The Prince and the Plant Whisperer

Canceling All Plans!

[~Posted 7/9/21]

[Author's Note: Super short chapter for now

We're ramping up to the finish...

So let's pause to take a POLL.

If you're still reading, wait... what!? You're amazing! Chef's kiss to you.

Poll Question #1: How did you find this book? Can you comment here, with the hashtag or topic that brought you to P&PW? I'm so, so mystified by where readers are coming from. When we started—I was 100% sure this would get like 5 reads total!

Poll Question #2: How hot do you want things to get? It's not gonna tip over into a "mature" label because we're mostly playing by K-drama/C-drama rules. Er... I think? 😄 But... we could either get more "payoff" (hehe) or just keep things pretty fluffy and light. Your comments here! >>>

]

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Kai woke up the next morning with six notifications flashing and beeping on her phone.

They were all from Nina's granddaughter.

>>> Grandma Araki had a stroke!

>>> Can you go meet her?

>>> It's bad.

>>> I'm in Seoul with a newborn, we can't go. Dad's still not talking to her. Can you go?

>>> She's having an operation tonight.

>>> Are you in school?

Groggily, Kai powered up her phone.

And right away, her heart started pounding. She was wide awake. Frantic. Flying about the room. On her laptop, looking at airplane flights, while trying to be as quiet as she could. Lilly was still asleep.

Cancel all school stuff!

With a cheap last-minute flight booked for that afternoon, Kai frantically flipped through her notes, and sent a flurry of emails to professors.

>>>> A family medical issue came up.

She felt slightly guilty claiming that Nina was family.

But then again, Nina really IS the only family I have these days.

DAMMIT!

Kai tried to hold back her panic. What else do I have to do... Her mind was reeling.

Lukas. Right.

She sent Lukas an email—canceling their 6PM meeting that night..

What else?

Her rooftop plants!

Lilly was terrible with plants, but good at following instructions. On fourteen yellow sticky notes, Kai wrote out EVERYTHING. How to get up onto the roof. How to water the plants. How to fertilize them, rotate them for sunlight, prune them, monitor them for infestations and sun-bleaching, aerate their soil, and so on.

And then Kai quietly went to pull Lilly's blanket back up over the sleeping girl's shoulders.

It was late autumn, and their dorm room was getting drafty and cold.

Then Kai kissed her roommate's adorable forehead. Lilly smiled and mumbled something in her sleep.

Five minutes and one suitcase later—Kai was in a cab, going to the train station, headed to the airport.

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🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

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