Page 35 of GR8VITY

"Okay," she says, holding up her hands in a stop motion as we reach a small restaurant. "Everybody stay out here. I'm just going to run in real quick."

Jae-un gives the inside a glance before asking, "You don't want us to go in with you?"

She snorts softly. "All of us? We'll crowd the place out when all I need to do is grab my order."

Before he can reply, she's already swishing her way through the door, leaving him open mouth staring after her. He mumbles, "There's nothing but men in there."

"What do you think she does when we're not around?" Seong Su asks, his hands still firmly tucked in his pockets.

Jae-un jerks his head to look at him as most of us do, and Seong rolls his eyes. "Not like that. I'm just saying she has to go in places like this all the time without you. She'll survive this trip, too."

Breaking the tension without meaning to, Dav En dramatically plops down on the raised edging around the tree beside the shop and rubs his stomach. "I should've asked her to get me some of their chicken skewers. They have some of the best here."

Absentmindedly, still staring inside, Jae-un chastises him, "It's for the best. I already told you that you shouldn't be eating this late anyway. Look, I'm not making this up in my head. Am I seriously the only one who doesn't like the way that they're looking at her in there?"

There's no helping the way the smile cracks my lips. He's more of a jealous person than I ever could've thought him to be. I try to reassure him, "Let them look. She's a pretty girl. I can tell you right now that she's not looking at them like that."

His head turns slowly my direction, and I can see it in his expression before he even speaks. "She looked at me like that."

I choke down my laugh, because if he thinks that he's going to make me jealous with that, I'd hate to burst his bubble and tell him it had quite the opposite effect. "That she did."

He huffs, throwing a hand out in the direction of the shop, "Does that not make you angry, or even a little upset, like I'm getting right now?"

Shrugging, I answer him honestly, "If I didn't trust her, I'd probably feel the same about her being in there. But, I don't see it that way when it comes to all of you. It's different."

Dav En grunts out a laugh. "That's probably because that's how she looks up at you when she's ---"

"Shut up, Dav En," I growl quickly almost shouting.

He'd been facing our conversation and hadn't seen her walk out of the shop.

She grins down at him. "What did you do this time, Dav?"

Pulling his focus to her, I swear there's a moment when he's looking up at her that I think he's going to answer her question, and I may or may not have to strangle my best friend. Then, I can practically see his pout as he all but whines, "I wish you would've told me we were coming here so I could've gotten chicken."

"You mean like this?" she asks, reaching into the bag and pulling out a long stick wrapped in aluminum foil.

Jumping up, he pulls her into a hug, making her laugh before she hands over his prize. He doesn't waste any time opening it and taking a bite. "Thank you," he finally tells her.

"Mmm," she replies, reaching up to wipe the corner of his lip where he's got sauce already.

"I've got two more," she tells us, taking them out and offering them.

Yoon Ji and Minsul both take one, pulling off a piece of each and eating it. They tell her how good it is before offering to the rest of us. We all take a bite so we’re not rude. All except Jae-un, of course. I'm half tempted to tell him his frown I'm sure he's wearing is going to give him wrinkles if he keeps it up.

"You shouldn't be eating that," he murmurs unsuccessfully as they keep at it. Even Seong picks at a piece of Minsul's.

"Why?" she asks, pinching her own bit off Dav En's and taking a nibble off of it.

"We're idols," he states like it's the most obvious reason in the world. "We've got to watch our figures."

"Mmm," she says like she completely understands, and I smile, knowing what's coming. Showing him the inside she just took a bite off of, she adds, "One of my favorite things about this restaurant is that they only use white meat chicken for their skewers, and as you must know, white meat is leaner than the dark meats. Plus, they use a sugar-free sauce to cook and coat it in. Take a bite and try it. I dare you."

Everyone freezes. In Se watches with his own bite halfway to his mouth, eyes wide on Jae-un. Outside of our personal circle, no one knows that Jae-un doesn't back down from a dare. The only time he will is if it’s something that will jeopardize our health or idol status. Which is why it's absolutely no surprise as he moves close enough to her for their chests to be brushing one another. Pride blooms in me when she doesn't step away from him, instead, lifting her chin to meet him head on.

In true team fashion, without a single thought about it, we adjust ourselves accordingly so it's harder to see the two of them. It's a small anomaly that I've noticed before but never brought to anyone's attention. I don't want them to stop and think about it, messing up the system.

He pulls off one side of his mask and opens his mouth. Her gaze flicks down to his lips, and that feeling comes back from earlier. I'm somewhat beginning to question my sanity, because he's right. I should be jealous that she's looking at another man like that. How messed up is it that all I can think is how much I'd love to see the two of them kiss right now?