⋆ 𐙚 ̊.CHAPTER 5 ✶⋆.˚

🇽​​🇴​, ​🇪​​🇻​​🇪​​🇱​​🇾​​🇳

NOT LONG AFTER THEY LEFT there was a knock on the door. It was Dae. 

"Get out Dae. What do you even want?" Kitty spat in despise.

"Kitty, can we please talk?" Dae said in small.

"No. I never want to speak to you again." Kitty said before heading towards her bed. She had no idea how being dormmates was gonna help her out.

"Kitty." Dae called.

"I want my necklace back." She said while straightening her posture.

"You necklace?" he asked, even though he knew damn well which necklace she was talking about.

"Yeah, the one I gave you when your mom died," Kitty said looking at Dae in dismay.

"Yeah, I have it around here somewhere," Dae replied hesitantly.

Kitty stared at him in utter pain and disgust because she did not expect him to forget about the necklace that belonged to her mom.

"Somewhere?"

"I'll find it." He said softly, his eyes not meeting hers.

"You don't even know where it is Dae, that belonged to my mom." Kitty was on the verge of tears now.

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

"Your promises are literally worthless, Dae." 

________________________________________________________________________________

NEXT MORNING

Evelyn woke to the muffled sounds of the world outside. Birds chirped faintly, and the distant hum of morning chatter drifted through the walls. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she squinted against the soft sunlight filtering through the window. Her head throbbed, her throat dry, and her body felt like it had been through a marathon.

Her surroundings were unfamiliar. The room was neat—too neat—with rows of perfectly aligned books, a pristine desk, and a faint scent of cologne lingering in the air. She frowned, her brain struggling to catch up. This wasn't her dorm.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she scanned the room. That's when her eyes landed on Minho, sitting cross-legged on a beanbag chair by the window, scrolling lazily through his phone. He looked up when he noticed her movement.

"Well, Sleeping Beauty finally rises," Minho said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He set his phone down and leaned forward. "How's your head? Do I need to call an exorcist?"

Evelyn groaned, rubbing her temples. "What... where am I? What happened?"

"You're in my dorm," Minho replied nonchalantly, standing up and stretching. 

________________________________________________________________________________

FLASHBACK (earlier in the morning):

There was a knock on Minho's room's door. It was Kitty.

"Hey Minho. Help me out a little?"

"What is it Kitty and why are you even disturbing my skincare time. I'll give you exactly 30 secs to speak, then I'm going to slam the door close, much to you dismay." Minho stated, while applying his buckwheat cream on his face.

Kitty rolled her eyes.

"It's just, I am going back to Portland. So, will you please take care of Evelyn for me?"

"Wait, wait, what? YOU are going BACK?" 

"Yes I am."

"God listened to my prayers. But hold on, you're going without any explanation to Evelyn?" Minho asked, concern in his eyes.

"Well, she is still sleeping and it's best if I don't tell her now. If I do, she'll come with me and I don't want that. She finally got to get out of her boring house. I can't snatch her happiness and freedom away because of a stupid boy problem." Kitty explained in a serious tone.

"Glad to know, you're finally using your almost nonexistent brain cells." Minho nodded his head.

"Can you please let Evelyn stay at your dorm? I'm afraid, she moves a lot in her sleep, if not for me, she would be kissing the floor." She gave a silly smile while scratching her head only to get the most disgusting look back from Minho.

"Excuse me? What? You want that double-headed cone to sleep here, in MY dorm? Did you lose your last brain cell, Kitty?" Minho had his hands up in the air.

"She won't eat you. And this is a little act of kindness you can repay me with after treating me like an apple pie picked up from the garbage can. So, yes, you are bringing her here, and pass her this letter."

Minho pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long, dramatic sigh. "Fine, Kitty. I'll babysit your precious goldfish-headed friend. But if she drools on my sheets or messes up my skincare setup, you're paying for the therapy I'll need."

Kitty grinned triumphantly and handed him the letter. "You're a lifesaver, Minho. Just don't read it. It's personal."

He snatched the envelope and tucked it into his hoodie pocket. "Yeah, yeah. Now get out before I change my mind."

Minho reluctantly helped Kitty carry a still-sleeping Evelyn into his dorm. She was dead weight, her head lolling against Kitty's shoulder as they awkwardly maneuvered through the narrow hallway.

"How does someone so small weigh so much?" Minho grumbled, adjusting his grip on Evelyn's arm.

"Stop whining. You're stronger than this," Kitty shot back, nudging open the door to Minho's room with her hip.

They managed to lower Evelyn onto Minho's bed without dropping her, though Minho muttered a string of complaints under his breath the entire time. Evelyn stirred slightly but didn't wake, her face serene despite the chaos around her.

"Okay, she's your problem now," Kitty whispered, brushing a strand of hair out of Evelyn's face. She turned to Minho with a look of quiet seriousness. "Take care of her, Minho. She's been through a lot lately. Wait a second. WHY DID I CARRY HER WHEN YOU COULD DONE IT ALL YOURSELF? Why am I so stupid?"

Minho's brows furrowed as he watched Kitty head toward the door. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Don't go getting all sentimental on me now, and thank you for finally catching up to the stupidity level of your brain."

Kitty snickered in annoyance. "I take back my thanks."

And with that, she was gone, leaving Minho alone with a peacefully sleeping Evelyn and a head full of unanswered questions.

Minho settled in his chair, stealing glances at Evelyn between scrolling through his phone and watching a basketball game on TV half-heartedly. Every now and then, she'd mumble something in her sleep, her brow furrowing as if she were caught in a dream she couldn't escape.

He didn't know why, but something about her vulnerability unsettled him. He wasn't used to seeing her like this—quiet, fragile, almost delicate. Evelyn was usually all fire and sharp words, a constant force of energy and sass that left him both annoyed and secretly impressed.

But here, in the dim light of his dorm, she seemed so... human. And for reasons he couldn't quite explain, it made him want to protect her.

Shaking his head, Minho leaned back in his chair and muttered to himself, "You're getting soft, dude."

________________________________________________________________________________

"Kitty dumped you here last night because she had some grand plan to disappear without telling you. Classic Kitty move, right?"

"Wait, what?" Evelyn tried to sit up fully, but the room spun, and she had to steady herself. "Kitty left? For where?"

"Portland, I think," Minho said, grabbing a bottle of water from his desk and handing it to her. "Left you a letter too. Very melodramatic, like something out of a soap opera."

Evelyn snatched the water. "She just... left? Without saying anything?"

"Yeah, she said if she told you, you'd follow her or something," Minho said, flopping back into the beanbag. "So now you're my responsibility. Congrats. You've officially ruined my peaceful existence."

Evelyn shot him a glare, though it lacked her usual bite. "I didn't ask to be your responsibility."

"Tell that to Kitty," Minho retorted, smirking. "She basically guilt-tripped me into this. Said something about you falling off the bed or something dramatic like that."

Evelyn groaned again, sinking back into the pillow. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, but one thing was clear—Kitty had left, and she was stuck here with Minho.

"Great," she muttered under her breath. "Just great."

Minho tilted his head, watching her with a mix of amusement and curiosity. "Hey, it's not all bad. At least you've got me to babysit you."

Evelyn threw the nearest pillow at him, but Minho caught it with ease, laughing. For a moment, her frustration faded, replaced by the tiniest flicker of a smile.

Evelyn sighed and ran her fingers through her messy hair, the strands tangling between her fingers. She felt disoriented, as if waking from a bizarre dream.

Evelyn bit her lip, staring at the water bottle in her hand. "I can't believe she didn't tell me. I thought we were—" She stopped mid-sentence, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Best friends?" Minho finished for her, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Yeah, well, Kitty has her way of doing things. Not saying it's right, but maybe she thought she was protecting you in her own, weird way."

She took a sip from the bottle, "What the hell is in this water?"

"That's collagen water, sweetheart. Your skin desperately needs some collagen. This is a privilege, because I never share my collagen water." 

"Yeah you're welcome." Minho did a salute with two fingers.

"I didn't even say thank you."

"You don't need to, I already know you are."

-----

Evelyn followed Minho out of the room, her steps a bit unsteady, numb from ten hours of sleep. The sight of Q caught her attention. He was perched on one of the chairs, his laptop propped open on the table in front of him. His expression was one of intense focus, his brow furrowed slightly as he leaned closer to the screen. The faint glow of the video illuminated his face.

"Morning, Q," Minho greeted, his tone casual but tinged with curiosity. "What's so interesting this early?"

Q glanced up, his face lighting up momentarily before he motioned them over. "You're just in time. Check this out."

Evelyn and Minho exchanged a glance before stepping closer to the table. The video playing on Q's laptop caught Evelyn's eye immediately. It featured Mr. Han, the CEO of Han hotel business, also Yuri's dad. His voice carried a weight of authority, his gestures animated as he explained something.

"Wait... is that Mr. Han?" Evelyn asked, leaning in to get a better look.

"Yep," Q replied, not taking his eyes off the screen. "But that's not the weird part. Look who's with him."

The camera angle shifted slightly, and Evelyn's eyes widened. Dae, appeared next to Yuri. He seemed out of place in the setting, his posture stiff, and his expression unreadable.

"What the...?" Minho muttered, crossing his arms as he leaned closer. "Why's Dae there?"

"It is important to me to owe up to all my decisions" Said Mr. Han, and the front door to the dorm opened at the same time.

"Dae, have you seen this video of Mr. Han? It's kind of blowing up." Q said to the person who just opened the door, assuming it was Dae, for obvious reasons.

"I don't particularly care." Came Kitty's voice, making everyone turn back.

"KITTY?" Evelyn ran up to her best friend to hug her but stopped midway, "Nah I'm still mad about how you decided to tell about your little adventure to Minho first, and not your very own best friend." She folded her arms and faked a pout.

Kitty smiled sheepishly.

"Kitty!" Q said with a smile.

"I thought you left?" Minho said with an unamused look.

"I did but then I decided to stay but this is not all because of a boy." Kitty quickly defended herself.

"Oh, sweetie." Q said while outstretching his hands.

"My mom went here, and I... I don't know, being here just makes me feel closer to her than I ever was. And....WAIT, Dae's on TV?" Kitty said and the other three snapped their necks back to look at the screen. 

".....but for my wife and my daughter. Family means everything to me. And so, I'd like to apologize for my behavior." Mr. Han said. "Today, I'm announcing the Han Hotel Youth Internship Program. The first intern is Daeheun Kim. Son of my longtime chauffeur. A top student at KISS and he also happens to be dating my daughter, Yuri. Any questions? Yes." 

"Thank you. Actually, this question is for Daeheun Kim." The reporter said and Dae went over to the podium. "I'm just curious. Do you really believe Mr. Han is being sincere and not using you just to repair his image?" The reporter asked.

"Um.. I believe Mr. Han meant what he said. He will do better, so lettuce move on." Dae said, making everyone laugh in the room.

"Well played." Q said as they turned away from the screen when Kitty noticed something.

"Oh my God, he's faking it. That's a fake relationship." Kitty said.

All of them looked at her in disbelief, but deep deep down, they knew.

Dae and Yuri were faking it all.

ruka:

hehehe hohoho I posted lmfaoo. im so excited to write this story. I've been planning a plot like this for so long and finally, I get to showcase it. honestly, minho is the perfect character for the plot. and yall might want to know about evelyn and minho's history. 

also I noticed, yall ain't voting TT I would love it if yall take your little time to vote. it'll mean a lot. min-hoes support min-hoes? haha

im defo a min-hoe >.<