The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly on the sports field track, but Minho barely noticed. A simmering rage, fueled by a mix of betrayal and disbelief, had replaced the usual warmth. For once, he was experiencing the genuine, unadulterated joy of a blossoming relationship. The playful banter, the shared laughter, the comfortable silence – it was all there. And then, just like that, Kitty had shattered it. Her interference, her inexplicable need to complicate things, had thrown a wrench into the fragile gears of his happiness.

This was a bitter pill to swallow for a boy who had always been an afterthought in every significant relationship in his life. His father, perpetually engrossed in his work and his eldest son's career had always been a distant figure. His mother, an acclaimed actress, had pursued her own passions with unwavering dedication, though she claimed it only provided her with a sense of freedom and purpose. Minho understood; he truly did. But that understanding did little to quell the gnawing feeling of being perpetually on the sidelines. And now, even in Kitty's choices, he found himself relegated to the periphery.

He had consciously moved on from her, determined to avoid any further entanglement. The pain of her previous betrayal and rejection still lingered, a phantom limb that throbbed with a dull ache. He had vowed to prioritize his own happiness, to finally put himself first. But Kitty, as always, had a knack for disrupting his carefully constructed equilibrium.

"MINHO!"

The shout startled him, snapping him out of his brooding. He turned to find Q, still in his running clothes, and Jin approaching, their faces etched with a gravity that sent a jolt of apprehension through him. They pulled him beneath the shade of a towering tree, their urgency palpable.

"If this is another attempt by Kitty to tarnish Stella's reputation," Minho declared, before the pair could say anything, his voice laced with weary disdain, "I'm not interested."

Q replied, a chilling glint combined with a sarcastic expression in his eyes, "Say that again after we reveal who sabotaged your father and created Moonleaks."

He held up his phone, displaying a video that sent a shiver down Minho's spine. The footage showed Q entering a cybercafé, the pastel headsign both attracting and blinding. Jin, filming from behind, engaged in a hushed conversation with the desk attendant in Korean, his voice barely audible. The attendant, after a brief exchange, nodded and gestured towards a bank of monitors. Briefly a minute later, as the camera angle shifted, the video recording showed footage of a figure emerging from the shadows, her face partially obscured, but unmistakable nonetheless. It was Stella. She was wearing the outfit she wore the day he and Kitty went out, and Stella had come to meet him and give me sandwiches.

Minho's blood ran cold. "But... but she said she would working in the library," he stammered, his mind reeling.

The video progressed, zooming in on the monitor Stella was using. It was crystal clear as she typed in her credentials: "Esther Shim." The name sent a jolt of recognition through him.

Kitty was right? Again?

Minho's head began to spin. The video unfolded, revealing Stella navigating through the depths of the web, accessing the notorious Moonleaks account and uploading a trove of sensitive information. The footage even included an audio recording, the chilling clarity of his father's voice sending a wave of nausea washing over him. It was the conversation they had had the night before, a private, father-son moment betrayed and weaponized against them.

Before the video even concluded, Minho's fingers fumbled for his phone. He frantically dialled his father's number, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and fear. "Dad, you have to hear me out. It's Stella. She's the one who..."

Half an hour later, a piercing sound shattered the afternoon tranquillity. Guards, their faces grim, moved through the crowd, their gaze fixed on a figure huddled beneath a tree. It was Stella, her face pale, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief. She pleaded with Minho, her voice a desperate whisper, "Minho, please... you have to believe me. I am innocent. What's happening to me?"

But the words were lost on him. "Beauty comes from within, right, Stella?" he retorted, his voice dripping with icy sarcasm. "Or should I say, Esther?" He leaned closer, his gaze unwavering, the betrayal burning within him like a wildfire. Stella, who was shouting like a manic, froze, before starting to plead for a chance to explain herself but it was of no use, It was over.

Meanwhile, Q and Jin, their faces grim with satisfaction, spread the news of Stella's treachery like wildfire. The whole campus crowd, quick to embrace the drama, began calling her by the same derogatory meme that had once brought her notoriety. Mr. Moon, though apologetic, remained silent, his gaze averted as the disgraced student was led away.

Later, an official notice was posted on the bulletin board: Stella Cho was expelled, and mandatory room checks by the RAs would be conducted for safety purposes. Dae, who had been out, returned to find Minho drowning his sorrows in Q's entire supply of energy drinks, a rare occurrence seen for someone who survived only on collagen water. Q understood that the betrayal had deeply wounded Minho, but he sensed an underlying unease beneath the surface. An unease that had nothing to do with Stella.

As curfew approached, Minho eventually succumbed to exhaustion, falling asleep on the sofa beside Dae and Q. The incident with Stella had left him drained, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. But even as sleep began to claim him, a nagging worry lingered in the back of his mind, a premonition of something ominous.

Four hours later, a sudden knock and the turning of keys roused Dae from his slumber. He saw Alex entering the dorm room, his face unusually grave. He quickly woke Q and Minho, who initially assumed it was a routine RA check. But something about Alex's demeanour, the urgency in his eyes, sent a shiver down Dae's spine.

"Meet in the assembly hall immediately," Alex whispered, his voice barely above a murmur. "You have 15 minutes."

Confused but compelled to obey, the boys hurried out of the room, encountering Juliana on their way. Madison, Eunice, Minhee, Yuri, Jin and even Praveena followed close behind, their faces mirroring the confusion they had witnessed on seeing Alex's expression.

They entered the assembly hall to find Alex alongside Principal Lee engaged in a tense phone conversation. Though they couldn't hear anything from their end, the grim expression on his face spoke volumes and it did not look good. They had never seen him so worried and grim and knew something was not right.

"Is Kitty not coming?" Jin inquired, his voice laced with apprehension.

Everyone turned to Juilana, the only roommate existing from their dorm. "Alex entered and saw me on the sofa and just told me to come out here. Kitty's room light was on, so I assumed she was still awake. I came without her. I guess she's on her way." Everyone took a little sigh of relief.

Everyone, except for Dae, who felt a growing sense of unease. Something about the urgency of the situation, the grim silence that had fallen over the room, felt profoundly wrong. Maybe Kitty's absence was the reason? He wondered as everyone waited for Principal Lee, who had finished his call and was approaching them, along with Alex.

"Hello, students," Principal Lee addressed them, his voice grave. "I know it's way past your curfew and I'm glad you could all make it. Firstly, I want to inform you, Minho, that your father is currently at the Seoul police station providing testimony regarding the events that have transpired. He has requested that I inform you he will return shortly." Minho, still reeling from the Stella incident, was confused. This was not what he had expected when he was summoned.

Principal Lee continued, his voice heavy with concern, "An hour ago, we received a distressing call from a young man who was here from Stanford to participate in an interstate sports tournament. You may all know him as Peter Kavinsky, the guardian of Ms. Katherine Song Covey, according to the guardianship forms on the record file."

A hush fell over the room. Everyone knew Peter Kavinsky, the charming, affable young man who was not only Kitty's sister Lara Jean's love interest but also one of Kiity's biggest support systems and the main success story in her matchmaking adventures. If Kitty had her way, she would have convinced him and Lara Jean to live with her in Korea forever.

"Mr Kavinsky reported that Ms Song Covey was scheduled to meet him at 6:00 PM outside the school premises at a coffee truck for a final meet-up, as he was to leave for Tokyo tomorrow but she never arrived. She has also been unresponsive to all attempts to contact her. However, her outpass ID remains active, indicating that she has not been on campus. The CCTV footage all around the campus shows that she was last seen outside the sports field by some faculty members at 5:15 pm and had exited the school premises at 5:30 pm, which the security guard has confirmed as well. Due to these circumstances, Mr. Kavinsky has filed a missing persons report."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, his expression grim. "In short," he said, his voice barely audible, "Kitty has been missing for nine hours, and we have been unable to locate her in any possible way."