⋆ 𐙚 ̊.CHAPTER 14 ✶⋆.˚

🇽​​🇴​, ​🇪​​🇻​​🇪​​🇱​​🇾​​🇳

Evelyn had changed into her comfiest clothes—an oversized sweatshirt and shorts—and curled up on her bed, waiting. The dorm was quiet, the distant hum of chatter from other students returning to their rooms filling the halls. Kitty and Q were probably still at dinner, and Dae was celebrating with his family, which meant she was alone.

Her eyes flickered to her phone screen.

Still nothing.

She had told Minho earlier that they needed to talk—actually talk—and for once, he hadn't made some dumb excuse to avoid it. He didn't roll his eyes or say something infuriating like "In your dreams, Raven." He just... let it sit.

So why wasn't he here?

It had already been an hour since she had left him with the tissues. Maybe he was still recovering from the mashed potatoes disaster, but even then, he could've at least texted back.

Evelyn tapped her fingers against the sheets, trying not to let the uneasiness settle in. With a sigh, she picked up her phone and called him.

The line rang.

And rang.

And—

Voicemail.

She frowned. Minho always answered. If not to be annoying, then at least to say something cocky.

Something didn't feel right.

Just as she was about to call again, the dorm door opened, and Kitty and Q walked in, still laughing about something from dinner.

"Hey, you missed out! Florian made the worst attempt at karaoke I've ever seen," Q grinned, kicking off his shoes.

Evelyn barely looked up. "Minho didn't show up."

Kitty raised a brow. "Huh?"

"I mean, he was supposed to," Evelyn muttered, putting her phone down. "He knew we had to talk, and I left him over an hour ago. He's not picking up his phone."

Kitty exchanged a look with Q. "Okay, weird. He always picks up, even when I don't want him to."

Q nodded. "Maybe he went back to his place?"

Evelyn chewed on her bottom lip, not entirely convinced.

Meanwhile—

Minho had intended to show up. He really had. But just as he was making his way back to the dorms, he ran into none other than Lulu, who had apparently decided that she wasn't done with him just yet.

Before he could escape, she had roped him into a "quick" chat, which turned into an entire conversation about her comeback, her stylists, and a last-minute fitting she was forcing him to come along for.

So instead of talking to Evelyn like he should have been, Minho found himself stuck in a high-end studio, surrounded by racks of designer clothes, pretending to care about whether Lulu should wear silver or gold boots on stage.

And by the time he finally got back to his dorm, it was too late.

Minho groaned as he collapsed onto his bed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. His phone buzzed for what had to be the tenth time, but he didn't even bother looking—he already knew who it was.

Evelyn.

He exhaled sharply, staring up at the ceiling. He was supposed to talk to her tonight. Actually talk. No running, no excuses, no dumb jokes to avoid whatever weird tension had been brewing between them lately.

And yet—

He had let himself get dragged by Lulu of all people.

It wasn't even intentional. He had been on his way back when she appeared out of nowhere, flipping her sleek hair over her shoulder and flashing that perfect, camera-ready smile.

"Minnie, there you are! I swear, you almost gave me wrinkles from all the stress you caused earlier."

He had barely opened his mouth before she looped her arm through his and whisked him away to her stylist's studio. He didn't even know how it happened, just that one second he was standing outside, and the next he was watching Lulu hold up two nearly identical pairs of boots and ask for his opinion like it mattered.

"Silver or gold, Min?"

He had stared blankly at her. "Uh."

She pouted. "Come on, you're supposed to be my favorite critic."

He didn't even care. His mind had been somewhere else—somewhere with an annoyingly sarcastic girl who had actually wanted to talk to him tonight.

By the time Lulu was finally done with her "emergency" fashion crisis, it was well past midnight. He had practically sprinted back to his dorm, only to find the place completely silent.

Minho ran a hand over his face, groaning. Great.

There was no way Evelyn was still awake. And even if she was, she was definitely pissed.

He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and stared at the missed calls from her. He could text her, maybe try to explain, but he knew Evelyn well enough to realize that wouldn't cut it.

Instead, he tossed his phone back down and sighed.

Tomorrow. He'd talk to her tomorrow.

No excuses this time.

Minho woke up groggily to the sound of his alarm blaring. He groaned, slamming his hand onto his phone to silence it before rolling onto his back. His body felt heavy, weighed down by exhaustion—and, if he was being honest, guilt.

He had messed up last night.

He knew Evelyn had been waiting. Knew she had probably been fuming, pacing her room in that dramatic way she always did when she was annoyed. He could practically hear her voice in his head already. "Seriously, Minho? After all that, you ditch me for Lulu? Wow. Classic."

Minho exhaled sharply and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. No point in dwelling on it now—he just had to fix it.

With that thought in mind, he threw on a hoodie, grabbed his phone, and left his room.

The dorm common area was quiet, save for the faint clatter of dishes coming from the kitchenette. He rounded the corner, and there she was.

Evelyn stood by the counter, her back to him as she poured herself the cup of tea she always had. She was still in her sleepwear—an oversized hoodie and loose pajama pants—her hair slightly tousled like she had just rolled out of bed.

Minho cleared his throat. "Morning, Raven."

She didn't even turn around. "Look who is alive."

Yep. She was pissed.

Minho sighed, walking closer. "Listen, about last night—"

"I don't want to hear it." Evelyn finally turned, crossing her arms as she leveled him with a glare. "I knew you were going to pull something like this. I knew you weren't actually going to show up. I must be an idiot for actually thinking you would."

Minho frowned. "It wasn't on purpose—"

"Oh, so what? Lulu just accidentally kidnapped you?"

"H-how?-.....Kind of."

Evelyn scoffed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable."

Minho sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I know I messed up, okay? I should've told you. I should've texted or something. But you know Lulu—she's... exhausting."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Right. Poor Minho, suffering at the hands of a gorgeous pop star."

He huffed, crossing his arms. "You do realize I didn't even want to be there, right? The entire time, all I could think about was how I left you hanging."

Evelyn faltered slightly at that, but she quickly masked it. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore."

Minho studied her, noting the way her fingers gripped the cup a little too tightly. She was upset. Not just pissed—actually hurt.

And for some reason, that made his chest feel weird.

"Evelyn," he said, softer this time.

She didn't look at him.

He hesitated before stepping closer, leaning against the counter beside her. "Can we just—can we talk now?"

She finally met his gaze, searching his expression for something. He wasn't sure what, but after a moment, she exhaled, shaking her head.

"...You're such an idiot."

Minho smirked. "So I've been told."

She sighed dramatically before grabbing another coffee mug and shoving it into his hands.

"Fine. Talk."

Minho took the mug from Evelyn, his fingers brushing against hers for the briefest second before she pulled away. He watched as she leaned against the counter, staring at him expectantly.

"Well?" she prompted, raising an eyebrow.

He exhaled, staring down at the dark liquid in his mug. He had been so adamant about talking to her, but now that he had the chance, the words felt... stuck.

Evelyn, of course, had no patience for his silence. "Minho, if you dragged me into whatever this is just to stand there and look pretty, I swear—"

"I'm sorry."

Evelyn blinked. That wasn't what she had expected.

Minho sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "For last night. I should've told you I wasn't coming. I should've at least sent a text. I knew you were waiting."

Evelyn studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. "So why didn't you?"

Minho hesitated. He could just tell her the simple version—that Lulu had dragged him into a never-ending conversation about her new album, that he had been stuck in a situation he couldn't escape from without causing drama. But the real reason?

Because he was a coward.

Because he knew if he showed up, if he sat down with Evelyn and actually talked—about the past few weeks, about them—things would change. And that terrified him.

Instead of saying any of that, he just shrugged. "Like I said... Lulu's exhausting."

Evelyn scoffed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable. You were scared to talk to me, weren't you?"

Minho nearly choked on his coffee. "What?"

"Oh, please," she said, rolling her eyes. "I know you, Minho. You can handle exhausting people just fine. You just didn't want to deal with this. With us."

Minho clenched his jaw. "There is no us."

Something flickered across Evelyn's face, too quick for him to catch. But then she schooled her features back into indifference. "Right. Of course not."

A tense silence stretched between them. The air felt thick, heavy with things unsaid.

Minho sighed, setting his mug down on the counter. "Evelyn..."

"Forget it," she said, shaking her head. "This was a mistake. We don't need to talk. We never needed to talk."

Minho felt something in his chest tighten at that. "You don't mean that."

She turned to fully face him now, arms crossed over her chest. "Don't I? Because I think I do. I think I've spent way too much time trying to figure out whatever this weird thing between us is, and honestly? I'm over it."

Minho stiffened. "You're over it?"

"Yeah," she said, her voice steady, but her eyes told a different story. "I am."

For a second, neither of them moved. The tension between them was almost unbearable, but Minho refused to be the first one to break. He wasn't sure if it was his pride or something else entirely, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her when she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

She's lying.

She had to be.

Because if she wasn't...

Then why did it hurt so much?

"These are for you." Minho said, putting down the same box of chocolates he bought at the store earlier.

"Did Lulu not accept this cheap chocolate box from the store, so you're just giving it to me, because the 0.1% human part in you tells you to not waste food?"

"They were always meant for you, Ev."

ruka:

a short update after a long one ahaa. at this point im just writing anything that's coming to my mind, but I think ill pull off a smooth ending. also let me know if you want a book 2 or do yall just want me to continue only evelyn and minho once they're in college or something. that'll mean abandoning the xo kitty storyline, but I wasn't exactly following it since the start, was I? just let me know!