Page 26 of GR8VITY

Kyung sighs quietly. "Can we let her eat before we start the inquisition?"

I lay a hand on his arm and he brings his eyes to mine. "It's okay. I don't mind."

His lips purse a bit like when he's not entirely happy with something, but not willing to fight over it. He nods slightly and goes back to eating as I answer Minsul, "South Korea was my adoptive mother's country of origin before she moved to the states."

I keep thinking about Kyung's expression and hate that me or any of this made him unhappy. So, when In Se fires the next question, I say, "You know, it only seems fair if we make this even. That way we can get to know each other at the same time."

Kyung's smile returns even though he's trying to hide it. Yeon is mirroring him, but Seong Su sits back in his chair, setting his chopsticks down. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you. You're not recording this, are you?”

Everyone at the table goes silent, and I swallow hard from it, lifting my chin confidently. "I promise that I'm not. I don't even have a way to. Kyung has my phone. I always give it to him when we're together."

Taking it out of his pocket, he hands it over to me. I know that he feels comfortable enough to not think negatively, but I never want there to be any doubt like his leader has just shown. Setting it on the table between us, I unlock it and offer, "You can look through it if you want. There's no pictures or videos of us on there. I've even got his and Dav En's names under an alias just in case."

Minsul sits back in his chair, drawing my attention to him. When I glance at him, one side of his lips pulls up in a smile. Jae-un next to him has one eyebrow lifted in surprise, but when I look at him, his eyes shift to Seong Su. Mine drift to Yeon across from me, and he offers a supportive smile.

"That won't be necessary," Seong Su finally says, motioning for me to take my phone.

I pick it up and lock it before handing it back to Kyung who shoves it in his pocket. In the past couple months that I've known him, this is the closest I've seen him to being angry.

Seong Su apologizes to us both, "I'm sorry. I hope you understand this is for our safety and yours."

"Of course," I tell him.

"She's always done it," Kyung announces. "Since the moment we had the conversation about who I am."

"Mmm," I agree with him. "Didn't take me that long, either."

He chuckles just as Dav En leans around him to look at me, "What? You didn't think he was a dog, too, did you?"

"Whaaat?" In Se asks around a fit of laughter, covering his mouth at the same time.

Kyung and I are laughing with them, but the others are too surprised to do anything other than stare in various states of shock.

"It was a misunderstanding," I tell them, holding up my hand in defense. "Kyung purposely led me to believe he was bringing his dog on our date."

The man in question next to me laughs again, making the rest of them finally crack. When it settles back down and we start eating again, In Se decides to pick back up the questioning, but with a new one this time. I don't even remember what the other one was at this point. "How did you and Kyung meet?"

Glancing over and up at the man at my side, I grin at him. "Right place at the right time?"

"More like same place all the time," he counters. "Every night I'd take a walk down to the overlook, and it didn't matter how late it was, this beautiful woman would always be standing there staring at the night lights of Seoul like she was searching for something. Same exact place every night. So, I worked up the courage to talk to her."

I let out a quiet giggle. "Mr. One Question and run."

His lips purse again, but this time it's not out of annoyance. Especially if the pink on the tops of his ears is anything to go by.

Letting him off the hook, I turn back to In Se. "What's your favorite hobby when you're not working?"

"Sleeping," he answers immediately. "Oh, and cooking. I like to cook."

"Why are you here?" Minsul asks with less suspicion in his voice this time.

"Well, it's my mother's native country, and I've always wanted to visit," I answer. "What's your favorite animal?"

"Black bear," he says smoothly, not even stopping to consider. A few of them, including In Se snicker at him, and he cuts someone off with his next question. "How long have you been here?"

"Two years now," I say, curious as to why they laughed at his answer, but not willing to take the bait.

"Where is your favorite place in the world?" I ask.