hanni

⋆ 𐙚 ̊.CHAPTER 8 ✶⋆.˚

🇽​​🇴​, ​🇪​​🇻​​🇪​​🇱​​🇾​​🇳

Evelyn stepped out of the coffee shop, the door's chime barely registering as she continued to walk, her mind still spinning from the tense encounter with Minho. She pulled her jacket tighter against the brisk evening air, the streets of KISS campus bustling around her. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of emotions—confusion, frustration, and that nagging feeling of something unresolved.

As she walked along the path towards the dormitory, lost in her own world, a voice suddenly broke through her haze.

"Evelyn?"

She froze mid-step, her heart skipping a beat as she turned towards the sound. Standing just a few feet away, a familiar face smiled at her with an almost unreadable mixture of surprise and warmth.

"Hanni?" Evelyn's voice came out in a quiet gasp, her eyes widening.

The girl before her hadn't changed much—still the same infectious smile, the same sparkle in her eyes, and the same easy confidence. Hanni's brown hair had grown longer, her features more mature, but it was still her—the girl who had been her best friend when she lived in Korea as a child, the one she had laughed with, shared secrets with, and had spent endless afternoons playing together.

Hanni chuckled, her voice laced with genuine affection. "It's really you, huh? I thought I recognized you, but I wasn't sure." She stepped forward, wrapping Evelyn in a tight hug. "How long has it been? Eleven years?"

Evelyn hesitated for just a moment, her mind quickly flashing back to the days when they were inseparable. The memories felt like a lifetime ago, yet the bond between them had never truly faded, even though life had pulled them in different directions.

"Eleven years, can you believe it?" Evelyn finally said, pulling back slightly but still grinning. "You look amazing, Hanni. What are you doing here?"

Hanni shrugged, her smile never wavering. "The usual. Studying, trying to figure out life, you know. I'm trying to audition tho. Music got me hooked. Just passing through campus for the evening." Her expression shifted for a second, a tinge of curiosity flickering in her eyes. "I didn't expect to see you here, though. I thought you went back to the States a long time ago."

"I did... for a while," Evelyn answered, her voice tinged with nostalgia. "But I ended up here—at KISS." She shrugged, unsure of how to explain everything that had led to her arrival.

Hanni's eyes sparkled with recognition. "KISS? Wow, that's pretty amazing. I mean, I remember when Minho used to talk about wanting to go to a school like this when we were kids."

Evelyn's stomach did a flip at the mention of Minho's name. She tried to suppress the feeling but couldn't quite shake it. "Yeah... Minho is here too," she said, her tone casual, though the knot in her chest made it hard to sound normal. 

Hanni raised an eyebrow, the subtle playfulness in her gaze betraying a knowing look. "Minho, huh? You two still don't get along, do you?" she teased, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Evelyn bit her lip, her mind flashing to their earlier confrontation. "We don't exactly see eye to eye," she said dryly, avoiding Hanni's gaze. "But, you know, he's—he's fine, I guess.... wait, y'all lost touch?"

"I always knew the two of you were trouble, and yes, guess we all got too busy." Hanni said, laughing lightly. "In a good way. You both always kept me on my toes."

Evelyn's heart squeezed at the mention of their younger days, the long summer afternoons spent playing games, laughing, and imagining endless possibilities. Minho, Hanni, and her—back then, they were invincible.

"Anyway, I'm glad to see you," Hanni continued, her tone softening. "You've been on my mind for a while. I know it's been ages, but I still think about those days. I'm really glad we bumped into each other."

"Same here," Evelyn replied, her voice quiet but sincere. "It's crazy, right? How life just... pulls you in different directions?"

Hanni nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. But we're here now, right?" She paused for a beat, her gaze turning more serious. "Maybe we can catch up? I'd love to hear everything. And—Evelyn, we should've stayed in touch."

Evelyn gave a small smile, a wave of bittersweet nostalgia sweeping over her. "Yeah, we really should've. I missed you, Hanni."

A comfortable silence passed between them, and Evelyn realized that in this moment, some part of her felt whole again. She had found something familiar—something pure, untouched by the complications of her life at KISS.

"Well, I've got to run," Hanni said after a moment, pulling Evelyn from her thoughts. "But let's not let another eleven years pass. I'll text you—let's make plans to meet up, yeah?"

"Definitely," Evelyn said, a genuine smile spreading across her face.

As Hanni walked away, Evelyn felt a warmth settle in her chest. She glanced down at her phone, half-expecting to see some new message from Minho or one of the guys, but the screen remained empty.

With a sigh, she began walking toward the dorms, the night feeling a little less heavy now. But as she made her way down the path, her thoughts inevitably drifted back to Minho—and the thousand complications her life seemed to be spiraling into.

_______________________________________________________________

As Evelyn continued her walk toward the dorms, the cool evening breeze made her long for a sense of peace—something that had been elusive lately. The reunion with Hanni had been a brief but warm reminder of simpler times, and she clung to that memory as she navigated through the campus, her thoughts still lingering on their conversation.

She'd almost reached the entrance to Minho's dorm when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Startled, she pulled it out, expecting to see a message from one of her friends—perhaps Kitty, or even an unexpected text from Dae—but instead, it was a notification from the KISS student app.

"Reminder: All residents must report their dormitory status to the front office. No exceptions."

Evelyn groaned, rolling her eyes. Of course, this was the last thing she needed to deal with right now. She was already drowning in complications, and now this administrative nonsense was piling on top.

She had half a mind to just ignore it, but the thought of dealing with any more trouble made her pause. Minho, his dorm, everything—it was all beginning to feel like too much.

Arriving at the entrance of the dorm, Evelyn hesitated for a moment, standing in the shadow of the building. The nerves from earlier had returned, and they clawed at her chest as she faced what lay ahead. She wasn't sure she was ready to go inside, but she had no choice. After everything, this was the safest place she could be for now.

She pushed open the door with a resigned sigh, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the quiet hallway. As she made her way to the elevator, she ran through her options in her head—none of them ideal. She could confront Minho again, try to talk through the mess, or she could just avoid him completely. But knowing her luck, that wouldn't last long.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, and Evelyn stepped inside, pressing the button to the top floor. As the elevator ascended, her thoughts wandered back to Hanni. They had spent so many years apart, and it felt almost surreal that they had crossed paths again. But Hanni was a reminder that there were still things in her life that were untarnished by the chaos that seemed to follow her now.

With a soft sigh, Evelyn closed her eyes for a brief moment, collecting herself. This place, this life, all the complications—it was a lot to carry. But the person who made it the hardest to breathe right now stood just behind those dormitory doors.

When the elevator stopped with a soft jolt, Evelyn's stomach twisted. She didn't want to deal with Minho, not tonight. But as she stepped out into the hallway, she saw the faint outline of someone leaning against the wall just a few doors down.

Her pulse quickened, and the familiar frustration boiled in her veins. Minho.

His back was to her, and for a moment, she considered just walking past him, pretending she hadn't seen him. But as if sensing her approach, he turned around slowly, his eyes locking with hers, the air between them thick with the tension that had been building ever since their earlier conversation.

Evelyn didn't bother to hide the frustration in her voice. "Yeah, I guess I don't have much of a choice."

Minho raised an eyebrow, taking a step toward her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She wasn't in the mood for games, but there he was, pushing her buttons just by existing. "It means I'm stuck here, okay? Happy now?"

Minho's gaze softened slightly, but his jaw tightened. "That's not what I meant, Evelyn. I'm just trying to—"

"I don't need you to try anything," she interrupted, her voice sharp. "I don't need anything from you, Minho."

He seemed taken aback by her words, but he recovered quickly, his tone taking on a quieter edge. 

"I don't think you ever realized how much it hurt when you just disappeared. No message. No explanation. You were just... gone."

The weight of his words hit her harder than she cared to admit. But Evelyn didn't let herself crack. Not now. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her voice low but firm. "You don't get to make me feel guilty for that, Minho. I had my reasons. We all had our reasons."

Minho's gaze softened, but the hurt in his eyes remained. He opened his mouth to speak, but Evelyn was done listening. She wasn't going to go through this again. Not now, not ever.

With a sharp breath, she took a step back, her voice cutting through the tension between them. "You don't get to control how I feel, or when I'm ready to talk."

Minho looked at her, the frustration still evident in his features, but there was a shift. A crack in his demeanor. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. We'll do this your way."

ruka:

I get that yall are very frustrated with evelyn'c character and so am I. its just, things happened in the past which made her act like this. so patience people. good stuffs come in the end. this was just a chapter to let yall get to know evelyn's life 

I just realised I haven't written much of Q here, and I really want to. so yall can hope to get a lot of Q in the upcoming chapter, at least till minho and Evelyn had both stopped being bitchy