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Okay, so here’s the thing about finals week—it sucks.
The kind of “sucks” where you measure time not in hours but in how much instant ramen you’ve eaten and whether or not your pencil’s about to snap.
For Kitty Song-Covey, survival required three things. First, an ice-cold bottle of Milkis from the campus convenience store because water just wasn’t cutting it. Second, the kind of hoodie you can drown in—preferably oversized, slightly stained, and stolen from a certain boyfriend who claimed he’d been "looking for it for weeks." And third—a Katherine Song-Covey exclusive—Min Ho, her very opinionated and far-too-smug boyfriend, who somehow always made studying both better and worse.
Kitty and Min Ho were currently camped out in her dorm, papers scattered across the floor like confetti from a failed parade. Min Ho leaned back against the wall, looking entirely too composed for someone with a finals packet the size of a textbook sitting next to him.
“I still can’t believe you convinced me to take calculus,” Kitty groaned, tossing her pencil onto the floor with an exaggerated sigh.
Min Ho, casually lounging on her bed, didn’t even look up from his flashcards. “Don’t act like I forced you. You literally said, ‘Challenge accepted,’ and I, being the supportive boyfriend that I am, said, ‘You’ve got this.’”
Kitty narrowed her eyes. “If by ‘supportive’ you mean dragging me to study sessions where I question the meaning of life, then yeah. Thanks for that.”
“Come on, Covey. You’re smart, you’re determined, and math is just... logical,” Min Ho replied with a grin.
“Logical?! If calculus was logical, I wouldn’t be sitting here with a headache that feels like I’ve been hit by a bus,” Kitty shot back.
“Okay, drama queen,” Min Ho teased. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. Look at you. You’ve got notes, a textbook, and me, especially me . You’re unstoppable. People would kill for this package if you hadn’t realized.”
Kitty scoffed, throwing a chip in his direction, leaning back in her chair, and glaring at her open notebook. “Please stop talking.”
Min Ho chuckled, flipping through his Intro To Art History flashcards. “Hey, at least I’m not the one crying over derivatives.”
She squinted at him, then suddenly snatched the flashcards from his hands. “Enough with the smugness. Let’s see how much you actually know. I’m testing you.”
Min Ho smirked. “Go ahead. I’ve memorized these.”
Kitty held up the first card. “Alright, what movement does The Starry Night belong to?”
“Post-Impressionism,” Min Ho answered confidently.
“Wrong!” Kitty sang, her tone playful.
Min Ho blinked. “No way! That’s right!”
“It’s technically right, but you forgot to mention its influence on modern expressionism,” Kitty countered with a grin, flipping to the next card.
“Now you’re just making stuff up,” Min Ho muttered. “My flashcards are magical, Covey. In case you still recall midterms.”
“Oh, really? What’s chiaroscuro?” Kitty asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s the dramatic use of light and—”
“Wrong again,” she interrupted, unable to suppress a giggle.
Min Ho grabbed the flashcards from her hands, flipping through them as if to find the source of his failure. “These cards are rigged,” he declared.
“Does it help that it’s almost 2 a.m.?” Kitty asked, her voice dripping with fake sympathy.
Min Ho groaned, leaning back against the headboard. “You’re right. Wanna take a nap?” his free hand snaked to her hip, pulling her a bit closer to him.
“No!” Kitty said quickly, then paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Min Ho’s hand rested on her thigh, his thumb absentmindedly brushing her leg. He leaned in, brushing a soft kiss against her cheek.
That was when Kitty’s eyes lit up. “Wait! I’ve got it. A system that might just save us—which I’m sure will, by the way.”
Min Ho raised an eyebrow. “A system, huh? Go on.”
“Okay, here’s how it works,” Kitty said, sitting up straighter. “Whenever one of us gets an answer right, we get a kiss.”
Min Ho blinked at her, caught between amusement and disbelief. “Covey.”
“What?!” Kitty said defensively and leaned back into her beanbag to grab a chip from the bowl beside her. “It’s a pretty motivating system if you ask me.”
He shook his head, laughing. “I’m pretty sure we’d just get more distracted.”
Kitty leaned back, smirking. “It’s a foolproof system. But, to be fair, I should weigh the pros and cons since you seem unconvinced.”
“Oh, this should be good,” Min Ho teased, settling in to listen.
Kitty held up her hand, ticking off each point. “Pro: It’s motivating. Con: It’s distracting.”
“Pro: We’d be bonding and we’d be kissing!” she continued.
Min Ho snorted. “You need a study system to kiss me?”
“Pro,” Kitty said, ignoring him, “I’d probably ace calculus. Con: You might fail art history because I’m too distracting.”
“Covey,” Min Ho groaned, but he couldn’t stop grinning.
“Final pro,” Kitty said, her voice dramatic, “it’s almost 2 a.m., and this is the best idea I’ve had all night. So, it’s happening.”
“Alright, alright,” Min Ho said, holding up his hands in surrender. “But don’t come crying to me when you lose.”
“Big talk for someone who just got two answers wrong in a row,” Kitty shot back, pulling her calculus notebook toward her with a triumphant grin. “For the record, I did get one right,” Minho countered.
The “kiss-for-every-correct-answer” system started off innocently enough. Kitty would ask Min Ho a question, and when he got it right, she’d begrudgingly lean over to press a kiss to his cheek. He’d smirk every time, fully enjoying her reluctance.
But by the fourth or fifth kiss—when Min Ho was clearly getting more answers right than she was—Kitty’s annoyance began to bubble.
“You know,” she grumbled, flipping through her notes, “this whole system might’ve been a mistake. I think you’re cheating.”
“Cheating?” Min Ho repeated, faking a scandalized gasp. “Covey, don’t disrespect my genius.”
She shot him a glare, lips twitching as she fought back a smile. “Nobody should be this good at art history trivia. I mean, who even knows the exact year the Sistine Chapel ceiling was finished?”
Min Ho shrugged, looking utterly smug. “Michelangelo and me, apparently.”
Kitty groaned, tossing her notebook aside and crossing her arms. “This isn’t fair. You’re just fishing for kisses at this point.”
Min Ho laughed, leaning forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. “You made the rules, Covey. Not my fault I’m amazing at literally everything.”
“That’s it. New rule,” Kitty declared, turning to him. “You can only get a kiss if I approve of your answer.”
“Oh, really?” he teased, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “And how’s that working out for you?”
She turned to glare at him, her eyes narrowing in mock annoyance, but before she could even get a word out, Min Ho’s hands were on her face. His touch was warm and steady, his thumbs brushing against the soft curve of her cheeks, and before she knew it, he was pulling her toward him.
The kiss started slow, deliberate, as if Min Ho was savoring every second. His lips moved against hers in a way that sent little sparks coursing through her. Kitty’s annoyance evaporated, replaced with the heady sensation of being completely lost in him.
Her hands instinctively found his shoulders, gripping tightly at first, but it wasn’t enough. She shifted closer, sliding one hand up to his neck and then into his hair, her fingers tangling in the soft strands. Min Ho responded with a soft hum, his hands leaving her face to wrap around her waist, pulling her firmly against him.
The space between them dissolved entirely as Kitty tilted her head slightly, allowing the kiss to deepen. His tongue brushed against hers, a soft, teasing motion that made her heart stutter in her chest. Kitty didn’t hold back, matching his intensity, her fingers curling tighter in his hair as a shiver ran down her spine.
Min Ho’s grip on her waist tightened, anchoring her to him like he couldn’t stand the thought of letting her go. Kitty shifted again, leaning further into his lap, the rustle of flashcards and papers completely ignored as they tumbled to the floor.
When they finally broke apart, their foreheads rested together, their breaths mingling as they tried to catch up with their racing hearts. Kitty’s cheeks were flushed, her lips tingling, and her chest rose and fell with each deep breath.
“Okay, fine,” she muttered, her voice breathless but tinged with reluctant amusement. “Maybe this system isn’t so bad after all.”
Min Ho grinned, looking as smug as ever, though there was a softness in his eyes that made Kitty’s stomach flip. “Told you.”
But Kitty wasn’t letting him off that easily. Her gaze sharpened, her lips quirking into a teasing smile as she pulled back just enough to look at him properly.
“Wait a second,” she said, squinting at him in mock suspicion. “You didn’t even get anything right! That kiss was definitely not part of the system.”
Min Ho’s grin widened, entirely unapologetic. “Call it a bonus round,” he said smoothly, his hands still resting comfortably on her waist.
“A bonus ?!” Kitty exclaimed, swatting his chest lightly, though the laughter bubbling up in her throat betrayed her. “That was a full-on reward! You totally cheated!”
Min Ho shrugged, his confidence utterly unshaken. “Cheated? Me? No way, I’m just naturally gifted at this game.”
Kitty crossed her arms, leaning back slightly to give him a mock glare. “Unbelievable.”
“And yet,” Min Ho murmured, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to her cheek, his voice soft and teasing against her skin, “you still keep me around.”
Kitty rolled her eyes, but the small, shy smile tugging at her lips gave her away.
Instead of going back to their books, they leaned into each other, their lips meeting again and again in a series of slow, tender kisses. At some point, Kitty reached up to brush a strand of hair away from his face, her fingers lingering against his cheek.
“Remember August?” she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Min Ho’s hand rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Of course. We were in Tokyo for the last night of Joon Ho’s tour.”
Kitty nodded, her smile growing. “Yeah, it was one of the happiest days of my life.”
Min Ho’s gaze softened, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s one of mine, too.”
She scoffed playfully. “Dude. Of course, it was. I was finally your girlfriend.”
He chuckled, his forehead resting against hers. “You know, you make a compelling argument.”
They stayed like that for a moment, wrapped up in each other. The room felt warmer, and quieter.
Eventually, the late hour caught up with them. Kitty let out a soft yawn, her eyelids fluttering. Min Ho shifted, pulling her closer as they settled into the beanbag chair. He spooned her, his arms wrapped securely around her waist.
In a sleepy voice, Kitty murmured, “I just realized… you can’t be in here…”
Min Ho smiled into her hair, his lips pressing a soft kiss to the side of her face. “I’ll leave before everyone else wakes up,” he promised.
“Okay,” she whispered, her voice fading as sleep claimed her.
When Min Ho was certain Kitty had fallen asleep, he shifted slightly to get a better look at her face.
She looked so peaceful, her lips slightly parted, her hair a soft mess. He let himself take it in for a moment.
He’d already told her once, on that plane ride, that he’d fallen in love with her. But this felt different. Bigger. Steady. Sure.
“I love you,” he whispered softly, his voice barely audible. He let the words hang in the air, part of him almost wishing she was awake to hear them. The other part, quite not.
Kitty stirred slightly, her head nestling deeper into his chest, but she didn’t wake. Min Ho let out a small breath of relief, kissed the top of her head, and closed his eyes.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆
When he finally spotted her bounding down the steps, he straightened and waved.
“How’d it go?” he asked as she approached, his hand already reaching for her textbook-filled bag.
Kitty let him take it, shaking out her arms dramatically. “I think I at least got a B.”
“A B? That’s amazing, Kitty!” Min Ho grinned, his pride for her evident in his voice.
She tilted her head at him, mock-skeptical. “You’re not just saying that because you’re my boyfriend, are you?”
“Of course not,” he said, feigning offense. “I’m saying it because I know how hard you worked. And because I’m an incredibly supportive and handsome and amazing boyfriend.”
Kitty laughed, her fingers lacing with his. “Alright, alright, point taken. Don’t let it go to your head.”
Min Ho leaned down, his lips brushing the top of her hand. “Too late.”
Kitty rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. She tugged him toward the quad. “Let’s go! I’m starving.”
As they neared the main pathway, Kitty abruptly stopped. Min Ho turned to her, confused, just as she leaned in, standing on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “I heard you last night. Don’t worry—I love you too.”
Min Ho froze, his brain short-circuiting as her words registered. She pulled back, grinning mischievously, and before he could respond, she was skipping ahead, her laughter trailing behind her.
“Wait—Covey!” he called, jogging to catch up with her.
Kitty didn’t say anything, she just turned around to gave him the biggest smile ever.
When he caught up to her, he was panting. "You don't just spring that on someone."
"Please, you do that all the time."