Second Chances!!

CHAPTER 1: A surprise

Min Ho hated Kitty Song Covey. He hated her so much that he actually liked her. Scrolling through Instagram, Min Ho kept returning to one post. "It's not weird if I like it is it?" He asked out loud. Q, on the other end of the phone call sighed deeply, annoyed.

"Of course it's not weird, we're friends."

"Right, but we are not, you are friends, I was a jerk and then confessed my love." Min Ho shuddered remembering the way she had quietly tried to reject him on the flight back to California. "Screw it, I'm liking and commenting."

Q laughed in response and they both fell back into an easy silence. Min Ho, on his bed, scrolling, and Q doing random chores. At least he was, "Really? Your comment is 'looking good covey'???"

"So?" Min Ho responded skeptically. Q just laughed in response. Min Ho came back to Kitty's post where she responded with "thanks minny!" and a heart emoji. He knew it was to tease him but his heart only beat faster. She was currently in NYU visiting her older sister Lara Jean and posted pictures of them and New York. In fact, everyone was doing something this summer. Q was with his cousins, vacationing in the Maldives, Yuri, Juliana, and Dae were traveling to Scotland together after Dae and Yuri reconciled, and of course Madison was in a new place every week. He scrolled through all the other comments by Kitty's old and new friends alike and felt alone.

"Are you feeling bad for yourself again?" Q asked over the phone as he turned the phone call into a facetime call. "You have to stop throwing a pity party every time you hear Kitty's name."

"But she's everywhere." Min Ho exclaimed dramatically, flopping onto his bed. "I can't get her stupid face out of my mind." Min Ho stared at the ceiling, annoyed. While everyone was out and about, his mother Dami dumped Min Ho at his father's place using work as an excuse. Min Ho knew better however, the tabloids told him all he needed to know with how everyday there were new pictures and new articles regarding his mother's dating life. Not that his father was much better. He himself left Min Ho at home alone to go live on one of his three yachts.

"You're old enough." He had told Min Ho, acting like he was giving Min Ho a present. "So I'll let you stay home alone."

"But I thought you wanted to go to Japan with me? We had our whole bucket list going. You said we'd go the year before senior year remember? The precursor to my senior trip."

His father winced in response. "That promise was made a long time ago, son. You were young, you don't still want to do that do you? Stay home alone, have fun, My cook, Janine will come by thrice a week if you need her to. It'll be fun." With that, he patted Min Ho's shoulder, took his luggage, and walked out of the door. Min Ho had come home the night before.

Q brought him back to the present as he responded with, "You're so dramatic."

"Look who's talking. How's it going with Florian?"

Q's voice got quiet. "Weird." Min Ho let the silence stretch to see if he wanted to say more. "I don't like his cheating. Dae got second and our values don't mix. But people can change I guess? I don't know how to feel. Our conversations are stunted and awkward."

"Aw Q, I'm sorry." Min Ho wanted to hug his friend so badly. "It'll be okay, either Flo and you will work it out or you'll find someone better. Either way you need to talk to him."

"What about?"

"How you feel...or don't feel."

"But I don't know how I feel."

"I find once you start talking about it, it comes to you."

Q laughed. "I wonder if anyone knows how much of a teddy bear you are." Min Ho made a grumpy noise in response. "But seriously thank you...minny."

"Not you too!" Min Ho said pretending to be mad but he and Q both knew he loved it. Silence stretched on once more and Min Ho found himself looking back at the texts he sent to Dae.

Dae: Min, can we talk?

Min: What about?

Dae: Everything. What you said to me after Kitty performed, why we grew so apart, and next year.

Min: So you mean talk about kitty

Dae: and us

Dae: I miss our friendship

Min: me too

Min: Call ended (27 min)

The call hadn't fixed everything but it was still a start. He still hurt though, his heart legitimately ached whenever he felt bad for himself.

"I have a surprise." Q said after a while.

"I enjoy surprises." Min Ho said coyly.

"You know how I'm in the Maldives [Min Ho: obviously ugh] but I'm kinda bored. I don't know my cousins well and I'm usually stuck cleaning up our air bnb because I supposedly am the only one who cares for cleanliness- anyway. I pulled strings and I have a flight to your place tomorrow."

"WHAT?" Min Ho yelled in excitement, jumping from his bed. "YOU'RE FUCKING JOKING!"

"Nope!" Q answered, his face had such a big smile as he listened to Min Ho yell.

"I'm so happy." Min Ho said quietly. "I was scared that I was going to be all alone this summer."

"I'd never let that happen. I'm coming over and we are going to forget about Kitty Song Covey and we're going to remember the old Min Ho, the happy one." Min Ho just laughed in response but his smile faded a little as he considered Q's last sentence.

the old Min Ho, the happy one. But was he ever really happy? His parents definitely only made his life worse. "I'll hold you to it Q."

"Definitely." They put the phone down eventually and Min Ho continued to wander his dad's mansion. He would've had a party but he didn't feel like it. Also he knew barely anyone here. As he reached the Kitchen to maybe start making lunch, the phone in his hands started ringing. And in his airpods, Siri's voice came over and said,

"Call from Kitty Song Covey, answer?"

New story! I love love love Min Ho and Kitty's arc and was severely disappointed by their lack of a happy ending. But we do love Kitty being a bisexual queen!!

Thanks, Kaav!