Archive of Our Own

“ I hate him.”

Margot’s cutting voice edged through the dreamlike state Kitty was in, watching Peter and Minho joke around together in the living room. Kitty frowned, pouting her lips in disdain.

“What? Minho? Why?”

Margot glared at Kitty on the sly, before resuming her attempt to laser Minho off the face of the earth. Or that could just be her resting bitch face. “I just don’t understand why you didn’t bring home that nice girl you were talking about, Yuri. I thought you two kissed, no?”

Kitty’s eyes flashed with regret for a moment, before brightening again. “You were reading my emails?” she asked excitedly, before Margot gave her a look and she quickly redressed herself. “Right, not the point. Yes, we kissed, but it was, well. Yuri said it was a mistake. It didn’t mean anything.”

“Woah woah woah, let’s go back. People don’t just kiss each other for nothing. Did you talk about it? Have a serious, adult conversation about it?”

“That’s not the point.” Kitty shifted, agitated. “It’s whatever. I’m with Minho now. Things worked out for the better.”

“For the worse,” Margot grumbled. “I think he’s rude.”

It was at this moment that Lara Jean returned from the kitchen sink, wiping off flour and butter from her hands. The three sisters were all home for the holidays, which brought immense joy to their father (who was busy at the hospital presently). They had organised a family dinner (boyfriends included) to catch up. It was still too early to put on the chicken, but Lara Jean had a new recipe she wanted to try for dessert that required a sample run.

“Who are we talking about?,” She breezed, then followed Margot’s line of sight. “Minho?”

Kitty interrupted. “He’s not rude! It’s banter. They do that in Britain, right Margot?”

Margot rolled her eyes. “They banter in the UK, sure, but lovingly. Lara Jean, you can’t seriously tell Kitty that that boy is ready to meet our father.”

Lara Jean looked between the two of them, conflicted. “Well, Peter thinks he’s nice… But honestly?” She turned to Kitty before taking a deep breath. “I was really rooting for Yuri.”

“Oh, come on! Not you too!” Kitty stomped her foot.

“Not sorry!” Lara Jean brought her hands up in defense. “Listen, Kitty. I saw how he made you feel. When you were crushing on Yuri, it was like there were birds singing everywhere you walked. Minho made you feel insecure this summer. I just hate seeing my baby sister with somebody who made her feel like that.”

Kitty swallowed, gliding her hand gently over her jacket. “Minho’s not… It’s not like that. I like him, I do. I really like him.”

Margot and Lara Jean exchanged a look. Kitty hated feeling left out - and she hated when Margot and Lara Jean looked at her like she was still a child. Lara Jean had said it herself - she’d made a life in Seoul - but now Kitty felt like she was twelve years old again, and Margot had just left, and everything was unsettled.

Kitty did like Minho - she’d brought him all this way, so of course she did. And they’d gone through so much to get to where they were now. So much that had made her insecure, and belittled, and upset… But they’d been misunderstandings. Relationships took work, right? And Yuri didn’t like her back.

Not that that was of any importance, now she was with Minho. If she thought about it too hard, maybe. But that door was closed. She’d make herself sick if she thought of the ‘what ifs’ for too long.

“Can you guys just be nice to him? For one dinner? I promise you’ll see what I see in him.”

Lara Jean acquiesced after a slight hesitation, but Margot placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder. “I will treat him like I would anyone else you choose to date. But I will also hire an etsy witch to cast a curse on him.” She pulled Kitty in for a hug. “Love you, Kitty.”

Lara Jean, feeling left out, wrapped her arms around Kitty’s back, squashing her between the two sisters. “I love you guys!”

Kitty’s voice came out muffled. “I love you too, just don’t curse my boyfriend.”

They held each other for a moment before drawing back, a “no promises” mumbled amongst the scatter of fabrics. Kitty saluted and headed off to join Peter and Minho, leaving the two eldest sisters to ponder. Barely a second passed before Lara Jean was dragging Margot over to the other side of the kitchen.

“Hey! What gives?”

Lara Jean looked to her right and left like she was a character in a spy film. “They can’t see us from here, or hear us. Margot.” She planted her hands on both of Margot's shoulders, looking firmly into her eyes. “We need to get that boy out of our home.”

Margot blinked. “I thought you were neutral about their relationship. You surprise me, Lara Jean.”
Lara Jean huffed. “You agree though, right? I want another sister. And I can’t stop thinking about our Kitty - our bold, daring sister - crying to me because he hurt her!”

Margot nodded, looking around to make sure there were no peeping eyes. “Okay, so… are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?

Lara Jean lit up like a bulb. Seriously, she was blinding. “Operation Team Yuri?,” She asked, placing her hand between them to make a deal.

Margot sniffed. “The name… could do with some work.”

Margot took Lara Jean’s hand. She shook it.

Operation Team Yuri was a go.

STEP ONE

Scroll. Scroll. Scroll.

Had etsy witches always been this expensive? Margot mused over her options as she scrolled through the homepage, skipping past frankly absurd asking prices. Margot was a very reasonable person - people knew her to be cool, calculated. But desperate times asked for desperate measures, and in the name of God, Margot was going to get her sister a girlfriend. In the process, she would also be ridding herself of an annoying man around the house. Perfect.

Okay. Think logically. Margot required two things: Kitty to break up with Minho, and Yuri to get together with Kitty. Because Margot wasn’t totally convinced that door was closed. So, she needed a love manifestation spell as well as a curse. Time to double her search.

“Hey Margot, whatcha doing?”

Margot slammed her laptop shut, keeping an air of calm as she looked Kitty in the eyes. Stay cool. Stay cool and stay collected. “Work,” she answered smoothly.

Kitty tilted her head as if taken aback. She narrowed her eyes. “Work,” she repeated, more slowly. “That you slammed your laptop shut for as soon as you saw me.”

“I didn’t slam it shut because of you,” She continued, deadpan. “I’ve got this important assignment due. It’s doing my head in.”

Kitty hesitated, like she believed Margot’s words but was annoyed that she did so. Margot cheered internally. She had been told many times that she was a difficult person to read. It had worked against her many times, but in moments like these, she was grateful to be so mysterious.
Kitty sighed. “Okay - I guess you’re going to tell me to leave so you can do your super important work? More important than hanging out with your favourite sister?”

“Yes, Kitty - the first part. Go have fun with your boyfriend, okay?”

Kitty stood taken aback. “Wait, you’re on his side now?”

It was best to let Kitty have this thing with Minho for now - Operation Team Yuri was going to take some time, and Margot planned to minimise the time Kitty spent sad and single. “Just go have fun. Go on!”

Kitty jumped up and swirled around, a bright smile on her face. She waved goodbye to Margot (leaving the door wide open, of course) and headed off to hang out with Minho somewhere downstairs. Margot smiled. Hopefully, Minho would be gone from her house ASAP and she could spend time with Yuri, who was altogether a much more fitting choice for her baby sister. She reopened her laptop, stumbling upon a spell labelled “Third Party Removal”. Exactly what she needed - and within her budget, too. Things were beginning to pan out very nicely.

STEP TWO

“Minho! I need your help.”

When Kitty and Minho returned from their walk around the neighbourhood, Lara Jean stood nonconspicuously in the kitchen with her apron tied around her waist. One hand leaned onto the counter, the other casually fixing her braid. One of the many steps in their plan - separate Kitty from Minho as much as possible. Unfortunately, for this process, Lara Jean had volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb. Honestly, she’d baked far too much this week already, but she couldn’t think of any other way to yank Kitty from Minho’s clutches.

She pointed at Minho, gesturing to him to come forward. He looked around himself, as if Lara Jean might be talking to somebody else. Woah woah woah. No no no. “You. We’re making cupcakes. Now.”

Minho raised an eyebrow, stunned. “Me? Um, me and Covey were actually just about to-”

“You can take him, LJ. Kitty was actually just about to take a shower. Thank you.” Kitty sniggered at Minho, mouthing what appeared to be “have fun” as she scattered up the stairs. Minho looked dismayed. He was right to - Lara Jean was going to work him to the bone.

She smiled sweetly at Minho. “Thank you. Peter’s visiting his mom and Margot’s hanging out with some old friends so it’s just little old me at the house. Hard to bake so many cupcakes on your own, you know?” She grabbed a stick of butter and flung it sharply at the boy. He caught it by the skin of his teeth, wide-eyed. “Weigh, bowl, mix. Easy. I’ll get the dry ingredients together.”

Minho appeared stunned. Perfect.

“Didn’t you make a whole batch of gingerbread yesterday? The counter is full of them.”

Lara Jean glared at him. “Are you insulting my baking?”

Minho laughed nervously. “No, no, it was delicious. Just looks like we’ll have pastries for days.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” She threatened.

Minho shook his head. “No, no! Not at all. Hah.”

“Hmmph,” she conceded.

Now this simply wouldn’t do. Lara Jean was going to get Yuri back for her sister, and no English boy could stop her. She’d already trashed the attic so she would have an excuse to keep Minho with her after the cupcakes were finished. Kitty would come out of the bathroom and have no idea where her new boyfriend was. The perfect plot. Operation Team Yuri was just getting started.

STEP THREE

@yurihan

Kitty stared at her phone, eyes latched onto the account of the girl who had changed everything. The girl who had connected her to her mom, the girl who had supported her during her worst, the girl she had kissed in the spur of the moment. Yes, that’s all it was. A spur of the moment. Nothing more.

More specifically, she couldn’t draw her eyes away from the green ring around her profile picture, a cute photo of her smiling unabashedly. She was beautiful. Kitty was glad they were still friends. The green ring was what concerned her though. A story she wanted to share between her close friends. What did she want to share that she couldn’t with all of her followers? With her family? It was probably her and Juliana, Kitty thought grimly. Apparently the two had reconnected a few weeks back. Were they together? It shouldn’t matter anymore, now that Kitty was dating Minho, but she still felt that familiar pang of jealousy when she saw them together. Maybe it was the guilt of coming between them in the first place.

Her thumb lingered over the profile picture, too nervous to press down. What if Yuri had just posted it, and it looked like Kitty was trying to break up their relationship again? What if Yuri thought Kitty was still crushing on her? Which was definitely not true by the way, haha, ha. She bore her eyes into the screen like it would open of its own accord.

Oh, screw it. Since when had Kitty become embarrassed to be herself? It probably wasn’t anything bad.

She pressed down.

A photo of Juliana and Yuri, each with a boba in hand, smiling at the camera.

Kitty tossed her phone onto the bed, staring blankly out the window. That didn’t bother her. It didn’t bother because she was in a relationship with Minho and didn’t have feelings for Yuri anymore. That was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Kitty hadn’t even dreamt about her perfect nose in months. Just thought about it extensively.

“Hey, Covey.”

Kitty sat up straight as Minho walked into the room, smiling at him. Good. Maybe they could watch a movie together to help her feel better.

“You okay to choose a movie if I go get popcorn?”

Minho nodded, ruffling her hair as he went past. “On it, Covey.”

@notlarajean: heyyy quick question! are you and yuri in a relationship?
@mwahjuliana: who’s asking?
@notlarajean: me!
@notlarajean: not kitty’s sister lara jean that’s not me!
@mwahjuliana: oh! nice to meet you? sorry just a bit surprised
@notlarajean: it’s okay! i made a burner account. don’t even worry about it.
@mwahjuliana: um. why?
@notlarajean: to ask you! if you and yuri are dating :)
@mwahjuliana: okay, we’re not. just trying to become good friends again
@mwahjuliana: me and praveena are dating if kitty’s told you who that is
@notlarajean: !!! perfect !!!
@notlarajean: are you team yuri?
@mwahjuliana: ?
@notlarajean: let me rephrase. how do you feel about helping me get the english guy OUT by bringing yuri IN
@notlarajean: i’m talking matchmaking
@mwahjuliana: honestly i don’t fancy helping my ex get together with the girl she cheated on me with
@mwahjuliana: but as yuri’s friend, i know someone who might.
@notlarajean: oh my god you’re so right i’m sorry
@mwahjuliana has sent a link
@notlarajean: YOU’RE A LIFESAVER!!!! THANK YOU.

STEP FOUR

“Operation Team Yuri?” Quincy sat jaw gaping, staring at his screen which contained a miniature Margot and Lara Jean. Q had only heard tales of the sisters from Kitty, but this was as close as he’d ever gotten to the two of them. And it was all to hire him for a master plan to get Kitty and Yuri together. Operation Team Yuri. What the hell? Seriously, Q loved his life.

“Yes,” Lara Jean said diplomatically, “And we’ve heard from an anonymous source that you can be trusted to help us set this up. Are you up for the task?”

Was Q up for the task? What a stupid question. Of course he was. He wanted nothing more than for his friends to be happy. He loved Minho because he’d known him for forever, and he loved Kitty because she and him were like kindred spirits, but Kitty and Minho together? It just didn’t work. Quincy had been ecstatic at first to see two of his closest friends fall for each other, but then they’d gotten together and Q had started to realise that they just weren’t fit for each other. It was like there was always some external force pushing them together, like they didn’t work without something or someone pushing them forward. So Q was absolutely down for this supposed “Operation Team Yuri”.

“Anonymous source?,” He decided to press.

“Juliana,” Margot answered.

“Margot!” Lara Jean complained.

Q nodded from his bed, a little surprised but respecting Juliana’s thought process. He was close enough to both Kitty and Minho that he could work as a double agent. Smart. He’d have to send her his warmest wishes later.

“Obviously I’m in. If we can do a little workshopping on the name.”

Margot nodded, face blank as ever. “I like this one. He’s reasonable.”

“But I like Operation Team Yuri… It’s accurate, efficient.” The pair glitched for a moment. “Anyways, not the point. We’ve already gotten the etsy witch to curse Minho, and I’ve been working hard at keeping them away from each other, and-”

“The etsy witch?” Q bounced up with glee. “You seriously paid an etsy witch to curse their relationship? Woah. This is serious!” Oh, how Quincy loved his life.

“It is serious. We need to bring Yuri here so that she and Kitty can make up. We just need an expert opinion, and somebody on the inside who can get Yuri from point A to point B. Are you up for the task?” Margot made Q feel a little like he was in a business meeting. Holy shit, this was exciting stuff.

He felt oddly smug at having this pressure - no, honour, placed on his shoulders. Normally the matchmaking was Kitty’s job, but as her best friend, he figured he’d learned a thing or two by now. This was certainly going to take some work, but he could pull some strings.
“Well, in my expert opinion,” He boasted, “There is no way that kiss was platonic. I can’t say I know Yuri inside and out like I do Kitty, but let’s just say there was tension. Palpable tension.”

It was true - Q had hung out with Kitty after the kiss, who had been caught between shame and excitement. Underneath it all was vulnerability. It was clear the feelings weren’t just a spur of a moment, or a fleeting mistake. Kitty was crushing hard, and no matter how many times Q had tried to convince her, she just accepted Yuri’s admission that it was a ‘mistake’. And now she’d entered this whole other relationship when there were still sparks flying with Yuri.

The three talked more, discussing their limited resources and the many ways they could bring Kitty and Yuri together. It would be challenging for sure, but Q was up for the challenge. He wouldn’t back down - not when there was a chance that all three of his friends, Kitty, Minho, and Yuri could leave this happy. It was time to knuckle down and start matchmaking.

STEP FIVE

Yuri stepped her foot over a black cat rushing in front of her, arms raised in distaste as she stumbled to find a clear path to the table Dae was directing them towards.

“A cat cafe? Really? You couldn’t have chosen anywhere else?”

Dae shrugged his shoulders, drawing out a chair for Yuri to sit in before sliding into one himself. “The pancakes are really good here. And you like cats, right?”

Yuri pondered. “I guess, but I don’t know how I feel about a cat trying to swipe my blueberries.”

Yuri pulled out her phone, disinterested in the conversation. She refreshed her instagram screen, unsure of what she was looking for. She was about to check her notifications when Dae gently (but enthusiastically) pushed her phone down onto the table. She looked back up, meeting his determined expression. Jeez, did he bring her here to tell her something?

“Let’s talk about things, yeah? Like, um. Look at that cat over there! Kind of ginger, but almost brown. Kind of reminds me of something, but I can’t think of what.”

Yuri was a little taken aback, but decided to play along with whatever game Dae was playing. “You’re right… Hmm. I guess it’s a little like the wood in those cabins when they took us on that retreat.”

Dae winced, before clearing his throat like he was preparing himself. For what? Yuri was unsure. “No, I think I meant someone. It reminded me of someone… Maybe you can remember?”

Yuri thought for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe it’ll come back to you.” Her eyes flitted down to the menu. “How are the acai bowls here? I’m craving something lighter than pancakes.”

Dae was practically bouncing with withheld energy in his chair. He seemed almost bothered. Which was weird, because normally when Dae had a problem, he’d go straight to Yuri with it. Everything that had happened that first semester had drawn them closer together in the end. When Dae had problems he couldn’t talk to Eunice about, he came to Yuri. When Yuri had had Juliana… it had been much the same.

“They’re good.” He looked around him, like he was searching for something. Then his eyes lit up. “Oh, this one’s friendly! Here kitty kitty!” He quickly side eyed Yuri, before turning his attention to the tortoiseshell feline strutting their way. Hang on a second.

Cat cafe, reddish-brown ‘someone’, kitty kitty?

Yuri blinked in surprise. Her mouth opened for a second before shutting immediately. She leaned forward, placing her chin on her hands. “Dae,” she uttered seriously, “Did you bring me here to talk about Kitty?”

Dae’s eyes widened like he hadn’t expected to be caught. Seriously? Yuri wasn’t that oblivious, right? He looked like he was about to deny the accusations, before Yuri narrowed her eyes at him and he swallowed. Then he began to confess. “Okay, okay, I was hoping to ease into it, but yes. That’s why we’re here. In the cat cafe. Honestly, I don’t like animals where I eat either.”

Yuri let out a little laugh. “Okay, so what are we doing here? If you’d just told me you wanted to talk about Kitty I would’ve agreed in a heartbeat.”

“You’d- what? Wow. Okay. I thought I’d have a lot more work to do. This is perfect.”

Dae seemed surprised, but Yuri wasn’t moved. Of course she wanted to talk about Kitty. Why wouldn’t she? Kitty had been her rock for the past few years. She was daring, effortless, and incredibly endearing. Yuri could probably talk about her for hours.

“So, what did you want to talk about? Kitty isn’t in trouble, is she?” Kitty had a history of stumbling into drama she wasn’t meant to. If Kitty was in trouble, Yuri would be the first to come to her defense. She didn’t quite have the means to do so as easily as she’d had when she was rich and famous, but she’d protect Kitty with her life. She loved her.

Dae shook his head, then paused. “Well. Not exactly. I don’t know how I’m supposed to bring this up. Q made this sound a lot easier…” He mumbled the last part so Yuri only just about heard the tail end of it. She decided to ignore it.

“Okay…” Yuri wracked her brains for reasons why Dae might want to talk about Kitty. She gasped as she came upon the most plausible. “Oh my god, do you still have feelings for her?”

“What!” Dae gaped at her before vehemently shaking his head. “No, no. Things are great between Eunice and I, and Kitty and I are good friends now.” He uprighted himself. “That’s actually what I wanted to ask you.”

Yuri tilted her head. “Ask me what?”

Dae leaned in to her so their faces were quite close. “Do you have feelings for Kitty?”

What? Yuri took a moment to answer the question, hardly processing the words before she was scrunching her face in surprise. Well, that was not what she thought they’d be talking about when Dae had dragged her into this establishment. A cat rubbed past her legs, the reddish-brown one, and Yuri practically bluescreened. Feelings? For Kitty?

“No,” she answered breezily. Then she hardened. “That kiss was a mistake.”

Dae leaned back, like he knew he was pushing his luck. “A mistake because you cheated on Juliana, or a mistake because you like Kitty and you messed things up?”

Yuri was stunned. Dae thought she had feelings for Kitty? Of course she didn’t. She couldn’t. She was with Juliana - well, not anymore. She’d ruined any chances of that when she kissed Kitty. But the kiss with Kitty hadn’t meant anything - she was overwhelmed with the emotions of seeing her mother youthful and happy, Kitty vulnerable beside her in true awe of the video they were watching. Her reddish-brown hair had fallen in her face just so, and her lips had looked inviting, as if they were made of plush. Her eyes, (though Yuri secretly wished she’d had her glasses on - they made her look cartoonish, like a rare beauty from an old photograph), an intoxicating brown. She’d taken one look at her, face warped in tears, and she simply couldn’t stand seeing Kitty upset. She needed to take control, by cupping her hand around Kitty’s cheek, and stopping her trembling lips with a kiss…

It had been a good kiss, before they were untimely interrupted, and Yuri had felt butterflies in her stomach for hours afterwards, but of course she had. Kitty was beautiful, and kind, and perfect. She deserved better than Yuri. So Yuri had taken a step back and let Kitty go. It was the right thing to do.

Hang on a second.

Plush, velvety lips. Soft, silky hair. Wide, all-knowing eyes. But that hadn’t been all Yuri was thinking about in that moment, had it? Before she’d leaned in, before she’d even realised she was going to do something, she’d had that thought. Watching the video, realising her and Kitty were connected in ways they might never have known until this day. Thinking how funny it was, that she was falling for Kitty almost the way their mothers had imagined. Falling… for Kitty.

Yuri gasped. The reddish-brown cat jumped away from her as her leg jolted, running off to steal from tables that had actually gotten their order already. It suddenly clicked.

Yuri had feelings for Kitty.

No, Yuri was in love with Kitty.

And the two of them had kissed. And she’d let Kitty fly home with Minho at her side instead of her. Holy shit. Memories of all the times she’d abandoned Juliana for Kitty came back to her, filling in the blanks in her mind, like she’d blown away the last dust covering the archaeological site.

Yuri was in love with Kitty. And she’d let her get away.

“Oh my god,” she mumbled, distraught. “I’m in love with Kitty and I let her get away.”

Dae let out an excited noise, before looking embarrassedly away from the few heads that turned to look at them. He looked Yuri in the eyes, grabbing one of her hands with his own. “It’s okay, let it out. But all hope isn’t lost.”

Yuri, still shocked at her revelation, looked back at Dae. “All hope isn’t lost? Dae, she’s probably having family dinner with Minho right now. Oh my god, this can’t be happening. Dae, what do I do?”

Dae squeezed her hand tight. “I can’t give you all the details, but we’re working on that. Minho will be out of the picture before you know it.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Now, how do you feel about an impromptu trip to the United States?”

Actually? That sounded perfect.

STEP SIX

Kitty had been thinking.

Anyone who knew Kitty, really knew her, would know that this was actually a very bad thing. Once Kitty started thinking, she started overthinking, and once a plot had formed in her head, it was over for everybody else. There was no stopping Kitty at her worst. It had happened when she’d sent out Lara Jean’s love letters all those years ago - an internal sense of injustice and loneliness driving her to reveal LJ’s most personal secrets. It had happened at KISS, when her search for her mother had driven her to break into a hospital to uncover the records of who she believed was her secret half-sibling. It had probably happened when Minho confessed his feelings to her, and everything in Kitty’s life was changing so drastically, and with Minho she found certainty and familiarity.

And here it was, happening again, as Kitty sat cross-legged at the top of her bed, thinking about breaking up with Minho.

Oh god, how could she do it to him? Minho had come all this way. They’d had a meal together last night, accompanied by her whole family plus Peter Kavinsky. She’d thought it was going to go well, really - but honestly, it had been kind of awkward. Minho was on his best behaviour (per Kitty’s request), but it didn’t stop an intense questioning from her two sisters. Maybe the worst part had been her father - he had barely managed to string a conversation with Minho, entirely unsure of what to say to him. Kitty had been a little distraught. Her dad had easily gotten along with Josh when Margot was dating him, and Peter was practically already his son, but for some reason Minho just didn’t seem to fit like she’d imagined. It was a little upsetting, actually.

But it wasn’t the awkward dinner or the weird insistence Lara Jean seemed to have to drag Minho away from her to do random tasks about the house. She was certain she was plotting something, but honestly? Kitty was kind of grateful for it. It had given her a lot of time to think.

And oh no! She’d really thought too hard about it! Because as her mind raced for excuses to make herself feel better about her failing relationship with Minho, all she could think about was Yuri, and how she’d thrown herself into this relationship with Minho as soon as Yuri had rejected her own feelings. Had Minho ever made her feel as fluttery as Yuri did? She liked him, sure, but when she thought of Yuri, she thought of sparks, and magic, and home. The home she’d made for herself in Seoul.

Oh god. Kitty had made a big mistake bringing Minho back here. She thought about a world where she might bring Yuri home, but refused to let herself live in it. Yuri didn’t like her like that. It would never happen.

But was it fair to keep dating Minho when she obviously still wasn’t over Yuri?

As if at the exact wrong moment, Minho stumbled into the room with one of Lara Jean’s cupcakes from downstairs, that he’d complained about for a whole hour after finishing. Apparently, the stand mixer was broken, so he’d had to mix the butter and sugar by hand. Of course, Kitty knew the stand mixer was perfectly fine, but she thought it too late to tell him.

Was Minho really the guy she wanted to tell everything to? If it was Yuri, Kitty thought sadly, she would’ve kissed her and let her know the truth without a shadow of a doubt. She swallowed, standing up beside her bed. This felt like a conversation they should have standing up.

Oh god, was she about to have this conversation? Was she seriously about to break up with Minho?

But Kitty had never been the kind of girl to hide her feelings. Before coming to KISS, she’d probably never felt the need to hide herself a day in her life. But things had happened too fast, and things had already gone too far, and she needed Minho to understand the way she felt before it was too late.

“I hate to say it, but I think all that creaming was worth it. I’m an excellent baker.”

Kitty rolled her eyes, knowing Lara Jean was one hundred percent responsible for the cupcakes turning out as good as they were. Minho did have a lot of talents, but baking wasn’t one of them.

“Sure you are.” Her heart was beating in her chest, but she knew what she had to do. Okay, here goes nothing. “Minho?” Her voice came out smaller than she’d hoped.

“Covey?” He raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear what she had to say. Kitty hated when he did that. Peter always called Lara Jean Covey - it made her feel like her sister, which, no way. Kitty was way cooler than her sister.

Ease it in, Kitty. Let him down gently. Do him this one kindness.

“I think we need to break up.”

STEP SEVEN

Lara Jean groaned, banging her head against the increasingly messy plan written on the paper underneath her. All the patterned tape in the world couldn’t fix the mess they’d gotten themselves into.

Margot stood leaning over the desk beside her, an expression of pity and annoyance on her face. The plan had been working excellently so far - every stage as of yet had been executed with near perfection. The problem was, this plan was working incredibly slow.

“It’s not going that badly, LJ.”

“Not going that badly?” Lara Jean shot her head up quickly before giving it a rub. “Margot, Yuri’s flight is in two weeks. How are we going to break up Minho and Kitty in two weeks? And even if we somehow do, Kitty will probably still be feeling the effects of a messy breakup, and will spout something mature like ‘I’m not ready to date right now, I need to find myself’. Ugghhhhhh.” She slammed her head on the desk again.

Margot sighed. “LJ, we’re supposed to be the adults here. Hitting your head isn’t going to get us anywhere. We should be thinking about the holes in the plan… What can we do that will have a cause and effect?”

“We thought of that already,” Lara Jean muttered against the mahogany.

“Okay, so we’ll run through our checklist. Manifestation?”

“Check,” Lara Jean muttered. While Margot had taken to the etsy witches (admittedly not her best moment), Lara Jean had an entire manifestation journal underneath the bed filled with something along the lines of ‘kitty and yuri kiss kitty and yuri kiss kitty and yuri kiss’.

“Maximum separation?”

Lara Jean pondered for a moment before responding. “As much as possible without alerting suspicion.”

“Trustworthy contacts?”

“Q has been sending the two subliminal messages individually, Dae successfully got Yuri to realise she was in love with Kitty, and I’ve finally convinced Peter that Yuri is the superior option.”

Margot blinked. “Was that last one part of the plan?”

Lara Jean sighed. “No, but it’s a personal win.”

It was clear they still had work to do.

@qqqqquincy has sent a video
@qqqqquincy: KITTY!!! LOLLL I JUST SAW THIS TIKTOK THAT IS SOOOOO you and yuri
@qqqqquincy: we need to go on a shopping DATE together sometime!
@kittysongcovey: PFFFFFFFFFFFFF
@kittysongcovey: next time we see eachother i promise
@qqqqquincy: so excited!

@qqqqquincy: ugh Minho
@minhocheerio: hey
@qqqqquincy: my chair is about to BREAK i’m so fed UP
@qqqqquincy: know any good chair stores?
@minhocheerio: sorry?
@qqqqquincy: know any good chair stores?
@minhocheerio: are you good? seriously?
@qqqqquincy: ?
@qqqqquincy: never been better
@minhocheerio: you’re messaging me about chairs
@qqqqquincy: yeah because i’m an athlete. i need a good chair to rest in
@qqqqquincy: but now it’s looking like my STAY IS TEMPORARY
@minhocheerio has sent a link
@qqqqquincy: … a psychiatric hospital? r u for real?
@qqqqquincy: ok i’m fighting the right battle here. kittyuri forever!
@minhocheerio: what the hell is kittyuri?
@qqqqquincy: don’t even worry about it lad

STEP EIGHT

The plan drew to a close surprisingly quickly. It was unnaturally quiet in the house - Minho and Kitty had brought back some of the childish banter that used to echo throughout the halls when they were all kids. Their father was away from the house, and Lara Jean was out on a romantic date with Peter. Margot, Kitty, and Minho were the only three people left in the house.

Or so Margot thought, until she heard the quiet but unmistakable sound of the front door closing shut.

Someone returning? But their dad had only just left to do the night shift, and Lara Jean had planned to stay with Peter for a few hours. Or someone leaving? But Margot would have expected that Kitty would tell her if she was going to head out. Also, it was way too late for her to be going out. Or - oh god. When had she grown up so much?

Taking a break from work (actual work this time), Margot decided to investigate out in the hallway. It was still quiet. And Kitty’s door was edged open but… Oh no.

Margot immediately rushed into Kitty’s room, pushing her door open the rest of the way. Kitty was alone in her bedroom, arms hugging her knees at the top of her bed, face streaked with tears that she tried to wipe away as soon as she saw Margot enter.

“Kitty, are you okay?”

She shoved in beside her, not thinking about anything else at that moment. She was on the other side of the world from Kitty practically all the time - so she allowed herself to put her arms around Kitty just this once, and let her cry into her shoulder. But she didn’t seem to be crying much - the worst of it was over. God, Margot knew she shouldn’t have put her headphones in. She was just trying to concentrate on her work.

“I’m… I don’t know.” Kitty’s voice sounded a little snotty, but Margot chose to ignore it. She’d dealt with much worse when Kitty was much younger.

“Did you have a fight with Minho?”

Kitty responded after a brief second. “I just broke up with him.”

Oh.

Oh.

Oh!

Margot’s heart crushed a little. She’d been plotting their downfall, forming an entire plan to break the pair of them up, but she’d hoped it would have gone down a little softer. Regardless of her feelings, Kitty was sad, and Margot hated to see her baby sister upset.

She placed a hand on Kitty’s shoulder, leaning her forehead into her temple. “I’m sorry.”

Kitty sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve. “Please, don’t be. I actually feel… good. Happy, I think?”

“You’re upset because you feel happy?”

Kitty sighed, leaning closer into Margot. “Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know? I thought I’d feel terrible for breaking up with him. I mean, he came all this way, and he really likes me, and…” She trailed off.

“You don’t like him?”

Kitty shook her head. “I do - he’s a good person, even if… Okay, he definitely wasn’t the best boyfriend. But he’s my friend - I like him, just not… Ugh, you’re going to say I told you so.”

Margot pulled back, offended. “I won’t - promise. I’ll tell you that in a few weeks when you’ve gotten over him.”

Kitty laughed, then sniffled again. “I think I did the best thing for me, breaking up with him. But why does it feel so terrible?”

Margot sighed. “Kitty,” she began, before realising she didn’t know how to broach this topic. She never was all that great with opening up to people. But this was Kitty, and when Kitty or Lara Jean were in trouble, Margot would be the first to comfort them. So she tried. “When I broke up with Josh, things were really difficult. I was doing what I thought was right for me, what mom wanted for me. And it hurt. I even regretted it for a while.”

“So, what, you’re saying I should get back with Minho before it’s too late? Margot, I don’t want-”

“No, no, that’s not what I’m saying. Please, no, we just got rid of him.” Kitty huffed a quiet laugh. So Margot continued. “What I’m saying is, break ups are hard, Kitty. No matter how right it is for you. No matter how mixed up your feelings are. It didn’t feel like it at the time, but breaking up with Josh allowed me to grow. It allowed me to build my own life, off in Scotland. It allowed me to write my own story.”

Margot clasped each of Kitty’s hands in her own, looking gently into her eyes. “I think, maybe, you were trying too hard to follow a story that’s already been written?”

Kitty looked away from her, like the comment was far too much. Then she looked back at her and narrowed her still watery eyes. “I think you’ve been hanging out with Lara Jean too much.”

Margot laughed. Well, yes. Plotting to get rid of your youngest sister’s boyfriend together would do that. Kitty didn’t need to know that much, at least not yet.

“Guilty,” she confessed. “But it’s true. You’re your own person - you’ve grown into this mature, charismatic woman and I have no idea how I missed it. But your story is your own, and you have a great future ahead of you. Hopefully without Minho.” She decided to push her luck. “And maybe with Yuri…?”

Kitty scoffed, pulling away from Margot with a groan. “Seriously? I break up with my boyfriend and you have to remind me of my OTHER failed relationship?”

“Not failed! You two kissed, there’s something going on there. Give it a week.” More precisely, eight days. That was when Yuri’s flight came in. Wait, yes! That meant both Kitty and Yuri were perfectly prepped for their big romantic moment! Operation Team Yuri was succeeding! Okay, the name had grown on Margot, admittedly.

“Oh-oh-oh, a week would not be enough to unravel everything that went on between us at KISS. I wish.”

Margot smiled. Eight days, she thought. Just eight more days.

THE FINAL STEP

Kitty leaned her temple against the car window, the motion of the car bouncing rhythmically throughout her bones. From the radio came a sad love song or something or other. Kitty didn’t think too hard about it - the sun was shining, she was single (again), and things were starting to look up.

It had been eight days since she had broken up with Minho - and after a tough love conversation with Margot, Lara Jean had come home and baked some pity cookies for her. Although, based on how desperately she tried to hide her smile, it seemed more like celebration cookies. Kitty wasn’t mad about it. The three sisters had eaten them together with ice cream and it had felt like Kitty was back in the olden days - just the three of them against the world.

Eight days wasn’t a lot to get over someone, but Kitty was beginning to feel sort of alright. The next day, Minho had booked a flight to England and it had been an awkward ten minutes they’d spent together as he packed up whatever of his stuff was left in Kitty’s room. Kitty had tried to talk to him, but he’d just ignored her and asked for some space. He was hurt - and he would be, for a while - but Kitty knew things would right themselves eventually. Hey, hadn’t Josh and Margot become friends again, after a while?

No, she chastised herself. This was her story. She didn’t need to compare her love life with Margot’s and Lara Jean’s, no matter how perfect LJ and Peter seemed together. She’d find her person some day - it hadn’t been Minho, or Dae, or even Yuri (which still made her stomach twist), but one day she’d find them. She looked forward to it.

For now, she looked forward to heading to Biscuit Soul Food, and having a damn good meal together with her family before LJ headed back to New York, and Margot headed back to Scotland, and Peter headed back to California.

Right now Margot was driving (because she still didn’t trust Lara Jean behind the wheel after all these years). Kitty had dibsed shotgun, and Lara Jean and Peter only accepted since it meant they could sit together in the back. Had it just been the three sisters, Kitty knew LJ would have fought tooth and nail to get that shotgun. It would have been a blood bath.

Margot seemed concentrated behind the wheel, which, okay, wasn’t far from her normal state, but Kitty just had this feeling something was different. Kitty glanced up to see Lara Jean in the rearview mirror. She was practically jumping out of her seat with excitement. Okay, Biscuit Soul Food wasn’t that good - something was up.

Kitty looked out the front window again, suddenly noticing something. “Wait a minute, weren’t we supposed to turn left like, five minutes ago?”

Margot turned to glance at her. “We have to go pick someone up first.”

“Pick someone up? I thought dad was driving from work.”

Lara Jean leaned forward from the backseat, reaching her hand out to touch Kitty’s seat. “Not dad. Someone else.” She was beaming. She leaned back and sighed, like she was living in a romance novel.

Kitty frowned. “Wait, then who?”

“You’ll find out.”

“Hey!” Kitty was annoyed. She turned back to look behind her. There was only one person in this car she could break. “Peter, who are we picking up?”

Peter scrunched his face. “Sorry, Kitty. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“What! I thought you were on my side? Seriously?” Kitty leaned back in her seat, huffing.

Peter probably made a face and shrugged his shoulders, but Kitty couldn’t see him anymore. “Sorry, Kitty. It’s a surprise.”

Kitty leaned back against the window, letting the thrumming of her bones calm her down. “It better be a good one.”

They drove another five minutes until Margot began to slow down, taking a turn into a large park surrounded with trees. There was a gazebo or two, ivory white pillars and benches setting the scene amongst orange and purple flowers planted on the lawn. It was beautiful - they used to come in the summer when there would be an ice cream van and live music. Now, it was quiet, the odd college student stretched out on the grass with a textbook and a pair of headphones.

“What are we doing here? Who are we picking-” Kitty’s voice caught in her throat, skin gone white like she’d seen a ghost. Because that was the only logical explanation right now.

The only logical way to explain how Yuri was standing right there in the middle of the park, a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

Margot glanced over again, lips curled up in a smile this time. Kitty was still frozen, her jaw gone slack and her arms hanging limply at her side. It was Lara Jean who finally spoke up, interrupting the tense silence. “Surprise!”

Kitty blinked again, wiping her eyes. Yuri should be back in Korea - what was she doing here? “Am I hallucinating, or is Yuri Han standing right there?” She had her glasses on, so she knew she wasn’t mistaken. She was just - why was Yuri in the park of her hometown? With a bouquet? There was, again, only one logical explanation, but Kitty couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

Peter leaned forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Not hallucinating - she came all this way. You aren’t going to say hi?”

“Say hi?” Kitty pulled away, still shocked, her heart beating a little faster than its regular rhythm. The car wasn’t moving anymore, so it definitely wasn’t the window. She felt a little light-headed. And undeniably excited. She couldn’t control her smile any longer. “What, did you guys plan this?”

Margot reached over, releasing Kitty’s seatbelt. “That doesn’t matter. She’s waiting for you.”

Kitty didn’t need to be told twice. She rushed out of the car, pushing the door shut behind her and speedwalking towards Yuri. It was really her! “Yuri!” She called out, suddenly beaming. It had only been a few weeks since they had seen each other last, but it felt like forever. Yuri looked up from where she’d been scrutinising her bouquet, eyes brightening and arms moving to the side. Kitty was quick to run into them, squeezing tightly around her. It made her heart flutter as she was slowly understanding the situation.

Yuri was here, in Kitty’s hometown, with a bouquet of flowers. Could it be platonic? Did friends that had shared a kiss together buy each other flowers platonically? After a few seconds she pulled away from Yuri, maybe a little flushed. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but God, it was hard. This was like, right out of one of her dreams.

“Kitty,” Yuri breathed out. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too! Of course!” Kitty tried to contain herself. Okay, act normal. Don’t assume anything. Maybe Yuri was here for someone else. “What are you doing here?”

Yuri opened her mouth like she was about to say something, before changing her mind. She seemed… nervous? Since when did Yuri get nervous? In the end, Yuri pushed the bouquet towards her. “I got these for you.”

Kitty blinked, accepting them without a second thought. Yuri's fingers brushed against her own, and with them she felt little bolts of electricity run through her fingers. A thrumming of her bones, a beating of her heart. She gazed down at the bouquet. “These are…”

“Camellias,” Yuri piped in, “your mom’s favourite. And primrose... Your favourite.”

Kitty smiled against her own will. “I told you that?”

Yuri smiled back - pretty. “You didn’t have to. Your favourite colour is yellow, and you have primroses in all of your pinterest boards. Plus, you drew some on your love letter.”

Kitty blinked. “You’ve looked at all my pinterest boards?” No, no! Now is not the time. There was a much more pressing topic at hand. “Yuri, I’m so happy you’re here. And the flowers are… They’re beautiful. But,” she started. Her stomach was churning, but she knew she had to ask. Throw all of her feelings out there - what was the point in continuing to hide them?

She straightened, locking eyes with Yuri. “I don’t think you came here just to give me flowers. I think you came here to tell me something. And I really hope I’m right, because I’ve wanted this for a long time. But I want to be sure - I need to be sure, because if I kiss you right now, I want to know it’s not another mistake.”

“Kitty, I’m in love with you.”

Kitty stilled.

“Kitty,” Yuri started again. “I thought I knew everything about love before you came to KISS.” That sounded all too familiar to Kitty, but she was too starstruck to think too much on it. “I was with Juliana, and I was happy, or I thought I was. Then you came in and I realised what love actually feels like. I felt it for the first time with you.” She brought her hands up to Kittys, which were still holding the bouquet tight. “I have feelings for you. Everything that happened last year… I didn’t understand it back then, but now I do. I like you, Kitty.”

The weight of her words left a sliver of silence between them. Kitty blinked up at Yuri, her heartbeat uncontrollable. “Yuri,” she started, then stopped. She couldn’t find the words at that moment, but she didn’t need to. She brushed the dust off of her jacket, crouching to lay the bouquet gently at their feet. Then, she stepped forward.

Kitty leaned in first, pressing her lips against Yuri's for the second time. This one was much sweeter than the first - this time, Yuri didn’t have a girlfriend waiting for her on the other side of the city, and Kitty wasn’t wet with tears. It took a moment, but Yuri started to kiss back, passionately. Her soft hands grasped the back of Kitty’s neck, gently brushing the hair away. Kitty let herself explore, her hands gripping Yuri’s waist before threading through that silky hair she’d always wanted to touch. Yuri’s nose knocked against hers a few times before they got it right, but it was the most perfect kiss Kitty had ever experienced.

They separated from one another all too soon, and Kitty let herself break out into a smile, one that matched Yuri’s. “Yuri, I like you too. I can’t believe you’re here.”

Yuri was shining, mindlessly holding Kitty’s hands between her own. “I can’t believe I’m here either.”

Kitty grinned back, before her face fell. “Oh my god. I can’t believe my sisters probably watched us do that!” She looked back towards the car, panicked, where Lara Jean was punching the air like she’d just won the lottery, before spotting Kitty and quickly acting like nothing had happened. How had they planned all this? She’d figure it out later. Right now, she was too happy to be with Yuri.

“How did you even get here? What made you come?” Kitty was curious by nature, and even in the blissful aftermath of a kiss with Yuri, she needed to know what was going on. She didn’t mind waiting for another kiss with Yuri - it looked like there would be a lot of those in the future. She was giddy with the thought.

“Operation Team Yuri,” Yuri answered seriously.

Kitty tilted her head. “What?”

Yuri shrugged her shoulders, leaning down to pick the bouquet back up. “I’ll tell you about it later,” she said, standing up, “once we’ve ordered at Biscuit Soul Food?”

Kitty narrowed her eyes. “Lara Jean had something to do with this, didn’t she?”

“I think so, yes. Dae didn’t tell me much.”

“Dae’s involved? Oh, this can’t wait until the restaurant. Come with me. You’re going to meet my sisters now. I have a LOT of questions.”