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It was a gray, hazy day in Seoul. The sky was cloudy, and the energy of the students at KISS was even less than the usual.
Nobody wanted to learn. Everyone was a bit more on edge.
The rain was pouring down, and Kitty couldn't focus on her schoolwork in class. She stared out the window, absent minded, as Min Ho relentlessly teased her. His lips were curved into their playful smirk, and his eyes danced with sparkles of hope. He playfully poked her in the arm with his pointer finger as he asked, "Covey, hello?? Are you there?"
Kitty slowly turned to face him, momentarily snapping out of her downer mood. "Sorry, what'd you say?"
Min Ho rolled his eyes, a smile teasing at his lips. "How's the weather on your planet? Plan on joining the lab anytime today?"
"No need to complain, mister grumpy pants," Kitty commented as she looked down at the paper in front of the two of them. "What part do you want to do first?" She asked him, her chin now resting in her hand with her elbow up on the desk.
Min Ho couldn't hide his smug smile as he suggested, "Well, we could just ditch class. The sub obviously has no care about what we do. What do you say, Covey? Want to go do something fun?"
Kitty was sure her insides were going to melt to mush in a matter of seconds. Spending the day with Min Ho did sound fun. It would be just like the summer, going anywhere with him just for fun. She'd truly missed spending that much time with him since they'd returned for the new school year. However, she also knew that if they did that, they would both be in trouble as soon as they got back, and everyone would question them like there was no tomorrow.
"Tempting, but I'd rather not spend another Saturday in detention," Kitty responded with a perky nod. Min Ho raised an eyebrow, hiding the hurt he was feeling for her turning him down, and reminded her, "Nothing stopped you last time. Texting Professor Lee was quite a move to make, Covey."
She rolled her eyes, smiling a little, as she came up with her next defense. "Please, you know I never would've done that if I was sober."
"I'm not so sure of that, Covey. You do some pretty risky things while you're sober all the time," Min Ho noted.
As they worked on their assignment together during class, they chatted about their plans for the weekend. Kitty and Q were going to spend some time in the city, and Min Ho's mother was visiting for the first time in a while.
Per usual, the subtle caring glances at each other lasted longer than they should have. Q had been pestering Kitty about admitting her feelings for Min Ho for weeks, but every time it was brought up, she said the timing wasn't right. Min Ho was happy being single, as far as she was aware, and she was happy where she was too. Their friendship couldn't have been any more perfect.
Q had also been trying to convince Min Ho to admit his feelings. He was sure Min Ho still felt the same way about Kitty. How couldn't he? He'd never admit it, not after the way he'd been rejected on the plane, but Q knew him too well. They'd nearly gotten into an argument over it the week before because Q kept saying that he was sure if Min Ho said he had feelings for Kitty, she'd feel the same way now.
Min Ho remained unconvinced, even though he'd never had a "friend" as close as Kitty. After spending the entire summer with her, they knew things about each other that no one else could.
After class, they were walking outside together. Min Ho held an umbrella over both of their heads while the rain poured all around the two of them. The campus was so water-filled that Kitty slipped on the pavement, and Min Ho had to sporadically reach out to grab a hold of her waist before she could fall.
Kitty's heart felt as if it was going to explode. "Thanks," She almost whispered because she was so out of breath-- and not because she almost fell, but because of his hands on her waist. Min Ho didn't let go; his hand still wrapped firmly around her waist. "Couldn't have another situation like you falling into another tower of cupcakes, now could we, Covey?"
"That was once. I'm sure if I had just fallen it wouldn't have been anywhere as embarrassing as that," Kitty laughed with a shake of her head. "A simple thank you would do too. I'm sure I could have a tower of cupcakes out here within the hour, but you'd probably throw them at me before you got the chance to fall again," Min Ho teased.
"Well, I wasn't thinking about it before, but I definitely am now. Whose birthday is next?" Kitty asked, her eyes twinkling with sparkles.
Min Ho playfully hip-bumped her as he unwrapped his arm from her waist. He was about to say something to tease her in return when she hip-bumped him in return. "That's no fair; you were just threatening to throw cupcakes at me!" He exclaimed.
Kitty smiled as she shook her head. "Not true! It was your idea! I wouldn't throw cupcakes at you!" Min Ho's mouth was left open as he shook his head. "We both know that's not true, Covey. You'd do it the first chance you'd get."
"No, I wouldn't," Kitty promised with a smile as she shook her head. Min Ho raised an eyebrow, suddenly curious after hearing her tone of voice change. She was being honest, but he couldn't help but tease her about it. "And why not?"
The next five words that spilled out of Kitty's mouth weren't purposeful. She even caught herself off guard as she said them.
"Because I love you, you dummy!"
Min Ho's heart fluttered upon hearing the words. He knew she didn't mean it that way. Instead of focusing too much on the weight of the words, he decided to slip back into teasing her again. "Oh, well it only took you a year to realize. How could you not love me, Covey? My reputation proceeds me as the hottest guy in the school. Who can blame, you really?"
Kitty hadn't meant to say it.
She'd never said it before, even as a friend.
But... now that she had...
she wanted to mean it.
She didn't want to just say she loved him as a joke.
She didn't want it to just mean a little thing;
She wanted it to mean everything.
Kitty stopped in her tracks. She was going to do the most dangerous thing of all, tell him her feelings. For the first time ever... after having them for months.
There was no real way of how it was going to go. She hoped Q was right about it being the right thing to do.
Oh, well. She was going to have to take the plunge someday. Might as well be today.
"Min Ho, I do mean it, though. I don't mean it as, you know, just a friend. I love you," Kitty repeated, this time her eyes on his before he even had the chance to look at her.
His heart nearly stopped.
Time seemed to stand still.
Kitty... loved him?
No, she definitely didn't.
"Covey, you don't have to say that. I know what you meant. You're my best friend as well."
Kitty was prepared to punch the boy in the stomach if he didn't listen to what she had to say.
"Min Ho, I'm serious. I'm not kidding. I'm in love with you. Don't get me wrong, it's probably horrible timing, and I know that you probably don't still feel any way like that about me anymore, but Q's been telling me to tell you for months, and it might as well--"
"I'm sorry, did you just say months?"
He asked in a mocked voice, standing still in shock as he glanced over at her.
Kitty smiled awkwardly as she met Min Ho's eyes, not exactly sure how he was processing the news. "Surprise?"
"Good god, Kitty, why are you just telling this me now? Have you not realized that I never lost feelings for you in the first place?" Min Ho asked breathily.
He looked like he'd just run a marathon, mentally panicking in every possible way.
As he processed the information, flashbacks rushed throughout his mind.
The tour... the number of times it seemed like they were having a moment, but he thought he was just making it all up in his mind.
How close they'd gotten, the things they'd shared with each other, the once in a lifetime experiences...
How long had she felt this way?!
"What?" Kitty asked, her eyebrows shooting to the sky.
Min Ho didn't care who was around, well-- almost. He glanced around in a hurried manner, making sure Dae wasn't around. He wasn't stupid or cruel enough to do what he was about to do in front of his best friend. Not with Kitty.
He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the grass, pulling her close. Her arms were around his shoulders, and he was holding her close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath on her cheek. They were... slow dancing?
Kitty was going out of her mind. How was this real?!
With one hand, Min Ho held the umbrella over their heads as they danced, and he wrapped the other around Kitty's waist. It was a glorious, ethereal moment. Neither of them was wet from the rain just yet, but Kitty eagerly decided that if they were going to dance, they were going to do it the right way-- no matter if they got soaked or not.
She grabbed the umbrella from Min Ho's hand, closed it, and tossed it to the side, feeling the water slowly but surely drench the two of them as they danced.
By the time one of them finally spoke up, they were so close to each other that Min Ho's cheek was brushing against the tip of her head. There were hardly any others outside-they were definitely missing class- but neither of them cared. They'd waited too long for such a moment to squander it.
"You know, I was going to say something to you. The night of prom, after I found out about Stella, I was going to tell you about what had happened. I think, that if I had, I would have told you I was still in love with you all the way back then," Min Ho admitted, his voice sounding soft and vulnerable in Kitty's ears.
"I wish you had. That's the night I finally realized I had real feelings for you," Kitty told him.
She barely had any time to think before he kissed her. It wasn't a peck like he'd done with Stella too many times. It wasn't like what he'd had with Madison. It was deeper, more passionate, and truly intentional. It felt like hours, holding each other so close in such an intimate way.
When they pulled apart, there was little distance between the two of them.
This was the beginning, the beginning of what?
Neither of them really knew.
They just knew they loved each other, and neither of them had ever experienced love so sweet.