Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Seoul Station

Kitty pulls her suitcase off the escalator with ease, like she finally knows how to navigate the Korean transit system. It’s a welcome change, since a year ago she couldn’t read a single sign.

1 minute to the next train?

Wow, I just made it. 

I should probably leave earlier next time…

Kitty sees a line already starting to form, so she pulls her luggage forward.

Just as she settles on her place in line, a train pulls into the station.

Kitty watches as the front of the train zooms past her.

And there’s something about standing still, just watching the train blur in front of her, that makes her more pensive than usual.

It’s been a journey this semester, after all.

Last time she left Korea, she flew across the world to New York to nurse Lara Jean’s broken heart.

But this time, she gets to fly home to Portland, to a Lara Jean that isn’t broken hearted at all.

Because Lara Jean and Peter found their way back to each other-

Kitty’s phone chimes.

TEXT FROM MIN HO: (Today 11:27) Finally finished your gift. Happy belated birthday.

Min Ho?

Underneath the text is an audio file Min Ho sent, titled “By My Side.m4a”.

Kitty’s eyebrows furrow.

What is this…?

She digs into her backpack for her yellow headphones and slides them on. 

The platform sounds fade around her.

And then Kitty presses play.

A tender acoustic guitar tune plays as the train doors open.

He… wrote a song?

For my birthday.

Kitty follows the line of people, rolling her suitcase onto the train.

He wrote me a song. For my birthday.

Kitty’s phone chimes. It’s Min Ho again.

“I’m at Seoul Station. Are you…?”

What?

Kitty whips her head over to the door. 

Her eyes barely have to travel when she sees a familiar figure on the platform.

…Min Ho?!

Min Ho looks around and notices Kitty inside the train.

MIN HO: Kitty!

Oh my god, Min Ho.

For a second, Kitty forgets how her legs work. 

What are you doing here?

Min Ho is running for the doors, and her body is moving before her mind can catch up.

But it’s too late.

The doors are already closing.

No.

Wait.

What?

…What are you doing here?

The train lurches forward, and before either of them can protest, the platform is already moving past her window.

Was he looking for me?

The background blurs as Kitty blinks at the doors, but then-

♪ The sun doesn’t rise without you ♪

Wait.

♪ The more I hold the night ♪

Is this a song about me?

Kitty pulls out her phone and rewinds the track. 

And then she just… listens.

She becomes so focused on the words within the song that she doesn’t realize the train has already left the next stop.

Oh my god. He wrote this song about us.

And he wrote the sunrise into the song.

She finishes the track and hits replay, like the music is moving her in a way she needs to feel again.

♪ What can I do? You’ve chosen your place ♪

♪ If it’s what you want then I will give you your space ♪

It’s about the future. About me going to NYU.

He’s… saying goodbye.

Saying that if our time is over, he’d let me go.

But…

Kitty doesn’t finish the thought, because the but is bigger than she’s ready for. It’s the part where her dream starts to feel less like a dream and more like a direction she was pointed in. It’s the part where everyone else doesn’t think she has the right priorities so she picks the “mature” one. It’s the part behind the look she couldn’t quite suppress when Min Ho told her he was happy her dreams were coming true, like his blessing felt like a door closing.

A sad, nostalgic smile sneaks onto her face and then she hits replay for the 7th time.

The song makes her think about what they had before Chuseok broke them apart. About the way Min Ho makes her heart race in all kinds of ways. With love. With a little bit of panic. With how he was so annoying at first that she didn’t want to sit next to him in chemistry.

The song makes her think about… everything.

A man pulls his suitcase past her and Kitty realizes this is her stop.

She grabs her luggage and rolls it off the train.

Kitty takes a few steps onto the platform and then just… stops.

The headphones are still on her head and she looks like she’s not in a rush to go anywhere.

Because an entire train ride passed for her with Min Ho’s song in her ears. A song he wrote for her. About her. About a future he was trying to release her into.

And now she’s standing here on the platform to the airport as she fights with the fact that she doesn’t want to be released.

She never has.

Min Ho came to the train station.

And he was there for me.

I-I once tried to convince him to get on the subway for a date and he asked why we ever would if he had a driver to take us places.

And then I left him at Seoul Station…

Kitty presses play again because she wants to be sure.

Because her detective brain is running but she’s also been so, so wrong before.

♪ Don’t make me bow out and say I didn’t try ♪

Is he saying he doesn’t want to give up on us?

♪ So before we say XO, goodbye Let me tell you why ♪

Is this what he wanted to tell me at the fashion show?

Fifteen minutes pass.

Kitty knows because she’s replayed the song on the platform six times.

She presses play once more.

What am I even doing? What if he just sent the song as a goodbye and I’m standing here waiting for someone who isn’t coming?

Kitty looks out at the empty track.

♪ Can’t take it anymore ♪ 

Okay, Kitty. Breathe.

♪ Livin’ in this space between ♪ 

♪ Time will never make it right ♪

He… got you your senior sunrise…

He bought a seat next to you in Coach because he liked you. He got in the hot tub and ruined his designer clothes for you. He helped you with Soon Ja because he knew how important it was to you. 

He’s coming. I know he is.

A train pulls into the platform.

Okay, Kitty.

Kitty takes off her headphones as people rush out of the train that just arrived.

Kitty is almost scared to look, but then-

MIN HO: Kitty!

Kitty looks over with somewhat of a sad expression on her face, but it’s not sad, exactly. It’s the look you have when you’ve been bracing for someone to disappear your entire life and one of them didn’t.

Min Ho…

You came.

Min Ho is a timely person.

He’s on time to classes. He’s on time to dates. The only time he was ever late for a date was when Kitty poisoned him with her mashed potatoes junior year.

And, if anything, he was still on time then.

But right now?

Min Ho feels like he’s anything but on time.

He’s running through Seoul Station, a place he’s passed hundreds of times but never needed to enter before.

Airport line. Airport line.

There.

Min Ho sees the sign with an arrow pointing downwards.

He runs past a group of tourists and sees people beeping themselves in through the turnstiles. Min Ho takes out Yuri’s T-card, tapping it once on the beeper before he tries to push through the gate.

But it doesn’t let him through.

He fumbles for a second, then taps again.

You’ve got to be joking. 

He taps a third time, then looks at the card like it’s betraying him.

STATION WORKER: (in Korean) T-Card doesn’t work on the Express line. You need to go to B3.

Min Ho looks at the direction the worker is pointing in, then he quickly bows as he moves.

MIN HO: (in Korean) Thank you!

He groans as he sprints away.

Yuri couldn’t tell me there were two bloody airport lines?!

Min Ho runs through the train station and follows the signs through revolving doors.

There.

He reaches the turnstiles, but there’s so many people exiting the station that he has to wait.

Why are there so many people on a Wednesday?

Min Ho takes a few steps back and his neck tenses.

Are they exiting from the train?

…What if I don’t make it? 

Min Ho takes out his phone and types out a message.

“Happy belated birthday.”

Min Ho opens the 8th mix. His finger hovers over the file.

Just briefly.

Because he knows he’s running out of time.

He presses send.

When he looks up, the crowd has thinned, so he takes the T-card out of his pocket, places it on the reader, and beeps himself through.

Oh, finally.

Min Ho runs right to the stairs to get down to the platform.

He’s already scanning the platform before he reaches the bottom.

He looks left, behind him, then right, then behind him again, just to be sure.

No Kitty.

Min Ho takes out his phone.

Please be here.

He sends the message and walks forward. And that’s when Min Ho looks inside the train.

Min Ho couldn’t miss her if he tried.

Kitty’s got her yellow headphones on, standing next to her yellow backpack and yellow suitcase.

Kitty has just turned towards the train doors with her phone in her hands.

They lock eyes.

MIN HO: Kitty!

Min Ho’s legs move before his mind can catch up. He runs towards the train doors. 

But it’s too late.

The doors close right as he reaches them.

Kitty looks directly at him from the inside of the train like she doesn’t know what to do or what is even happening.

Kitty.

The train moves. Faster. And faster.

As the train speeds off, Min Ho throws his hands up, clenches his jaw in frustration, and thinks to himself silently.

씨발.

Min Ho sighs.

Alright. Think.

She’s headed to the airport. I can just meet her there like I did last year.

It’s… 11:29. I can call my driver.

Min Ho taps a few buttons on his phone, but then his fingers hover over his driver’s number on the screen.

But what if Kitty gets off at the next stop to wait for me.

….Would she do that?

Min Ho looks up and finds the display.

Fifteen minutes until the next train.

If I call my driver… he can’t get me to the next stop in fifteen minutes. And if she’s waiting there, and I’m not on the next train, she’s going to think I gave up on her.

…I’ll have to wait for the next train.

Min Ho fidgets with his hands. His neck. His phone. He paces on the platform as he goes through all the possible scenarios in his head.

But he sticks to his plan. 

He’s going to get on the train through the same doors she did. And he’s just going to… hope. Hope that he catches her before she’s gone.

It feels like an eternity has passed by the time the next train arrives.

Min Ho boards with his hand raised in an open fist, the way someone does when they’re tense. When they’re worried.

What if I don’t see her at the next stop?

What if she got off at a different spot on the platform and I don’t realize in time?

Do I stay on the train?

Min Ho must have spiraled in his thoughts for a while, because the next thing he knows the train is already pulling into the next station.

Min Ho taps his finger nervously on his leg as the train slows to a stop.

He looks out the windows.

No Kitty.

When the train doors open, he peeks his head out and looks left. Then right.

No Kitty.

Min Ho pulls his head back inside and taps his fingers on his leg as the doors close.

She’s not here. Of course not. Why would she be here?

The train lurches forward, causing Min Ho to lose his balance. For a second, he’s completely disoriented.

But then he finds a place to hold on.

Alright. She’s probably riding all the way to the airport because she has a flight to catch and she’s never been one to be on time.

Should I have called my driver then?

No. It’s too late.

Min Ho taps his thumb nervously on the handle.

And the midday traffic is a killer.

Min Ho closes his eyes briefly like he doesn’t believe himself. He hears an announcement over the intercom and looks up at the top of the train car.

There’s a map.

There’s one, two, three, four… Ten more stops?

Oh, my days.

How long is this train going to take?

Min Ho is still tapping his thumb nervously on the handle when the train pulls up to the next station.

No Kitty here either.

And that’s when the possibility hits him.

What if she’s not waiting?

What if she thinks I’m done with her so she thinks I’m not going to show up at all?

Min Ho clenches his jaw.

…She has to have gotten the file. 

She had her phone in her hand when she looked over at me.

Min Ho pulls out his phone. There’s no cell service, but when he checks his messages, he sees the “Delivered” note at the bottom of each message.

Alright. So… even if she hasn’t heard it yet, she will at some point?

It’s a long enough train ride.

The train pulls in and out of several stations as Min Ho tries to reckon with his fears.

Eventually, the deepest one surfaces.

The one that sits on the couch in his mind room and settles itself comfortably into the crack between the cushions where people lose everything.

What if she thinks I screwed it up and I’m not worth it?

What if she listens to it and she thinks it’s too fucking late?

What if she meant what she said when she said she doesn’t regret what we had?

Or… 

What if she hears the song and she still doesn’t understand…

That last one is what Min Ho is scared of the most.

It’s not about being believed in, because he knows Kitty was right. She’s not his dad.

He’s scared that Kitty still thinks he’s the Min Ho who broke up with her, not the Min Ho who chose to chase her on a train.

And that’s when Min Ho realizes he was wrong before.

He hadn’t done everything he could to show Kitty how he felt about her.

Otherwise, he couldn’t have written a song. This song.

He couldn’t have written what was supposed to be a song of release and ended up being the song that anchored him to the most important person in his life.

Min Ho closes his eyes, and he’s mouthing “please please please” as he shakes himself in nervousness.

Please listen to the song.

Please understand what I’m saying.

Please let me get to her before it’s too late.

Min Ho doesn’t think he’s ever begged for anything before.

He has also never chased after a girl on a subway he’s never taken. He has also never bought an extra plane ticket in Coach so he could sit next to that girl. He has also never had the desire to confess to his best friend’s ex-girlfriend minutes after she told him they broke up.

Kitty makes him do a lot of things he doesn’t normally do.

No.

Min Ho takes a deep breath in.

It’s not that Kitty makes him do these things. Not at all.

It’s that Kitty makes Min Ho want to do these things.

Because that’s what love does.

Min Ho opens his eyes.

He figures out what he’s chasing Kitty to do.

Even if he has to stalk her on a plane to Portland to do it.

Min Ho blinks as the train arrives at Incheon airport terminal.

The crowd exits the train in front of him. Min Ho follows, and he is already gearing up to run for the stairs.

But he doesn’t have to.

Kitty is standing on the train platform with her yellow luggage right in front of her.

For a second, Min Ho just looks shocked.

MIN HO: Kitty!

Kitty looks over with somewhat of a saddened expression on her face.

You waited…

Incheon Terminal Station Platform

There’s a moment where Kitty and Min Ho are just looking at each other.

Because he made the right choice and waited for the next train. Because she waited those fifteen minutes on the platform for him, for the train he was on after hers.

Before either of them can register it consciously, they’re both meeting in the middle of the platform.

KITTY: I heard your song.

Kitty blinks, inhales, and tries to gather herself.

KITTY: (nodding) It’s incredible.

MIN HO: (softly) I’m so sorry that it took me so long to sort myself out.

Min Ho looks genuinely vulnerable. Not unlike her.

MIN HO: Covey, I don’t want to stand in the way of your future. And I don’t know what my future holds, but… I want it to be with you. And I couldn’t let you go without telling you that.

And now Kitty looks really vulnerable.

MIN HO: Or without saying…

Kitty gulps. But Min Ho’s eyes haven’t left hers this entire time.

MIN HO: I love you.

Kitty’s face breaks into a smile and her eyebrow twitches just slightly.

KITTY: (smiling) You what?

But Min Ho doesn’t hesitate at all.

MIN HO: I love you.

Min Ho just looks at Kitty like this is the most vulnerable truth he’s ever said. And Kitty is looking back at him with the same expression.

KITTY: (softly) I love you too.

Their smiles arrive together, like the sun finally rising.

Then Min Ho steps towards her and Kitty reaches out for his face.

They both lean in at the same time.

The moment their lips touch, Min Ho’s hands come right up to Kitty’s waist.

Kitty can swear her heart is beating louder than the last time they almost said goodbye. But she doesn’t care this time. She lets it beat in the background as they just kiss.

The kiss feels like a relief, like every time they almost got here has come together to land them into this moment.

They break apart slowly and smile at each other, like everything that was wrong has just made itself right again.

Min Ho parts her hair on the same side, in the same way, that he did in the rain in Bukjeong.

And they’re both leaning back in for more.

Kitty’s arm tightens around his neck.

They just kiss, and kiss, and kiss… like no one else and nothing else exists in the world but them and this kiss.

Chapter Text

Incheon Terminal Station Platform

Min Ho’s heart is racing. He feels like he’s just been on a roller coaster with more twists and turns than the actual roller coaster he went on with Kitty in Lotte World.

Luckily, the kiss doesn’t feel like that.

Min Ho feels so settled and so relieved to be here that he doesn’t want to let go.

Not even a little.

And Kitty? Kitty doesn’t actually know how much time has passed since they started this kiss. 

I mean, can you even measure time in kisses?

…Time.

Oh my god.

Kitty finally breaks the kiss.

Her eyes flutter open and she’s trying to catch her breath.

They’re still close. Her hands are still on his neck and face and his hands are still holding her waist.

KITTY: (eyes widening) My flight.

Kitty fumbles for her phone.

KITTY: It boards in… 58 minutes.

She says it like she’s not panicking at all.

She is, a little.

MIN HO: Come on. We can still make it.

Kitty whips her head over to him.

KITTY: We?

Min Ho doesn’t answer immediately because he’s already let go of her waist and moved towards her luggage like the conversation has fast-forwarded without her.

He closes his hand on her luggage handle.

MIN HO: I’m coming with you.

Min Ho finally looks over and sees Kitty looking at him like she’s somehow more surprised now than she was when she spotted him at Seoul Station.

KITTY: Y-you what? Uh, to Portland?

MIN HO: Yes.

Kitty splutters as her brain tries to catch up.

KITTY: Like, right now?

Min Ho’s face flattens.

MIN HO: (gently) Covey, we don’t have a lot of time.

KITTY: Right, right.

Kitty chuckles because she’s a little embarrassed.

Min Ho can see her trying to keep it together, which just makes him smile.

He extends his hand.

MIN HO: Come on, Covey. I’ve got you.

Kitty looks down and takes it with a bright but slightly mortified smile of her own, because yes, she let herself accept that she didn’t want to be released. She just didn’t think she would get an answer this quickly.

Min Ho’s hand tightens around hers as they turn toward the stairs.

AsianAir Counter at Incheon Airport

Min Ho makes a beeline for the priority check-in counter with a smiling Kitty in tow. 

Luckily, there’s only one person ahead of them.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) Good afternoon. How may I help you?

Min Ho hands over his passport and credit card.

MIN HO: (in Korean) I’d like to purchase a ticket on the next Portland flight, seated next to my-

Min Ho pauses, then looks over at Kitty, who looks like she’s trying to contain her excitement.

MIN HO: Kitty, can I see your boarding pass?

KITTY: Hm? 

Covey.

KITTY: (realizing) Oh, yeah.

Min Ho just smiles as Kitty digs through her pocket for her phone.

She pulls up her boarding pass and shows the agent.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) AsianAir 198, departing 2:19PM. Let me check availability.

Min Ho watches intently as the ticket agent types, his fingers tapping twice against the counter.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) Unfortunately all the economy seats are full.

Bollocks.

MIN HO: (in Korean) Could you check if there are two seats available together? 

The agent barely has to type.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) There are two available in business class. 

That’s brilliant.

MIN HO: (in Korean) Please book both for us.

The agent extends her hand to Kitty, who looks back with bright eyes like she’s still catching up.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) Can I see your passport please?

Kitty swears she learned some Korean. Soon Ja even praised her for it.

But now she’s thinking her imo-halmoni was just being oddly nice, because Min Ho is talking so fast to the ticket agent and Kitty hasn’t even a clue what they’re saying.

All she knows is he passed the agent his passport, and then a credit card, and now the agent is extending her hand right to Kitty.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) Can I see your passport please?

Finally, something I can understand.

Kitty passes it over.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) Thank you.

The ticket agent looks at Kitty’s passport and types something on her computer.

Wait…

Kitty tilts her head and turns to Min Ho.

KITTY: Why does she need my passport?

MIN HO: Because I’m upgrading your seat.

KITTY: …Say what now?

Min Ho looks over at Kitty like she’s being precious right now, because she really hasn’t stopped smiling, has she?

MIN HO: I want to sit next to you on the plane ride over.

Kitty feels the corners of her lips curve up a bit more, because Min Ho can really be a gentleman sometimes.

KITTY: (a little cheeky) And here I thought you’d just buy another seat in Coach again.

Min Ho narrows his eyes.

MIN HO: They’re sold out. The only open seats are towards the front of the plane.

KITTY: Oh… Thank you.

The ticket agent prints out two tickets and hands one to each of them.

TICKET AGENT: (in Korean) Have a wonderful flight.

They both grab their tickets with respectful bows, and then Min Ho moves to Kitty’s luggage.

He places it on the scale and swings her yellow backpack over his shoulder.

When he turns back around, he sees Kitty with her eyebrows furrowed, just staring at the ticket in her hand.

Kitty realizes she can’t read anything on the ticket in Korean.

For a moment, old Kitty wants to know everything on that ticket.

But then she feels Min Ho’s hand on her back.

MIN HO: You can interrogate it later, Covey. Right now we have a flight to catch.

She looks up at Min Ho, who is giving her the same look he gave her at Lotte World every time she needed a little nudge towards a ride.

She knows he’s right so she exhales and lets it go.

Because sometimes, it’s better to do just that.

Chapter Text

At the Gate

They walk fast, but neither of them really looks like they did, because Kitty runs on pure adrenaline by nature and Min Ho has been running on it since he left the studio.

Min Ho doesn’t think he’s ever cut it this close for a flight before.

It’s not that this is truly that close.

It’s that he usually arrives an hour early so he can relax in the lounge before he boards. The tteokbokki is his favorite there, but he suspects Kitty would have enjoyed the bibimbap more.

Alas, they didn’t have time today.

They reach the gate just as the agent calls their group.

Kitty is about to wander off to a seat when Min Ho grabs her hand.

MIN HO: This is us, actually.

KITTY: Oh.

Kitty scrunches her eyebrows together as she pulls out her ticket. Min Ho can already see the thought running in her head.

You really need to work on your Korean.

Kitty expected she’d have to panic more than she actually had to. She’s traveled through ICN a few times before and knows the security lines.

But she’s never traveled with Min Ho before.

Or anyone with airline status for that matter.

Apparently it grants you access to some form of priority security lane. They got through security within minutes.

And then Min Ho waited on the manual booth line with her, even though he could have gone through the SeS line and saved himself fifteen minutes.

And now, more than thirty minutes later, they’re here.

Kitty lets the agent scan her boarding pass, then turns around to wait for Min Ho.

Kitty watches as he scans his. He’s got his ticket in one hand and her yellow backpack strap in his other.

And for a second, time just… slows.

It’s not that she doesn’t trust he’s coming.

It’s that it hadn’t really hit her until just now because they had been too busy moving.

Or maybe it’s watching Min Ho bow to the gate agent that makes it feel like it’s actually happening.

Min Ho is getting on a plane with me to Portland.

She thinks it almost incredulously, which feels silly because Min Ho is already by her side, smiling sweetly down at her as they walk toward the boarding line.

It’s even more silly when she thinks about how security gave him the most confused expression when they realized he didn’t have his own luggage. Or bag. Or anything for that matter.

He’s bringing nothing with him to Portland but the clothes he’s already wearing.

Wait.

They stop right at the end of the line.

He’s getting on a plane with me to Portland!

Kitty looks at Min Ho and finally asks what she probably should have asked him an hour ago.

KITTY: Uh, whaat is your plan here?

Min Ho turns to find Kitty looking at him like the question just occurred to her.

What do you mean?

Min Ho’s eyes dart around like he just got asked something there was an obvious answer to.

MIN HO: I’m going with you to Portland.

KITTY: (narrowing her eyes) But, like, staying in Portland?

Min Ho tilts his head at her.

What did you think I was going to do…?

KITTY: I-I want you to. It’s just… I’m going home to see my family for Winter Break and we’re…?

Kitty gestures awkwardly from herself to him and back to herself.

Oh my gosh.

That’s when it hits Min Ho.

He closes his eyes briefly and exhales, because how could he forget the fight on the steps after Marius’ party?

Because this is the girl who jumps to conclusions about everything else except this.

When he opens his eyes, he reaches over.

Kitty looks down as Min Ho takes her hands in his.

By the time she looks back up, Min Ho is already looking directly at her.

MIN HO: I was hoping we could start again.

Kitty scans his face, and he’s completely serious.

MIN HO: Go to Portland as your boyfriend.

Kitty can feel her cheeks puff up as she tries not to smile too widely.

In fact, Kitty is looking back at Min Ho the same way she always does when he does something sweet for her.

And Min Ho isn’t daft.

He knows what her smile means.

So he returns one of his own.

MIN HO: (with a smile) So will Kitty Song Covey be my girlfriend?

Kitty tilts her chin up like she’s trying to be cheeky.

MIN HO: (a little sassy) Again?

Kitty rolls her eyes affectionately.

KITTY: I guess.

Kitty is already leaning in for a kiss. This one is as short and sweet as the one they shared when they DTR’d the first time.

When they pull apart, they’re just smiling cheekily at each other.

But then someone clears their throat behind them.

Kitty and Min Ho turn to find a middle-aged ajumma who looks like she’s anything but entertained.

The ajumma jerks her chin towards the plane.

That’s when both Kitty and Min Ho notice that the line in front of them is pretty much gone.

The two flight attendants inside the plane are whispering at each other the way two people do when they have something scandalous to gossip about.

Kitty and Min Ho turn back to the ajumma with embarrassed smiles and bow quickly.

KITTY: (in slightly improved Korean) Sorry.

And then Kitty grabs Min Ho by the arm and pulls him onto the plane.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

AsianAir, In Flight

Min Ho exhales a sigh of mild distress. 

What a whirlwind day this has been for him.

Four hours ago, he was greeting Dae at the studio with a dap because he’d finally finished By My Side to his liking.

And now he’s sitting on a plane having immediately released that version of that song to the girl he wrote it about.

To his ex, who now is no longer his ex.

Next to him, Kitty exhales a sigh of relief.

Four hours ago, she was staring at a photo strip depicting a relationship she thought would stay a memory forever.

And now she’s carrying a new version of that relationship on a plane of all things...

Huh.

Kitty looks over at Min Ho.

KITTY: How did you know I was at Seoul Station?

Min Ho whips his head over like he just got jolted out of his own thoughts. 

MIN HO: Oh. Yuri told me… And…

Min Ho sticks his free hand into his pocket and produces the T-card.

MIN HO: She gave me this. Juliana said I’d just missed you.

KITTY: So you just… ran down the streets of Seoul, and got on the subway like that?

Kitty says it with a bit of a sassy head bob, like she knows the answer but she just wants to tease him about it.

Min Ho looks over and just blinks for a moment, like he wants to hold on to his last bit of pride.

It’s pointless, Min Ho. You’ve followed me on a flight twice now.

MIN HO: I wasn’t thinking about it. I just wanted to catch you before you left.

Kitty purses her lips cheekily.

KITTY: Well, I’m glad you did. Even though you waited until the very last minute. 

Kitty is being so annoying right now. She knows she is.

She also knows he finds it her most endearing quality.

MIN HO: (blinking) I’m sorry about that.

Mm.

Wait.

KITTY: …What made you decide anyway?

Min Ho darts his eyes around like she keeps asking very obvious questions.

MIN HO: Well, you would have missed your flight. (nodding like it’s obvious) And I’m trying to avoid Lara Jean’s death glare. She’s more terrifying than Professor Ahn.

KITTY: I meant befor-

Wait.

KITTY: (narrowing her eyes) How would you know what Lara Jean’s death glare looks like?

MIN HO: Oh, I met her on campus.

The fff…?

Kitty pulls her head back in complete shock.

She didn’t tell me that! 

Min Ho notices and furrows his eyebrows.

MIN HO: She… didn’t mention it?

KITTY: No! Wha-when did you meet her on campus? I was with her the whole time she was in Seoul.

MIN HO: I bumped into her before she left for the airport.

Min Ho shrugs nonchalantly like he did the most obvious thing in the world.

MIN HO: I figured I should pay my respects since she was clearly in Seoul for you the way you went to New York for her last summer.

Kitty scrunches her face with a deep pout.

KITTY: Aw, Min Ho.

Kitty’s expressive eyes have just begun to shine when a stray thought occurs to her. 

Oh my God.

Kitty’s face transforms immediately into a type of dread you can only experience when you realize your sister has met your significant other, or non-significant other, without you.

Oh my God!

KITTY: (urgently) Why? What did she say? Was it about me? What did she say about me?

MIN HO: (amused) Only the most important things.

KITTY: Because I totally didn’t need her help to function or anything. And she was being a complete hypocrite about my room. It didn’t look that bad. What?

Kitty chuckles awkwardly to stop herself, because she panicked a little too hard about how her sister probably embarrassed her, and now she embarrassed herself.

Min Ho doesn’t think she did, though.

MIN HO: Don’t worry, Covey. (leaning in) She really only said nice things about you.

Kitty leans in closer to Min Ho like she’s trying to either scare him into saying it or trying to plead him into it. But she’s failing at distinguishing so her death glare looks more like a cute chihuahua attempting to look menacing.

Min Ho leans in for a kiss before the baby attack dog can yip at him.

When they part, he stays close for the next part.

MIN HO: (softly) She told me you inspired her. And that I would be the luckiest person alive to have you… she’s right.

KITTY: (narrowing her eyes) If you agreed then why did you take so long?

Min Ho turns to face her more directly, and then he places his free hand over their joined ones.

MIN HO: …Because I was scared. Falling in love with you is the scariest thing I’ve ever done. (nodding reluctantly) And I’d spent a lot of time convincing myself I hadn’t?

Kitty chuckles lightly because Min Ho has closed his eyes, like he’s a little embarrassed to admit it now.

In fact, it had taken Min Ho a while to sort it out, but he had eventually figured out that noble sacrifice is and has always been just avoidance with extra PR.

MIN HO: I just had to figure out which voice in my head was mine first. It's... part of why I wrote the song.

A soft smile blooms on Kitty’s face.

KITTY: Well, I really like your voice. You’re an amazing producer. (quickly) If-if that’s what you want to do.

MIN HO: …I think it might be. Making music is fun. (raising his eyebrows) And it’s a lot more fun with Dae than it was when I was working for my dad.

KITTY: Wait, Dae helped you write the song?

MIN HO: I wrote the lyrics, Kitty. He helped with everything else.

KITTY: (amused) Hm. Maybe next time he’ll ask you to help him write a song for Eunice.

MIN HO: (smirks) Oh, he already is.

KITTY: What?

They both just chuckle at the absurdity of it all.

Min Ho is once again producing a song for his old client. Except this time it’s not for his father’s label.

It’s a favor to Dae, who first helped Min Ho write a song for Kitty when both of them were her exes.

The universe does have a sense of humor.

But at least, this time, there won’t be any more baby-mama drama.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

AsianAir, In Flight

Min Ho was right.

Kitty finished her glass of champagne about the same time she finished her appetizer, which was a carrot and coconut soup. He thought he was hungry, but apparently she was starving because she ate her entire soup and then took a piece of his jeon.

She didn’t even notice she’d done it. She just got really distracted by the conversation.

Min Ho started telling her about Dae’s new song, which is going to be all acoustics.

Kitty didn’t know Dae could play guitar at all.

Dae picked it up over the summer, because even though he had always wanted to learn the guitar, hobbies weren’t something Dae let himself have when money was too tight.

Kitty’s moved on to her second glass of champagne when their main courses arrive.

The flight attendant puts a plate of beef tenderloin on Kitty’s tray.

Meanwhile, Min Ho’s bibimbap arrives in a ceramic bowl. On top of the rice is spinach, bean sprouts, carrots, daikon, and beef, all arranged in sections like the spoke of a wheel. 

But he doesn’t reach for it immediately.

Instead, he picks up the small sachet of sesame oil and drizzles it across the top in a spiral.

KITTY: Damn. I should’ve gotten the bibimbap.

Min Ho looks over and sees Kitty, still chewing, with her head leaned slightly over the armrest, the way a child does when they want to see what snacks you have.

MIN HO: Do you want some?

Kitty swallows.

KITTY: …I’ll take a bite.

Min Ho picks up his tube of gochujang and measures a small amount into the bowl, mixing it in with the rest.

He picks some up with his chopsticks and holds it over to Kitty with his hand cupped underneath like he’s both presenting it to her and bracing for the food to drop from her mouth. It probably will.

She leans in and closes her mouth around the chopsticks.

KITTY: (mumbling) Mm. That tastes so much better in first class.

MIN HO: Business class.

KITTY: (swallows) Whatever. 

Kitty cuts into her tenderloin and stabs the piece with her fork. Then she holds it up to Min Ho.

KITTY: Want some?

Min Ho smiles and Kitty moves the fork to his mouth. He takes a small bite.

MIN HO: (chewing) Mm. (nodding) Not bad. Bibimbap’s better.

Kitty brings the remainder of the piece to her mouth and chews aggressively.

KITTY: (mumbling) I know. 

Min Ho shakes his head. Then he grabs a large chunk of bibimbap with his chopsticks and places it onto Kitty’s plate.

Here. Before you spend the next fifteen minutes eyeing my dish like you did with my jeon.

She smiles back warmly at him.

They eat in silence. Turns out, they were both starving.

Adrenaline does that, apparently.

When Kitty finishes her meal, the flight attendant walks over and offers her a cheese and crackers plate with Brie, Gouda, and some type of cheddar.

Min Ho is just taking a swig of his first glass of champagne — because he’s not an animal like Kitty — when Kitty nudges him with her elbow.

KITTY: You don’t get anything else with your bibimbap?

MIN HO: No. Cheese and crackers are a western thing.

KITTY: Ha. 

Min Ho looks over with his tongue in cheek. Kitty looks back with a smile that’s more cheeky than normal because her cheeks are full of cheese and crackers.

MIN HO: (a little sassy) I don’t need to be poisoned on my way to meet your family. 

KITTY: (swallows) Right. Cheese. (giggling) I forgot about that.

How convenient.

KITTY: Don’t worry. I’ll tell Margot to get vegan scones for when she picks us up at the air…port…

Kitty’s eyes widen.

KITTY: Me. For when she picks me up at the airport.

Kitty finally realizes she’s on a plane back to Portland with her boyfriend, the one who broke her heart so badly Lara Jean had to pretend to have norovirus to fly to her and-

MIN HO: Covey?

KITTY: My family doesn’t know you’re coming.

Min Ho tilts his head like he’s just heard something that confuses him.

MIN HO: Didn’t you text them earlier?

KITTY: I did. I said “See you soon, love you.” I forgot to say more stuff!

MIN HO: Alright… (inhales) It’ll be alright.

Just then, the flight attendant arrives to take their empty meals away.

Min Ho and Kitty both take a small sip of their champagne in unison as they nod awkwardly.

When the flight attendant walks away, Min Ho turns to Kitty.

MIN HO: How about this? I’ll go to the hotel first, then you can tell your family about me being there, and I can meet them properly over dinner.

KITTY: (blinking) A hotel? You’re not staying with me?

Min Ho blinks back at her.

MIN HO: At your home?

KITTY: Yeah. I thought you were coming back with me.

MIN HO: …Is there a room for me to stay in?

KITTY: No.

Min Ho raises his eyebrows at her.

KITTY: Maybe? Sometimes Peter sleeps in the guest room.

MIN HO: They got back together?

KITTY: (with a bright smile) They did. On my birthday.

Kitty just smiles nostalgically for a second as she temporarily forgets her problem at hand. 

But then she shakes herself out of it.

KITTY: But, uh, Peter can also sleep in his own house.

Kitty chuckles lightly.

MIN HO: Mm. 

Min Ho leans on the armrest between them. 

MIN HO: (with a smirk) And if he doesn’t?

KITTY: Th-then I have a really comfortable bean bag chair in my room. It turns into a bed.

Kitty looks over at Min Ho with a cheeky smile she’s trying hard to suppress and a rosiness on her cheeks she hopes her blush is covering.

It isn’t.

MIN HO: (softly) The chair sounds lovely… But I’m not sure Doctor Covey would be too pleased.

KITTY: Mm. No. My dad will probably give you the big dad speech. “No drinking, no drugs, no hands.”

Min Ho whips his head over to his champagne glass, and he’s looking at it like he’s already messed up.

Kitty obliviously smiles and takes a swig of her champagne.

MIN HO: (clearing his throat) Covey. Uh, maybe let’s slow it down a little on the champagne?

Kitty looks down at her almost empty glass and nods with her lips pursed.

Min Ho sighs, but just barely, because he definitely already messed up and he doesn’t want his first impression to be carrying a drunk Kitty.

KITTY: Couch?

Min Ho exhales and smiles back at her. He knows Kitty’s really looking forward to bringing him back with her.

MIN HO: Couch it is.

Min Ho leans in for a small peck on her cheek.

Kitty returns a small cheek kiss of her own.

When she turns back forward, Kitty thinks carefully about what she’s going to tell her family.

The champagne isn’t helping.

But, luckily for her, she’s still got 8 hours left in her flight.

Kitty finishes her dessert, and then she’s getting up to grab her yellow backpack from the overhead bin. She pulls out her laptop and settles back into her comfy seat with a confident smile.

Kitty Song Covey has convinced her dad once before.

And she knows what works on Dan Covey.

Chapter Text

AsianAir, In Flight

Before Kitty was a matchmaker, she was a chess player.

She wasn’t a chess champion, per se, but she wasn’t bad considering she used to beat her dad all the time.

They stopped playing chess as often when she hit her teenage years. Instead, they moved to poker. 

And Dan was even worse at poker than at chess. 

Kitty could read him like an open book.

That’s how Kitty knows she’s just made the most convincing PowerPoint presentation of her life.

Well, tipsy Kitty feels like she’s just made the most convincing PowerPoint presentation of her life.

At the very least, the champagne completely removed her tendency to overthink, so her hands have been moving nonstop on the laptop for the past forty minutes.

She only stopped three times.

Once, to go to the bathroom.

A second time, to take a picture of Min Ho in his seat.

And a third time, to take a selfie of the both of them in their seats.

Next to her, Min Ho just watches with a completely stunned expression as she airdrops the photos to her laptop and adds them to her presentation.

Min Ho doesn’t think he’s ever seen Kitty work so fast.

Or maybe it’s because Min Ho only ever tutored her in Korean, and Kitty’s Korean is only mildly less tragic than it used to be.

But Kitty is already finished with her work. 

She signs the final slide with a large “XO, Kitty” and then closes her laptop with a satisfied exhale.

MIN HO: Is that actually going to work?

KITTY: It’s how I convinced my dad to let me come to Korea.

MIN HO: You made a presentation about Korea? But you didn’t even know anything about it.

KITTY: (nodding) I can be very persuasive. 

Min Ho chuckles in disbelief.

Clearly.

Kitty yawns and stretches her arms.

The dimmed lighting is getting to her.

After all, the cabin had dimmed five minutes after she started, and she’s been working in the dark ever since. 

MIN HO: Come on, Covey. We should probably get some sleep before we land.

She smiles over at Min Ho, and he reaches over to her control panel to point at a button. 

MIN HO: You can adjust them individually, but there’s one that just lays you straight back.

KITTY: Mm. Thanks, Min Ho.

She presses her lie-flat button, and he does the same next to her.

They’re both shuffling through their amenities — the duvet, the eye masks, the Korean skincare.

Kitty grabs the sleep mask from her amenity bag and looks at it.

But then I have to take off my makeup… I’m so tired.

She looks up and sees Min Ho is already wiping his face with the cleansing pad, so she huffs a breath and joins him.

Kitty doesn’t know how it’s possible, but he’s somehow taken longer to do his skincare than it’s taken her.

He’s lathering on the sleeping mask when she finally pulls the duvet cover over herself.

She settles down on the bed. And now the alcohol is really hitting her.

This has got to be the most comfortable airplane bed ever. First class is awesome. 

Kitty doesn’t realize how much time has passed, but before long, she’s just watching Min Ho as he closes his jar of sleeping mask.

And maybe it’s the alcohol she’s never had on the plane before. Or the lie-flat position she’s never been in before. Or the fact that she hasn’t seen her entire family together in a whole year.

Or maybe it’s the fact that last year, she had so much trouble falling asleep on her trans-pacific flight because Min Ho had just confessed to her and she kept thinking she should go talk to him in first class while the plane was still up in the air.

Maybe it’s all of these things combined. 

Min Ho pulls his duvet cover over himself and starts to put on his eye mask when he catches her. She’s faced sideways, just looking over at him a little wistfully.

MIN HO: Covey, you alright?

KITTY: …Yeah.

He rolls over to face her. 

MIN HO: What’s wrong?

KITTY: Nothing is… It’s kind of nice.

Min Ho blinks back at her like he wasn’t expecting to hear that.

KITTY: …Ever since I landed in Korea junior year, it’s been one thing after another. I mean, last year I flew home thinking I got kicked out of KISS forever and I’d never see any of you again… And last summer I couldn’t go with you or even go home because Lara Jean and Peter broke up.

Min Ho softens completely at that. Kitty is usually so chaotic or optimistic or nervous about the future. He doesn’t think he’s ever really met a Kitty this proactively introspective before.

KITTY: But now I’m just… going home. And I’m still at KISS. And Lara Jean and Peter are working through it together. And we’re…

But Kitty doesn’t finish.

Min Ho reaches over in the silence for Kitty’s hand. He holds it for a moment, just tracing small circles as he looks softly at her.

MIN HO: (quietly) I’ll stay as long as I need to work it out with you.

KITTY: Mm…

Kitty smiles, and then she closes her eyes. Min Ho continues tracing small circles on her hand.

Kitty must have been exhausted. It doesn’t take her long to drift off to sleep.

Min Ho feels her hand relax under his, and then she lets out the tiniest little snore. 

Min Ho chuckles softly, and then he’s reaching over to pull her duvet over her shoulders.

He pulls his own eye mask down, and then he’s blindly reaching into the distance until he finds her hand again.

There was still a lot left to figure out. They might not even get to it before the plane lands.

But Min Ho just promised to stay for as long as it takes.

So right now, sleep is winning.

Chapter Text

PDX Airport, Immigration Booth

Min Ho and Kitty stand close but stiffly. They’re staring awkwardly ahead as Min Ho shifts his weight and Kitty twists her lips.

They’re not fighting or anything.

Quite the opposite, actually. They were a little too attached before they got to the booth.

It isn’t really a symptom of jet lag, even though Kitty and Min Ho both woke up a bit disoriented.

They didn’t wake naturally. A flight attendant woke them up because they had to return their seats to their upright position for landing.

But instead of waking up annoyed, they both woke up with smiles because they didn’t let go of each other’s hands in their sleep.

They kept holding hands in line too, and when the decision came, Kitty didn’t want to separate from Min Ho to go through the standard citizen line at customs, which would have saved her probably 30 minutes or so.

The officer didn’t hesitate to call her out on that.

At all.

CBP OFFICER: Purpose of your visit?

Kitty and Min Ho speak at the same time:

KITTY: Tourism.

MIN HO: Visiting family.

He eyes them both suspiciously, because he’s holding Kitty’s American passport in his left hand and Min Ho’s South Korean passport in his right hand.

CBP OFFICER: (to Min Ho) Where is the family located?

Min Ho looks at the officer for a moment, and then looks right at Kitty.

Min Ho genuinely doesn’t know.

KITTY: Oh, it’s… my family. We live, like, ten minutes away from Adler High.

The CBP officer types out some notes on his computer.

CBP OFFICER: Where will you be staying?

KITTY: With me. At my dad’s house.

The officer returns Kitty’s passport, and then looks at Min Ho.

CBP OFFICER: And when will you be returning?

MIN HO: I plan to book my return flight once we get settled.

The CBP officer looks like he’s not at all pleased with that answer.

CBP OFFICER: How long are you planning to stay?

MIN HO: A few weeks? We’re expected to return for classes next month.

CBP OFFICER: …And what brings you to the United States specifically?

Min Ho hesitates. The honest answer is: “I chased the girl next to me to the airport because I wanted to fight for my relationship.” But that’s not what you say to Customs and Border Patrol.

MIN HO: I’m here to visit her family for the holidays.

CBP OFFICER: Are they expecting you?

KITTY and MIN HO: Yes…

The way they say it is so unconvincing that the officer just sighs and removes his glasses.

CBP OFFICER: What is the nature of your relationship?

MIN HO: She’s my girlfriend.

CBP OFFICER: How long have you been in this relationship?

KITTY: (chuckles awkwardly) About 12 hours.

Kitty nods awkwardly as Min Ho tries very hard not to shoot Kitty a pointed look. Because why would she say it like that?

The officer looks at Kitty for a moment too long.

He steps off his chair and gestures for Kitty to follow him.

Me?

Kitty points at herself in confusion, then follows the officer to the side.

The moment they’re out of earshot, the officer turns to face Kitty.

CBP OFFICER: Ma’am, are you traveling under duress?

Kitty’s eyes widen and her face drops completely.

KITTY: What? No.

CBP OFFICER: Is this man forcing you to travel with him?

KITTY: (scoffs) No. I’ve never seen him force anything in his life… (tilting her head) Except maybe the pump on his cologne once when it got stuck…

CBP OFFICER: Are you safe?

KITTY: (with a firm nod) Absolutely. 100%. I completely trust him. You see, the reason we even broke up in the first place was because I accused him of cheating on me with a former K-pop star who’s a friend of ours who I thought was pregnant, but then it turns out that Min Ho didn’t cheat on me and that the not-baby daddy was actually my other ex-boyfriend and she wasn’t even pregnant.

Kitty looks over to find the officer with his arms crossed, unamused.

KITTY: Anyway, I should have trusted him and I didn’t. But we made up right before I left, he wrote me a song, and now he’s going to stay in Portland. (shrugging sweetly) For me. So we can work it out.

The CBP officer sighs deeply and Kitty swears he mutters something about teenage girls under his breath.

He walks back to his booth and then sits down in his chair with vigor.

He opens Min Ho’s passport.

CBP OFFICER: The moment you get to her family’s home, you buy that return ticket.

MIN HO: Thank you, officer.

The officer stamps Min Ho’s passport. Then extends his hand out.

Min Ho grabs the passport, but the officer doesn’t let go.

CBP OFFICER: Immediately.

MIN HO: Yes, sir.

The officer finally lets go of the passport, and Min Ho bows a thanks.

CBP OFFICER: Next!

Chapter Text

PDX Airport, Baggage Claim

It’s 9:03AM.

It took them longer to get through customs than Kitty expected, but she’s not really thinking about that right now.

Kitty is thinking about how she texted Margot immediately after landing, how it’s been more than an hour, and that she hasn’t heard back yet.

She’s texting vigorously on her phone as they wait at baggage claim.

MIN HO: Still nothing from Margot?

KITTY: (sighs) No. It’s not like her at all. She’s usually the fastest to respond out of all of us.

MIN HO: Maybe she’s caught in traffic.

KITTY: Maybe…

In the distance, they see Kitty’s yellow luggage drop onto the other end of the belt.

MIN HO: I got it.

Min Ho walks over to grab her luggage when-

LARA JEAN: Kitty!

Wait, what?

Kitty whips around in total surprise to find Lara Jean beaming at her.

LJ?!

Kitty and Lara Jean move swiftly towards each other, and when Kitty reaches her, she practically melts into Lara Jean’s arms.

KITTY: (muffled) I missed you.

LARA JEAN: (smiling) Hi, Kitty.

They break apart and Kitty is just beaming back.

Lara Jean furrows her eyebrows at Kitty. Kitty doesn’t even have her backpack on.

LARA JEAN: Wait, where’s all your stuff?

KITTY: Yeah, about that…

But Kitty doesn’t even need to speak.

Lara Jean has already spotted Kitty’s signature yellow backpack and luggage case.

With Min Ho.

Lara Jean just stares at Min Ho in shock as he approaches.

MIN HO: Hi, Lara Jean. It’s nice to see you again.

LARA JEAN: Min Ho…?

Lara Jean darts her eyes awkwardly over to Kitty like she needs an explanation right about now.

KITTY: Surprise.

Kitty says it with fake sweetness and jazz hands because Kitty knows she dropped the ball.

LARA JEAN: He flew all the way across the world. To Portland.

Lara Jean says it knowingly and with a little judgmental sass.

KITTY: Mhm.

LARA JEAN: Mhm.

And for a second both Kitty and Lara Jean are just nodding at each other, exchanging pointed and awkward “mhm”s.

Min Ho’s eyes dart back and forth between the two sisters.

Lara Jean narrows her eyes at Kitty because she had 12 hours for this heads up and Lara Jean intuitively knows it was Kitty who forgot. 

KITTY: It’s such a long story. We’ll tell you on the way to Petunia’s? I bet everyone could use some blueberry scones, maybe some coffee. Oh! We could get their famous cinnamon rolls.

Lara Jean’s face doesn’t change at all.

LARA JEAN: Mhm. You mean Dad’s favorite scones and Margot’s favorite cinnamon rolls because you’re about to bring home a boy and ask for something ridiculous, like the guest room for a few days.

KITTY: More like a few weeks.

Lara Jean’s eyes widen because Kitty has taken her bravery to the next level.

Next to Kitty, Min Ho’s eyes have also widened because they just ripped the Band-Aid off, didn’t they?

Kitty shakes her head and waves her hand dismissively.

KITTY: (scoffs) …Details. We should get going or the line at Petunia’s is going to get way too long, am I right? Uh. Where’s Margot?

LARA JEAN: Really bad jet lag this time around, so I offered to get you instead.

Kitty’s face falls immediately.

KITTY: Wait, so you’re driving?

LARA JEAN: Don’t look so surprised. And I’m a better driver than I used to be.

KITTY: (incredulous) How? You’ve been living in Manhattan for years. I bet you don’t even remember how to fill the gas tank.

Lara Jean fidgets with her coat.

LARA JEAN: Well, y-you don’t have to worry about the gas tank because Peter filled it up earlier.

KITTY: Wait, Peter’s here?

Lara Jean nods with a smile and loops her arm through Kitty’s.

LARA JEAN: Mhm. He’s waiting in the car.

Kitty groans as they begin to walk.

KITTY: Then why isn’t Peter driving?

Min Ho hesitates for a moment. He isn’t sure what he was expecting. Maybe a tad more resistance? He doesn’t know.

Kitty and Lara Jean turn their heads back to him like they’re not sure why he isn’t moving.

LARA JEAN: Aren’t you coming?

MIN HO: Yes, yes. Of course.

Min Ho rolls Kitty’s luggage case and joins them from behind.

PDX Airport, Parking Lot

Min Ho has seen Kitty interact with Lara Jean on many occasions.

She used to FaceTime Lara Jean at night when she lived in the boys’ dorm.

It’s how Min Ho learned so much about Kitty. He could hear everything she said through the walls.

Then, when they started dating, he got roped into an occasional call or two.

So Min Ho thought he understood their dynamic very well.

But the parking garage is only a 7-minute walk from baggage claim and Min Ho has already lost count of how many times Lara Jean and Kitty have insulted each other.

So much so, that Min Ho is starting to think he and Kitty were never actually enemies.

KITTY: Lara Jean, the whole point of mailing out your letters was so you could get a boyfriend to drive us around.

LARA JEAN: You wouldn’t still need me to drive you around if you would just get your own license.

KITTY: How was I supposed to do that? I’ve been living in Korea.

LARA JEAN: You were with me in New York for three months.

KITTY: And how was I supposed to learn with no car? You made us take the subway everywhere.

LARA JEAN: I made you take the subway? You love the subway. Almost as much as you love-

KITTY: (gasps) Peter!

Kitty is already bolting off into the distance.

Peter Kavinsky, in his button-down jacket and khakis, is leaning on his silver Jeep with a bright smile on his face and his arms stretched out wide.

Min Ho watches Kitty practically launch herself at Peter, who knows now to brace for Kitty’s very enthusiastic hugs.

Min Ho narrows his eyes because this is a dynamic he does not understand very well.

PETER: Welcome back, Kitty.

Min Ho watches as Peter squeezes her back in the hug, which is now lingering a few seconds longer than Min Ho expected.

Maybe Min Ho does understand the dynamic. He just doesn’t love it.

Peter looks up and tilts his head, because he wasn’t expecting to see another familiar face today.

PETER: Min Ho.

MIN HO: Peter.

Kitty finally releases Peter, who just looks amused.

PETER: Didn’t know you were coming. Or that you two were back together?

MIN HO: (quietly) Yeah.

There’s a tiny bit of awkwardness, but that’s mostly on Min Ho’s side, because Peter is still smiling widely.

PETER: Well, bring it in, man!

Peter goes in for a hug, which startles Min Ho.

And the moment Peter’s arms wrap around him, Min Ho realizes why Kitty lingers.

Peter does give good hugs.

They break the hug. Then, Peter starts to reach for Kitty’s luggage handle.

PETER: Here, let me help.

But Min Ho pulls the case towards him.

MIN HO: I got it.

PETER: (darting his eyes) …Okay.

Min Ho loads Kitty’s luggage into the car when Peter opens the side door for Kitty and gestures mock-ceremoniously.

PETER: Madam.

KITTY: Why, thank you.

Min Ho can’t see Kitty’s face from the trunk, but he knows Kitty’s voice well enough to know she’s absolutely beaming right now.

He exhales and closes the trunk, because he’s started to realize that in Portland, he’s got a lot of work to do.

Inside Peter’s Jeep

Lara Jean is adjusting her mirror when Peter climbs into the front passenger seat next to her.

Behind her, Kitty is already firmly buckled in.

You would think it’s because Korea is very strict on seatbelt laws and she got used to it there.

But it’s mainly because Kitty trusts Lara Jean about as much as she trusts a balloon to hold up a 30 lb. weight.

Min Ho opens the door to the seat behind Peter. He’s barely closed the door behind him when Peter spins around with furrowed eyebrows.

PETER: Wait a second. Where’s your stuff, bro?

MIN HO: I didn’t bring anything with me.

Min Ho is trying to avoid the awkwardness by focusing on his seatbelt.

But it’s too late.

Lara Jean whips her head around.

She was so focused on sassing Kitty earlier that she just remembered Min Ho carrying only a yellow backpack and a yellow suitcase, both of which were Kitty’s.

LARA JEAN: You just… got on a plane? From Korea? With nothing?

MIN HO: (clicking his belt) Uh-

KITTY: I-I was running late… And he was trying to make sure that I got to my flight on time.

PETER: (pointing aimlessly) So you got on the flight, to make sure that she made her flight on time?

Kitty and Min Ho nod silently. That doesn’t really track now that someone says it out loud, does it?

MIN HO: I was the reason she was late.

Lara Jean and Peter are both tilting their heads, but Kitty interjects quickly before the interrogation continues.

KITTY: You know what we need, for this (closing her eyes briefly) super awesome conversation? Some coffee. Yeah. Please drive.

Lara Jean and Peter turn to each other with knowing looks. This must be a juicy conversation if Kitty Song Covey is requesting for Lara Jean Song Covey to drive.

LARA JEAN: Okay. Petunia’s it is.

The moment Lara Jean starts the car, Kitty reaches over to grab Min Ho’s arm urgently.

KITTY: You have an international medical plan, right?

Min Ho looks over at Kitty in complete alarm.

MIN HO: Why?

The universe, or rather, Lara Jean, answers at just this moment.

She presses the gas pedal and the Jeep goes jolting forward, causing both Kitty and Min Ho to brace against the back of the seats.

Min Ho whips his head over to Kitty in disbelief. 

Covey, are you freaking joking me right now.

Kitty looks back at Min Ho with a grimaced “sorry” that is way too late.

Because Kitty Song Covey has dropped the ball on this one too.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Inside Peter’s Jeep

Luckily, with Peter driving, the ride back to the Covey house was completely uneventful. The way a car ride should be.

It was peaceful, actually.

Or at least, it seemed peaceful.

Everyone drank their coffees and seemed to enjoy the silence.

Everyone except Min Ho, whose heart is now racing. It’s beating faster than it was when Lara Jean was driving.

It could be the coffee.

Or it could be the fact that with every passing minute, he gets closer and closer to meeting the entire Covey family.

Min Ho has never done this before. Sure, he met Peter before, but he wasn’t dating Kitty yet. And sure, he met Lara Jean before, but he and Kitty were broken up. And sure, he lent Margot and Young Ja halmeoni the private jet, but he didn’t actually meet them because he lent it as a favor to his friend, Kitty. Not his girlfriend Kitty.

The stakes were different.

They’re so different now that Min Ho wonders whether he should have gotten the hotel room anyway.

But it’s too late to think this, because the silver Jeep is already slowing down in front of the Covey House.

PETER: Okay, we’re here.

Min Ho isn’t sure what he was expecting, exactly.

But he definitely didn’t expect to feel the way he does as he looks out the Jeep window at the light beige exterior with the manicured lawn.

It’s just… for how chaotic Kitty Song Covey is, the house looks so… normal.

LARA JEAN: (turning to Kitty) What’s your plan?

Kitty inhales, reaches down for her yellow backpack, and then sighs deeply when she straightens back up.

KITTY: I don’t know. Just try my best, I guess.

Kitty sighs and turns to Min Ho.

KITTY: Wait here?

Min Ho smiles and nods. He knows she has to do this part alone.

Kitty gets out of the car with her yellow backpack. She’s gotten both arms through the straps.

Okay, Kitty. You can do this. It’s just your family. And it’s just a few weeks.

Just a few weeks…

Kitty rings the doorbell.

Barely a moment passes before the door opens.

It’s Margot.

MARGOT: Hi!

She immediately wraps her arms around Kitty, and Kitty melts into the embrace the same way she did with Lara Jean at the airport.

Kitty missed Margot. A lot.

KITTY: I thought you’d be asleep.

MARGOT: I was. But then I heard dad cooking.

They break the hug and Margot ushers Kitty in.

MARGOT: You think I’d let dad attempt galbi-jjim by himself? I know how much you love it.

Kitty chuckles, because Dan would burn it. Probably.

MARGOT: Welcome home.

Dan’s voice comes booming toward the door. He’s walked out of the kitchen, just drying his hands with a kitchen towel.

DAN: Is that who I think it is?

KITTY: Dad!

DAN: Come here, kiddo!

Kitty wraps both arms around Dan’s waist and he bends down to wrap his arms around her.

KITTY: Hey, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m an adult.

DAN: Ehh, same thing.

Kitty breaks the hug with narrowed eyes like she wants to but won’t actually sass up her dad.

TRINA: Kitty! Welcome home!

Trina walks over to Kitty, and they exchange a loving and friendly hug.

TRINA: (breaking the hug) Come! Come sit. I was just clearing the table and your dad is working on stew for lunch.

But then Trina stops and eyes Kitty up and down.

TRINA: Where’s your luggage?

DAN: And where’s Lara Jean and Peter? Didn’t they go get you?

KITTY: They did. They’re just… in the car… waiting for me to talk to you.

DAN: Oh, honey. About what?

KITTY: About Min Ho coming to the house. Today.

Dan, Trina, and Margot all look at Kitty like she’s just randomly decided to throw a brick through a window.

DAN and TRINA and MARGOT: What?

The Covey House

Kitty unzips her backpack and pulls out her laptop.

This time, she doesn’t even bother casting it onto the TV.

She just starts the slideshow and turns the laptop screen towards the family.

It begins with the word “Surprise!” in bright yellow characters on a pink background with cherry blossoms littered across the top of the screen.

MARGOT: (reading) “A PowerPoint made by Katherine Song Covey at 35,000 feet over the North Pacific Ocean. Probably.”

DAN: (gesturing in disbelief) Honey, you could have called!

KITTY: Well, actually, I didn’t really have time.

Kitty is about to launch into the spiel she gave the CBP officer at the airport, but she sees the look on Dan and Margot’s faces, so she just forwards her presentation to the next slide.

It doesn’t really help Dan and Margot’s faces, because it’s frankly just a photo Kitty took of Min Ho on the plane next to her with a caption that says “Min Ho’s here.”

KITTY: Surpriiiiiise. Min Ho’s here. (quickly) He’s in the car and he doesn’t have any stuff. We’ll get to that.

Dan and Trina respond at the same time:

DAN: He’s here?

TRINA: He’s in the car?

KITTY: Yes-

Kitty is already holding up her hand in defense.

KITTY: -And I’m sure you’re thinking: “but Kitty, weren’t you broken up?” Such a great question.

Kitty forwards herself to the next slide in the presentation, which has a literal timeline on it.

KITTY: 11am? Yes. (nodding) Yes we were. (pointing) But then, at 11:28, he found me on a train going to Incheon. And he missed it, but then he got on the next train. And I waited for him even though I didn’t know if he was going to be on it. But he was! So at 12:45, we were no longer broken up. But then my flight was leaving soon, so he bought a plane ticket so he could come with me.

Kitty forwards to the next slide, which is the selfie Kitty took of them earlier on the flight.

KITTY: So he didn’t pack anything. He has no luggage. He doesn’t even have a coat.

Dan, Trina, and Margot all look at Kitty with wide eyes, like they just registered they have a homeless person outside needing shelter.

Kitty forwards to the next slide, which is really just the word “PLEASE” in yellow text on a pink background.

KITTY: So can he stay in the guest room? Or the couch? Please?

Kitty blinks back innocently.

And then there's just... silence.

Margot looks like she's about to lecture her.

But all Dan Covey sees is his 9-year-old daughter who at 16 gave him the big speech about having her own adventure in Korea.

TRINA: (nudging Dan) Oh, come on, honey. What’s a few days?

KITTY: (holding up a finger) A-a few weeks.

DAN and MARGOT: What?!

Trina looks over with wide eyes like she can’t help Kitty this time.

KITTY: Please? He’ll do the dishes! And clean up after himself. (eyes widened) Trust me. He’s a neat freak.

DAN: I don’t know. Honey. A few weeks is a long time for a kid to be without his parents. Especially for the holidays.

KITTY: He’s also an adult. And it’s… actually not…

Dan and Trina raise their eyebrows like they’re not following.

KITTY: (quietly) His dad just fired him. They haven’t talked since.

Dan’s expression drops.

KITTY: And he hasn’t seen his mom in a year. She… didn’t visit Korea this year for Chuseok.

And now Margot looks sad.

KITTY: Oh, also, he cooks Korean food. Like really well.

Kitty chuckles lightly, but then she presses her lips together and shrugs.

KITTY: He doesn’t have a supportive family. And he’s never had a proper family Christmas before… Ever. (nodding) And I want him to.

Margot and Trina look over at Dan, who looks at Kitty sympathetically.

His youngest daughter has always been incredibly persuasive.

But Dan didn’t really need to hear all that to be persuaded.

Kitty had him at the dad part.

DAN: Well, what is he still doing outside in the car? (waving Kitty off) Go get him.

Kitty’s eyes go wide and she looks like she’s about to burst from joy. Even more so than when Dan agreed to let her go to Korea.

Kitty puts her laptop down on the dining room table and practically jumps into Dan’s arms.

KITTY: Yes! Thank you! Thank you!

Dan sways with Kitty as they hug.

Then she breaks the hug and runs right for the front door.

Margot walks back to the kitchen to work on the galbi-jjim. Meanwhile, Dan puts one arm around Trina as he watches Kitty go.

DAN: She’s not 9 anymore.

Trina watches Kitty too.

TRINA: She hasn’t been for a while, honey.

The front door opens, then quickly slams shut.

DAN: I just let her bring her boyfriend in the house. For Winter Break.

TRINA: You did.

Trina nods, and Dan is still looking at the front door.

DAN: …Do we have something to prop her door open? 

TRINA: (gently) Honey.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The Covey House – Second Floor

Getting Min Ho situated in the guest room is actually such a silly way to describe it, because Min Ho didn’t bring anything with him. Not even a charger.

This became evident very quickly because Min Ho went to the door to grab Kitty’s suitcase, since that was the only thing they brought from Korea that needed situating.

And after he lugged it up the stairs, they left that in the hallway because Dan waved them immediately over to the guest room anyway.

It’s a small room at the end of the hallway opposite Kitty’s room. It’s smaller than any of the bedrooms.

There’s a TV mounted on one wall, and the guest bed is actually a modern day bed with a twin-sized trundle.

DAN: This, uh, used to be a game room, but we bought the bed a few years ago when Peter started staying over. It’s not much but it’ll work.

MIN HO: I appreciate you allowing me to stay here.

DAN: (nodding) There’s a small closet here for your stuff. Well, if you had stuff. What are you going to do about that anyway, kiddo?

MIN HO: I’ll need to go shopping for… everything.

DAN: I can lend you something to wear for now if you want to sleep off the jet lag before lunch.

MIN HO: It’s alright, Doctor Covey. I’m… actually quite caffeinated. And I slept very well on the plane.

KITTY: (smiling) Yeah, business class seats turn into beds.

Dan turns to Kitty with his eyebrows furrowed, because now that he thinks about it, Kitty’s selfie from the plane did have her in a larger seat, didn’t it?

DAN: Business class? I paid for an economy ticket.

MIN HO: I upgraded her seat.

DAN: Into a business class ticket? On the day of the flight? You must have spent a fortune.

MIN HO: It actually wasn’t much more than I normally spend on tickets to see my mom in LA.

KITTY: How much… were the tickets… actually?

MIN HO: (darting his eyes) I think about ₩14,000,000? Your upgrade was about 2 million.

Dan doesn’t know the conversion off the top of his head, but he doesn’t have to. Kitty’s jaw has already dropped.

KITTY: That’s, like, more than a thousand dollars!

MIN HO: $1,500 I think.

Min Ho notices Dan’s eyes widen now.

MIN HO: (quickly) Uh, give or take.

DAN: That’s more than what I paid for the original ticket! 

Dan is staring at Min Ho in disbelief. It’s not that Dan didn’t know Min Ho was rich. Min Ho did say his dad owned a large entertainment company in Asia and Dan also knows Min Ho’s dad owns a private jet.

But dropping a casual ten grand… How rich is this kid?

MIN HO: It’s a part of my birthday gift, for Kitty.

That statement doesn’t help Dan at all.

But now Dan understands why Min Ho felt he could just drop everything and get on this plane to another country with absolutely nothing on him. Since he could just buy it all in the blink of an eye.

DAN: Alright, well. There’s a bathroom all the way down the hall, next to the girls’ rooms.

Dan walks back out of the guest room door. Kitty and Min Ho follow.

DAN: Couple of things while you’re here. Tree has very particular feelings about the linen closet in the master bath. Don’t go in there.

Min Ho nods.

DAN: Lights off upstairs by eleven. You can watch movies late downstairs but we old folks need our sleep-

Dan stops mid-point like he remembers something important.

DAN: Do your parents know you’re here?

Min Ho stops abruptly in place in the hallway. Kitty stops with him.

MIN HO: …I will let my mum know.

DAN: Good.

Dan turns around to him and closes his eyes, gesturing as if he’s about to say something very dad-like.

DAN: (hands raised) Also — and I say this as the guy who delivers babies for a living — condoms.

Min Ho and Kitty both look at Dan with their eyes wide like he’s not seriously giving them this talk right now, is he? 

But he is. And he’s quick, too.

DAN: Best protection on the market, hands down-

KITTY: (mortified) Dad!

DAN: -They cover more than just the obvious thing-

Kitty practically runs over with both hands up like she really needs Dan to shut up right now.

KITTY: -DAD. Shouldn’t you go check on the stew? I mean, you don’t want it to burn again and then disappoint mom and halmeoni and Margot and all our Korean ancestors do you? (light chuckle) I mean. 

Kitty talks so fast that if Dan didn’t literally watch her grow up and learn to speak English, he wouldn’t have been able to decipher anything she said.

DAN: Oh, the stew. Yes.

Dan turns toward the stairs and Min Ho can practically see the tension leave Kitty’s body.

But then Dan stops at the top of the railing and turns back around, causing Kitty and Min Ho to straighten back up.

And this time Dan looks more serious.

DAN: You already broke up once. That’s between you two. But she went through a lot then. So if you’re upset, you talk to her about it. That’s my only real rule, Min Ho.

Kitty blinks at her dad. She wasn’t expecting this at all.

The embarrassing dad jokes and the talk about contraception, sure. It’s Dan Covey.

But this part, about protecting her heart. This part is new.

Min Ho clearly wasn’t expecting it either – to be given a directive about emotional accountability.

MIN HO: (softly) I will.

Dan says nothing more about it. He just turns and walks down the stairs.

Min Ho’s eyes flicker over to Kitty, who looks the most muted she’s been since he chased her on the train in Seoul.

DAN: (over his shoulder) Keep the door open, kids.

Kitty groans.

KITTY: (under her breath) Oh, my god.

Because the embarrassing dad is already back.

Chapter Text

The Covey House – Kitty’s Room

Kitty throws her luggage case on her bedroom floor.

I should have known Dad would embarrass me immediately.

Kitty huffs a sigh and looks around at her bedroom. It looks the same as when she left it a year ago.

The marigold quilt on her bed is the same. Trina has clearly washed it and put it back, fluffed and crisp. She can smell the lavender detergent Trina used.

Kitty’s eyes go to the corkboard across from the bed, like she’s checking that everything is still where it should be.

It is.

Like the Halloween photo with her sisters from when she was seven, where she’s a witch and Margot is also a witch and LJ is some kind of fairy princess Margot was clearly annoyed about. 

And the gymnastics-leotard photo from when she was five. The one LJ used as teasing ammunition for years.

And there’s a birthday-party photo with her friend group at… she thinks it was Maddie’s? Or Hannah’s? One of them.

She remembers cancelling on plans with all of those girls a few times to spend Saturdays watching movies with LJ.

Kitty glances at the closet. The door is slightly ajar, but she doesn’t need to open it to know what’s in there. It’s mostly Portland-weather things she didn’t bother taking to Seoul. Rain jackets. Fleeces. Ski gear. Maybe some socks she’s been missing.

It’s all the same.

Trina hasn’t moved anything. 

She takes a deep breath, and soon after, there’s four knocks at the doorframe. She doesn’t even have to turn around to know who it is.

Because he always knocks on her door that way.

Min Ho wasn’t really sure what to do after Dan’s little speech.

But it was, give or take, what he originally thought Dan was going to talk about when they first met.

He just wasn’t expecting to see it affect Kitty that way.

Min Ho just watches silently as Kitty walks over, grabs her luggage, and drags it into her bedroom without a word.

MIN HO: I-

But Kitty doesn’t hear him.

He watches her drop her luggage case on the floor and place her hands on her hips like she’s surveying whether there’s any damage.

Min Ho follows and stops at the threshold because he’s not sure if he’s allowed to walk in.

But then he sees her relax her shoulders in a way he hasn’t seen her do since they landed.

Whatever this room is to her, it is doing something to her body that the rest of the house isn’t quite doing.

Min Ho scans the room from left to right.

Her room seems somehow a little different from her dorm room in Seoul. But also the same.

At the dorms, everyone has a standard twin bed with the same bedspreads.

But here, Kitty’s got a full sized mattress covered with a yellow quilt.

The walls of her room are a cream color, and there are small plants dotted along her windowsill.

He follows her gaze to the wall opposite the bed to a corkboard of photos. He can’t really see all of them properly from the doorway.

But he does see two.

There’s a swim meet photo, or what he thinks is a swim meet photo because she’s in a swimsuit. A young Kitty is holding ribbons and smiling all gap-toothed and pleased with herself.

Nearby, there’s a larger tae kwon do photo where Kitty is making a fist at the camera. Min Ho presses his lips together as he tries not to laugh, because young Kitty looks deadly serious about her belt.

His expression changes when he sees what’s next to it. It’s a framed certificate for a two-time district sparring champion.

Ah.

Min Ho’s eyes widen as he remembers the Kitty who showed up for him at the showcase last semester.

She wasn’t kidding about the drop kick, was she?

Min Ho just nods silently, because he never actually thought she was kidding anyway.

But now he’s filing this for self-preservation.

The dobok-fist photo and the framed certificate are not unrelated.

Probably shouldn’t get on her bad side in a room with hardwood floors…

But he’s smiling now.

He wishes he could see the rest of the pictures from here.

He hears a deep sigh and looks over at Kitty. He can’t see her expression at all. So that sigh can really mean anything.

Min Ho knocks four times on the doorframe.

MIN HO: Covey?

Kitty spins around, and Min Ho swears his heart skips a beat.

Maybe it’s because he just looked at pictures of a younger Kitty, or maybe it’s because he expected her to be in a bad mood, or maybe it’s because the noon sun is shining through the window and landing on her silhouette.

But the Kitty that’s looking at him now looks so settled and so at ease that he can feel it in her smile.

And even though her hair is also travel-flat, and there’s a puffiness under her eyes, she really does look angelic.

KITTY: The door is open.

MIN HO: (smiling) So we’ve been told.

Min Ho stays at the threshold for a moment longer, looking past her at the wall of photographs and posters, and then he steps inside.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

MIN HO: So this is where Kitty Song Covey lives. I should’ve known you’d have a poster of Romeo and Juliet.

Kitty tilts her chin up cheekily as he steps closer.

KITTY: It’s a classic.

MIN HO: (narrowing his eyes) It’s young Leonardo DiCaprio in a Hawaiian shirt.

KITTY: First of all, I know you love a good Hawaiian shirt-

MIN HO: (smiling) -Never-

KITTY: -And second of all, I am a matchmaker. What other movie poster would I have up?

Min Ho has stepped in pretty close now.

MIN HO: (softly) Sure, Covey.

Kitty leans in for a kiss. She can’t help it, because it’s the first moment they’ve had to themselves since they landed.

Suddenly, Trina’s voice comes booming up the stairs.

TRINA: Lunch is ready!

Kitty and Min Ho break apart quickly. They both know intuitively that Dan sent her to get them before they lingered too long.

It’s going to be a hell of a Winter Break.

Chapter Text

Nordstrom in Downtown Portland 

Kitty fidgets awkwardly on the bench in front of the fitting rooms. She crosses her legs, and then uncrosses them.

She’s not sure what the etiquette is for a girlfriend watching her boyfriend shop for designer clothes. But whatever it is, she’s convinced she’s doing it wrong.

You see, it was actually Kitty’s idea to bring Min Ho to Nordstrom. It was the fanciest place she could think of. And the moment they entered, Min Ho looked right at the designer racks for a coat.

It took all of Kitty’s willpower not to roll her eyes because Peter’s flannel-hoodie isn’t that bad.

Or at least, that’s what Kitty thought.

But the salesperson had thoughts of disgust she communicated entirely via judgmental looks.

Kitty could tell the salesperson was uninterested in helping them browse at first.

But when Min Ho went to pay for his fancy $3,000 Moncler jacket or whatever, the salesperson at the counter took one look at his black card and decided she was his personal shopper today.

So Kitty concedes that the flannel-hoodie might have been that bad in the designer fashion world.

Kitty watches Min Ho walk out of the fitting room in a black sweater, jeans, and boots.

Her lips are already forming a smirk.

Min Ho stops in his tracks and narrows his eyes.

MIN HO: I don’t want to wear it.

Lunch was easier than Min Ho expected.

Margot served the galbi-jjim with rice, and Dan complimented the sauce twice. Trina asked Min Ho what he usually ate for lunch in Seoul, and Min Ho found himself answering normally. Lara Jean told a story about something at her job that Min Ho didn’t fully follow but nodded at anyway. Peter ate three bowls.

It wasn’t unlike lunch with Kitty. Just… with more people.

When they finished, Dan asked Min Ho once more what his plan was for his lack of stuff, to which Peter suggested taking Min Ho to Washington Square.

Kitty immediately vetoed it and said she was thinking of bringing Min Ho to Pioneer Place, for the Nordstrom.

Trina volunteered to drive this time.

She said she was going to “swing by Trader Joe’s anyway”, which Min Ho suspects was an excuse, but he was grateful for the lift.

So Trina dropped Min Ho and Kitty off at Nordstrom and claimed she’d be back in a few hours.

Min Ho got right to work. He’d been picky about his clothes his entire life, and after months of being Eunice’s manager, he’d gotten quite effective at getting what he needs.

Which would be easier if he wasn’t overthinking what he needs.

Luckily, a salesperson at the designer racks on the third floor knows her stuff. She even clocked the Saint Laurent belt he was wearing.

Min Ho simply explained that he needed an entire wardrobe for Portland weather because he didn’t pack a suitcase and he’s never been here. Oh, and that the wardrobe needed to be… acceptable for family dinners.

The salesperson asked for no more details.

She just disappeared and returned rolling a rack of sweaters, button-down shirts, trousers, boots, and even a Tumi duffel bag that Min Ho immediately approved.

Min Ho tries on a black cashmere crew neck sweater, dark jeans, and Chelsea boots.

The salesperson is good. They fit him perfectly.

But he’s wondering whether the cream mohair would look better with the pants, so he exits the fitting room to grab it from the rack.

The moment he does, he catches Kitty’s smirk from the corner of his eye.

Persistent, Covey.

MIN HO: I don’t want to wear it.

KITTY: (getting up) It’s just a beanie.

MIN HO: (with a smirk) Then you can flatten your own hair.

Min Ho grabs the cream mohair sweater off the rack and turns back to the fitting room.

KITTY: (following) I think it would look good on you.

MIN HO: (over his shoulder) You also said that about the flannel.

KITTY: Okay, but it does.

Min Ho stops just inside his fitting room, turns around, and grabs the curtain with one hand.

Kitty stops just short of the threshold to the curtain and reaches out with her pointer finger.

KITTY: What about a black beanie? (tapping his sweater) It matches the sweater- Ooh.

Kitty practically paws the sweater above Min Ho’s chest.

KITTY: This is so soft.

Min Ho just watches her, amused, then turns to the salesperson.

MIN HO: Could we get a black cashmere sweater for her as well? 

SALESPERSON: Absolutely.

KITTY: Oh, no. That’s okay.

But the salesperson is already gone.

Kitty turns back to Min Ho, who’s looking at her like her protest is meaningless.

MIN HO: I know how much you like matching outfits. (leaning in) But I’m still not wearing the hat.

Min Ho leans in for a kiss on her cheek because Kitty is giving him a very innocent pout that he knows is all a farce.

KITTY: Hey, you wore a hat when we stole my mom’s time capsule.

Min Ho presses his tongue lightly to his cheek with a smirk, because she’s got him there.

She tilts her head and blinks once in mock-innocence, because she also knows she’s got him.

MIN HO: (sighs) I’ll get the beanie.

KITTY: Yay!

Kitty’s beaming right now.

She doesn’t even care about the beanie.

She just likes that he indulges her. After she’s won, of course.

Min Ho finds it endearing, so he leans in for an actual kiss this time. For a kiss they haven’t allowed themselves to have because of everything going on.

Min Ho’s hand releases the curtain and finds her waist, and Kitty leans her body in further.

By the time they finally break apart, they’ve both stepped partway back into the fitting room.

It’s a precarious position to be in because they’ve realized at the exact same time the salesperson has, and she has to kindly remind them by pointing at a sign that says “one person only per fitting room.”

Kitty chuckles lightly, grabs the sweater from the associate, and pulls the curtain closed of the stall next to Min Ho’s.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The Covey House – Kitty’s Room

Kitty doesn’t think she’s slept this well in weeks. Maybe months.

She hasn’t gone to sleep that early in a really long time, either.

She sits up and checks her phone.

8:22AM.

Holy shit. I slept for 12 hours?!

Damn. I must have been really tired.

Kitty shuffles out of bed and puts on her green hoodie.

She wanders down the stairs towards the sweet smell of cinnamon.

Mm, must be Lara Jean.

Kitty has made it all the way down the stairs, but the moment she looks toward the kitchen, she stops.

Lara Jean is plating her famous apple turnovers while Margot hands her Tupperware. Trina is walking around with a coffee mug in hand, already dressed in her flight attendant uniform. Dan is sitting at the island with Min Ho, both sipping coffees.

What The Hell?

Kitty doesn’t understand if she’s the one on a TV show or if they are, but she watches in disbelief as Trina walks over to Lara Jean with her car keys.

Trina taps Margot on the shoulder as she passes.

TRINA: I’ll be back on Saturday night.

Trina walks over to her luggage and catches Kitty at the foot of the stairs, still in shock.

TRINA: Oh, Kitty. Good morning.

Min Ho turns to find a mildly disheveled Kitty, not unlike the one he used to see when they shared a dorm.

She really never did learn to brush her hair when she woke up.

TRINA: Sorry. I’m running late.

Trina gives Kitty the fastest hug she can muster.

TRINA: (calling out) LJ?

LARA JEAN: Coming!

Lara Jean throws two apple turnovers into the small container and then she’s running after Trina, who has already left.

LARA JEAN: (running past) Morning.

KITTY: Morning…

Kitty waves awkwardly. It’s too late. They’re both gone.

Damn. I thought I woke up early.

Kitty shrugs and makes her way over to the kitchen island for a turnover. Min Ho is about to greet her, but Dan gets there first.

DAN: Hey, honey. Min Ho was just telling me about K-pop light sticks. You download something on your phone and it makes it light up…

Dan is pointing and gesturing at his phone as he talks.

Kitty takes a bite of an apple turnover and looks at Min Ho like she’s amused and also in shock that her dad is going off about light sticks.

Min Ho exchanges the exact same look back.

DAN: This one is just a hammer!

KITTY: Dad, don’t you have work today?

DAN: Eh, I’m on call. (smiling) As long as no one delivers a surprise, you get to see me all day.

Kitty musters up her best awkward smile, because she loves Dan but not Dan’s dad jokes.

KITTY: Mhm. Yeah.

MARGOT: Don’t just eat turnovers. Have you even been getting enough fiber?

KITTY: Hey, I eat lots of vegetables in Korea. 

Margot looks skeptically at Kitty like she knows her little sister can’t lie to save her life, and then she looks at Min Ho, who is also looking at Kitty skeptically.

Kitty looks over in offense when she catches Min Ho’s skeptical face. He sees both sisters looking at him and darts his eyes, because he absolutely does not want to be caught between this silent sister argument about vegetables.

MARGOT: I’ll make you a spinach omelette.

Kitty scoffs and takes an aggressive bite of her apple turnover as Margot moves to the fridge.

The rest of the morning is just Kitty being stubborn about not needing a spinach omelette, Kitty eating said spinach omelette with annoyance, and Kitty trying to defend her opinions about spinach, which is that it’s the worst vegetable in existence.

But Margot makes her eat it.

Margot makes everyone eat it, actually, because she also made portions for Min Ho and Dan.

Except Min Ho and Dan didn’t complain. They were too scared to.

MARGOT: You’ll thank me later. 

KITTY: You know who you should thank? Whoever sent you those flowers.

Kitty points to a vase filled with white daisies at the dinner table. Margot doesn’t even look up from her omelette.

KITTY: I didn’t know Josh was back.

MARGOT: We got coffee after we bumped into each other at the airport a few days ago, and he dropped them off last night.

Margot looks up quickly from her omelette and sticks one pointer finger out at Kitty, because Kitty was already lighting up.

MARGOT: It wasn’t a date. He has a girlfriend. The flowers are just from his mom.

KITTY: (deflating) Oh. (shrugs) Well what about that guy from work?

MARGOT: Ravi? (shaking her head) No. Not my type.

Kitty narrows her eyes knowingly.

KITTY: Mhm. I didn’t say a name.

Margot’s fork pauses mid-air. 

Got you.

Kitty looks way too smug about it.

MARGOT: (clearing her throat) Enough about me. What are you doing today?

Kitty blinks back, and then looks at Min Ho.

KITTY: Uh, it's not raining today. So I was thinking I could show you around. Maybe… take a walk downtown? Oh, or maybe we could go to Cathedral Park to watch the sun set and go to the Moonstruck Chocolate Factory after?

Kitty shrugs a little shyly. 

MIN HO: That sounds lovely.

DAN: Well, honey. If you do all that, you won’t make it back for dinner. We’re having Peter over tonight.

Min Ho notices Kitty’s soft pout form, so Min Ho does what he always does when he wants Kitty to be happy.

MIN HO: What if we take a tour of the factory first and then walk the park as the sun sets? We could bring chocolates back for dinner.

Kitty’s pout transforms into a smile so cheeky you’d swear she wasn’t an adult.

KITTY: Yeah.

Min Ho smiles back sweetly. Because the sun has risen over Portland, and he’s ready to start seeing the city that made the girl who never remembers to brush her hair.

Chapter Text

Moonstruck Chocolate Factory

Min Ho wants so badly to be pointed about this. But he can’t.

Because Kitty looks so damn happy on her tiptoes, inches away from his face, as she adjusts the hairnet on top of his head.

He knows it would be pointless to be pointed anyway.

One, he knows Kitty is bringing him to all the places she’d always wanted to go as part of a couple.

Two, as much as Min Ho pretends he hates it, he’s also always wanted to be the one to have places to go as a couple.

And three, most importantly, Min Ho cares too much about Kitty. So much so that sometimes he thinks he’s lost his bloody senses.

He definitely feels like that right now. Because he’s smiling like an idiot in his hairnet and his apron, which he’s only wearing because Kitty immediately wanted to make her own chocolate bar.

KITTY: Okay, I know you were upset you couldn’t wear your new fancy cologne, but come on. Were you really going to say no to chocolate?

MIN HO: I wasn’t upset, Covey. I understand the aroma could get into the chocolate. I’m not uncivilized.

KITTY: Hm. No. You’d just rather wear the beanie than this hairnet.

MIN HO: Yes. Exactly.

Kitty smiles and shakes her head at him. Min Ho can be so annoying sometimes.

An instructor in his forties or fifties claps his hands for the group’s attention.

INSTRUCTOR: Alright, everyone. Welcome to Moonstruck. Today you’re going to learn to be chocolatiers. And no, we are not hiring.

The instructor has made such a lame joke that no one laughs. He clears his throat awkwardly and continues.

Kitty leans over to Min Ho.

KITTY: (whispering) He kind of reminds me of Alex.

MIN HO: That’s the person you’re thinking of?

KITTY: Who else would I be thinking of? He just made the worst joke in the history of all jokes. He’s just like Alex. Except Alex is adorable and young enough to get away with it.

MIN HO: I think the instructor is rather charming. Like your dad.

Kitty gasps quietly and elbows Min Ho in offense, which just makes him shrug in confusion, because he actually meant it.

INSTRUCTOR: There’s three pitchers – dark, milk, and white chocolate. Pick one and have fun. But not too much fun.

Kitty picks up a pitcher and shoots Min Ho a pointed look, but it’s not very pointed, because she knows he’s right. She also knows he meant it.

And also, because he’s wearing an apron with cute little chocolate cartoons on it, and it just reminds her of the cartoon apron he wore the first time they cooked together.

So Kitty just elbows him teasingly, the way she does when she’s only pretending to be annoyed at him.

Someone else thinks she is, though. An older woman in her sixties or seventies leans over to Kitty.

WOMAN: Oh, sweetie. I think your gentleman was just being perfectly courteous about us old folks.

Kitty darts her eyes around like she’s just gotten a little lectured.

KITTY: (quietly) I know he is.

Min Ho smiles as he picks up a pitcher, because he’s pretty much three for three right now on winning over the elders.

WOMAN: My husband was the same way. He also brought me here for our anniversary.

Kitty looks up as she pours.

KITTY: Oh. Well, it’s actually our first date. In-in Portland.

WOMAN: Oh.

Kitty chuckles lightly, but then she furrows her eyebrows.

Wait, is this actually considered a first date?

Kitty isn’t sure. In fact, she doesn’t really understand the etiquette of what happens when you’ve dated, then stopped, then started dating again.

It sounds silly, because she’d already done something like this once before, with Dae.

But they also never had a real first date before Dae dumped her for his fake relationship with Yuri.

That’s different, right?

MIN HO: Kitty.

Kitty blinks herself out of her thoughts, and just in time, because her chocolate mold is about to overflow.

KITTY: Oh.

Kitty grabs some paper towels to wipe the small bit of overflow off her tray.

Next to Kitty, Min Ho furrows his eyebrows, because she’s zoned out quite a bit from that comment.

But… now that he thinks about it, she’s been pretty uncertain about the state of their relationship.

Like at the gate before they boarded.

And on the plane before she fell asleep.

And at the customs booth at the airport…

Oh my gosh.

How could I forget? The return ticket.

…But how am I supposed to buy a return ticket when I don’t even know when I can retur-

Oh.

Min Ho finally realizes he’s actually stuck on the same thing Kitty is stuck on…

KITTY: Min Ho. Your chocolate.

Min Ho blinks himself out of his thoughts, and his chocolate mold is actually overflowing. The chocolate that’s pooled is now making its way toward the edge of the table.

The older woman next to Kitty offers him some paper towels. Min Ho thanks her, and Kitty helps him clean it up.

Kitty looks over at Min Ho, a bit concerned. He’s not usually the one zoning out.

KITTY: Hey. What’s going on?

Min Ho looks over and sees Kitty’s scrunched eyebrows. But he also notices the older woman looking at them.

MIN HO: I… wasn’t paying attention. I’m sorry if I worried you.

Kitty doesn’t believe him. Not even in the slightest.

What aren't you saying?

She’s about to question him when the instructor’s voice booms across the table for the next instructions.

Kitty turns back over, and the older woman is back to talking to her too. 

It turns out chocolate-making is very serious business. Their hands are occupied for a while.

The entire time, the older woman tells Kitty about all the times her husband came back from deployment and they squeezed in romantic dates before he left.

And with each story, Min Ho sees Kitty get slightly more muted.

It’s strange to see a matchmaker like this.

Kitty never thought about it before. Not this deeply, at least. She’s usually very optimistic.

That’s why she wanted to bring Min Ho here, so she could make a chocolate for him as a gift.

But, it’s… weird. Hearing the sweet old woman talk fondly about the time she spent with her husband doesn’t make Kitty feel good at all. It just makes Kitty remember all the tears she dried for Lara Jean over the summer.

She doesn’t know why she feels so nervous right now.

But when they finally package up their chocolate bars, Kitty doesn’t linger at all. She just declares they don’t have much time before the sun sets and rushes them out.

That is, until they reach the factory window.

Kitty almost walks right past it. She knows it’s part of the tour. There’s signage. But the hallway it’s in is one of those in-between spaces with a few photos on the opposite wall that nobody stops to read. Plus it’s really the gift shop Kitty is heading towards.

At first she just glances sideways the way you do at an aquarium tank when you’re already on your way out.

Machines. Belt. Brown stuff. Cool.

Brown stuff… chocolate?

She turns her head and fully stops. It is chocolate.

Lines and lines of chocolate in trays, just making their slow way down an assembly line. She watches them get filled and shaken, and then the trays disappear into the tunnel.

MIN HO: Covey?

Kitty looks over to find Min Ho with scrunched eyebrows.

She’s been zoning out a lot for a date she’s always wanted to have.

MIN HO: (gently) Is this about the anniversary?

Kitty pauses, then nods.

KITTY: A little bit.

Maybe a lot.

Kitty watches the chocolates make their way out of the tunnel. And they look so different from how they went in.

She glances at Min Ho, who is just waiting patiently for her to talk.

Kitty sighs.

What even is the point in keeping it to herself, anyway?

KITTY: It just… It feels like we’ve had to start so many times that I don’t even know what starting again means right now. Busan. The summer. Chuseok…

Kitty gestures to the tunnel.

KITTY: Like how you can’t even see what happens to the chocolate but they still come out… perfect. (sighs) I see you after the summer is over and after you're done living in the studio, and you’re just this perfect boyfriend that can charm my imo-halmeoni and my dad but we barely talked and I’m just trying to catch up with your life I know nothing about anymore and if I go to NYU and you stay in Korea, that will just be our whole relationship.

Min Ho gulps. He knows this is the risk of not knowing his future.

KITTY: I’m glad you’re here and I get to know you now. But you might not always be. And then I'll have to... start again.

Kitty fidgets with the sleeves of her sweater. She’s finally caught up with herself. And Lara Jean.

Min Ho glances at the tunnel where the chocolates disappear. Then he looks at the chocolate bars in the bag he’s holding. The ones they made with their own hands earlier.

He’s never put it together before.

That what made her so nervous about the tunnel at Lotte World is probably the same thing that made her doubt him.

But Gigi did warn him. That there was something that made Kitty insecure, even if it wasn’t anything he said.

Min Ho reaches out for Kitty’s hands, turns her towards him, and looks directly at her. 

MIN HO: I get it. And I don’t have an answer for that right now. But wherever I am, (nodding) I’ll put in the effort to talk, so it won’t be like the summer again.

Min Ho exhales.

MIN HO: I wasn't paying attention earlier because I was thinking about our relationship. And I’m not sure where we are either. But, actually, I don’t want to pretend like we’re starting over. (quickly) Not because you chose NYU. But…

Min Ho closes his eyes briefly, because talking isn’t actually very easy.

MIN HO: We didn’t work it out before. We almost didn’t work it out at all. And I want it to be different this time. So we don’t make the same mess again.

KITTY: How?

MIN HO: I don’t know yet. But I’ll spend all Winter Break here, talking to you about it. And the rest of senior year. And… after that, too. 

Kitty looks back rather seriously this time. She’s not studying him. She doesn’t need to. She knows Min Ho is too honest about things like this.

But Kitty didn’t get a real answer.

It’s just… she doesn’t have a real answer either.

Not yet.

MIN HO: Because I love you.

Kitty’s smile starts to bloom, and soon she’s grinning ear to ear like an idiot.

Kitty swears she’ll never get tired of hearing it.

Because for her, love is the realest answer she can get.

Because underneath every fight, every bit of insecurity, every minute or hour or day she spent in emotional limbo without him, there’s just… love.

KITTY: I love you, too.

Kitty leans in first.

She knows they’re in a public place. She knows there are people walking past them right now. She knows she should care, but she doesn’t.

Her hands wrap around his neck where they always go.

And they just kiss like they did at the train station. With a clock ticking to the sunset and the whirring of the machines filling, shaking, cooling, stamping, and wrapping the chocolate.

They will both figure out the assembly line later. But right now, they both learned how to make the chocolate, and both know how to enjoy it.

Chapter Text

Cathedral Park

Kitty and Min Ho are speed-walking through the park with their hands tucked into their front pockets. It’s a brutal journey from the taxi, because it’s so cold that each inhale feels like ice down their throats.

It’s mainly Kitty leading. Out of the two of them, she has the most energy and hikes the most. She also knows the exact spot she wants to go to, and it’s on a grass patch just south of the bridge along the Willamette River.

They reach a small log and finally stop to catch their breaths.

MIN HO: See, Covey? (breathless) I told you we’d make it.

Min Ho starts hacking out a short cough, which makes Kitty straighten up, a little smug.

KITTY: (inhaling) You know. We wouldn’t have needed to run if you didn’t insist on getting everyone a bar of chocolate from the store.

MIN HO: Wha- and deliver the abominations we made instead?

KITTY: Why do you care so much what it looks like? My family will eat it anyway.

MIN HO: Because I don’t want them to hate me.

KITTY: Hm. How honest.

MIN HO: Besides. I made mine for you.

Kitty blushes a little as she smiles. You can’t really tell, though, because her cheeks are rosy-pink from the cold air anyway.

MIN HO: I also didn’t think you were making yours for your dad. Given all the rose petals you chose for it.

Kitty shoots him a mildly pointed look.

KITTY: I can give it to Peter if you don’t want it.

Min Ho’s smile changes immediately to a small pout.

MIN HO: (straightening up) I’m just joking, Covey.

Kitty smiles because his voice went a little small and he actually looks rather adorable right now with the pout.

Just then, something catches her eye in the distance.

KITTY: Wait, look.

Kitty points very excitedly at the orange sun setting over the horizon beyond the green bridge.

It’s genuinely beautiful.

From where they’re standing, it almost looks like the arch of the bridge is framing the sun the way a stained-glass window inside a cathedral frames a saint.

KITTY: (smiling) Hm. I’ve always wanted a sunset date here. I used to come here all the time by myself.

MIN HO: (darting his eyes) You would come here to watch a romantic sunset… by yourself?

Kitty shoots him an actual pointed look this time.

KITTY: Sometimes I would come with my friends. Well, until they got their own boyfriends and girlfriends. Then they’d just go with their boyfriends and girlfriends without me.

MIN HO: Portland seems to have a thing about the sun.

Kitty looks over at Min Ho like he just said something stupid. She gestures at the sunset as if it speaks for itself.

KITTY: Who wouldn’t?

Kitty looks back out at the sunset with a smile.

KITTY: Sunsets are peak romance. It’s proof that you had an entire day with your person.

MIN HO: (with a soft smile) I thought you liked sunrises more.

KITTY: I do. Night’s candles burn out, and the day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.

Min Ho looks at her like someone just replaced his girlfriend with an alien. He looks behind him, at the pink light hitting the snow caps of Mt. Hood, then back at Kitty, who is looking at the sun setting in the opposite direction.

Min Ho narrows his eyes.

MIN HO: You’re quoting the movie, aren’t you?

KITTY: I had to read Shakespeare, too, you know. Oh, I totally want to take you to Powell’s Books. They have a super cute cafe inside. And…

Kitty is going off on one of her long monologues about all the places she’s always dreamed about going to with her significant other in Portland.

Min Ho thought he’d heard them all by now.

But, no.

He probably never will.

And honestly? He hopes he never does.

MIN HO: (smiling) Kitty.

Kitty finally stops her monologue.

KITTY: Hm?

MIN HO: Let’s go to Powell’s tomorrow. (raising his eyebrows) It can be our second date in Portland.

Kitty’s smile blooms. She knows he’s teasing her because his smile hasn’t left his face.

MIN HO: I’ll even wear the matching sweater and beanie.

She playfully pokes him, then she leans into his side and his arm goes up around her. 

They both look back out in silence and watch as the sun disappears under the horizon.

Suddenly, Kitty’s phone chimes with a text.

TEXT FROM MARGOT: Where are you?

KITTY: Oh, we gotta go.

Kitty starts walking out of the park.

MIN HO: Your dad?

KITTY: Margot.

Min Ho doesn’t need to hear that twice. He’s already pulling out his phone to call a car.