dark blue plaid pleated skirt. Over it all, I wear a tailored dark blue blazer that brings it together.

I glance at Kitty as Quincy walks back into the room, casually sitting on the couch's armrest. "I'd move the barrette up a little higher," he advises before taking a sip of his protein shake.

"Thanks," Kitty replies simply, adjusting the barrette as he suggested.

Before I can say anything, Minho appears in the doorway, a line of movers trailing behind him with boxes and his other belongings. He directs them where to put everything until his eyes land right on Kitty, stopping him mid-sentence.

A look of annoyance crosses his face. "What are you doing here?"

"You hired movers?" Kitty asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Kitty, you're still here," another voice says, and I look to see Dae entering. He's dressed in a light gray suit and tie, just like during the broadcast.

"Yes, she is!" Minho snaps, irritation dripping from his voice. "I'm calling Campus Police to have her forcefully removed."

I stand up, brushing my skirt smooth as I step toward him. "What are you doing?" I ask, slipping the phone from his hand before he can dial.

Minho narrows his eyes at me but doesn't move to take it back. "Cha," he says with mock exasperation, "what's your plan here?"

I offer him a pointed look. "You don't need Campus Police for this."

Before Minho can argue, Dae steps up to Kitty. "Dae, we need to talk. Now," she says, cutting off any further exchange.

Kitty doesn't waste another moment. Grabbing Dae by the arm, she drags him toward her room. He barely has time to glance back at the rest of us before she closes the door firmly behind them.

Minho turns to me, his brows furrowed as he crosses his arms. "Well?"

I blink. "What?"

He gestures toward the closed door. "So, are you going to be Team Dae, or not? We've all been friends since kindergarten. Isn't that enough for you to support him?"

I sigh, pushing a stray curl behind my ear. "I don't know where I stand, okay? But I do know that maybe if we actually let them talk, we could figure out what's going on instead of jumping to conclusions. Right now, we don't have enough details to make any kind of judgement."

Minho frowns, clearly unsatisfied with my answer, but before he can respond, Quincy steps between us, his backpack slung over one shoulder. "Hate to break this up, but we've got class, and we're running late."

That pulls me back to reality. "Right. Let me grab my stuff."

Minho follows as I grab my maroon backpack from the couch, and we all head toward Kitty's door. I knock lightly before swinging it open. "Hey, so we gotta go now, or we're gonna be late," says Quincy with urgency.

Kitty and Dae stand with their mouths open, no speech coming from either of them. Quick is already heading for the door, and I follow. "I'm leaving this open," Minho says, directed at Kitty and Dae as a not-so-subtle warning.

I groan softly and spin towards the door. "Dae, now!" I call over my shoulder before stepping into the hallway to put on my shoes.

Minho and Dae catch up a moment later, and we all slip on our shoes quickly. I grab my black, chunky loafers. They make me taller, which I don't need by any means, but they're cute, so I go with them anyways.