Page 39 of GR8VITY

"Do you think it's sad that jellyfish don't have brains?" he asks.

I give her credit, she doesn't laugh at his odd question like we slightly are. Instead, she seems to think on it before she answers, "A little, yeah. They are creatures who are literally nothing more than a body of nerves simply existing. They have no concept of life."

"Or love," he adds.

"Mmm," she agrees quietly.

Glancing over to where Yeon and Seong are peering over at Yoon Ji worriedly, I can't help but feel as nervous as their expressions are. I have a feeling I know where Yoon Ji is going with this line of questioning, and I'm not sure how Liz is going to react. The room grows quiet again, and I don't know about the others, but I feel like I can breathe a little easier in the quiet. The jellyfish have lost my interest, though, because the bodies on the floor are making no motion to get up which means there's still a chance things get awkward.

I risk a look over to them and see that the little jellies have lost Jae-un's attention too. He's watching Liz's hand in In Se's hair. It's so absent-mindedly that I'm sure she doesn't even realize that she's doing it. Dav En is normally on the receiving end of that since it's how he tends to lay on her. Giving the pieces a few twirls, she then runs the strands through her fingers. In Se's eyes close, and I just know he's enjoying it even if his face didn't say so, which it does. Out of all of us, he is the hardest person to accept the love that he's given, thinking he's not worthy of it, but he will take affection all day long.

Dav En slides up next to me, propping his arm on my shoulder. When I lock eyes with him, both his eyebrows rise in question, and I shrug slightly. We're usually on the same wavelength, and I don't think we're too far off this time, either. I can't decide whether I'll be glad or disappointed to avoid the hard questions.

Just when I start to think we'll be left to wonder, Yoon Ji breaks the silence again. "How many boyfriends are you allowed to have?"

Everyone freezes in place.

Again, she doesn't laugh at his random outburst, instead stating, "I think I'm already breaking the rules at this point, yeah?"

The breath stills in my chest. Was I wrong? Did I get my hopes up too far because she and Dav are so compatible?

Yoon Ji rolls to his side and props up on his elbow to look at her, waiting until she glances down at him to ask, "But if you're already breaking the rules then it shouldn't matter if you have more, right?"

In Se rolls over to face her too, but leaves his ear pressed against her stomach.

Her eyes peruse Yoon Ji's face before her lips slowly pull up at the corners into the sweet smile that I love so much. "I guess it wouldn't. How many boyfriends are we talking?"

Not giving him a chance to answer, Dav En strolls over to them and states simply, "One."

From there, they start numbering themselves. In Se and Yoon Ji are two and three, surprisingly the former beating the latter. Jae-un is four, and as he speaks, she glances up at him. That same desire from earlier comes over me, and it makes me think of seeing the two of them together, lighting a fire under my skin. Thankfully, Minsul snatches her attention away as he steps between him and In Se. Yeon and Seong walk over together, taking the open spaces as six and seven. Which leaves one open place where her feet are crossed at her ankles.

Tucking my hands into my pockets, I take the place they left for me and wait until her eyes find mine. I fight the urge to smile as I can tell she does, but there's no escaping it as both our lips pull up slowly.

"Eight," I tell her.

She looks back to Yoon Ji as he says, "Eight then. What do you say?"

"I don't know," she says in a teasing tone. "That seems like it would be an awful lot of responsibility. I'm not sure it could be managed."

In Se sits up quickly as he promises, "We will make it as easy as possible. We promise it."

"I wasn't talking about me being able to handle all of you," she teases. "I meant you may not be able to handle one of me."

He laughs and so do I with a few others before Yoon Ji pushes for confirmation one more time. "So that's a yes?"

"One condition," she states, holding out her hand to Dav En. "Stand up and let me get a photo of you like this."

The two of them bounce to their feet as Dav En hands his phone over. She bends her knees so that we can squeeze in close, looking down at her. If the others wear the goofy, happy smile I can feel on my face, I can't wait to see this one later.

"Okay done," she says, trying to hand the phone back.

Seong takes it from her. "Take one with us."

"I won't fit," she argues. "I could barely get all of you in the shot."

"You'll fit right where you're supposed to," he counters, pushing a few settings on Dav En's camera before flipping it around to front view. One thing she'll learn the easy or hard way, there's no arguing with Seong Su when he's set on something.

I reach down to give her a hand, but literally do nothing to pull her up since Jae-un tucks his hands beneath her arms and lifts her to her feet. She tucks herself between me and Yeon as Seong sets the phone on the floor.