Page 64 of GR8VITY

"Who's crying?" Dav En asks as Kyung takes off his headset, making the other two complain.

Our phones go off again, and I read the message from Seong to Yoon Ji telling him to call.

"What do you mean?" Kyung asks. "She was crying?"

He's already getting ready to stand as am I when Seong's phone starts ringing.

Yoon Ji's muffled tone comes through before he even has the chance to say hello. "Mute."

"Sit down and wait a minute," Seong orders us.

I do as he says, but it takes a glare from him before Kyung sits back down.

"She's more likely to shut down if we all go after her," he explains.

There's some rustling on Yoon Ji's end, probably him sticking his phone in his pocket which I worry will make it to where we can't hear. Luckily, that's not the case.

"Hey," he says. "Lizzy. Where are you going?"

"Home," she tells him.

"Oh," he states, making me worry, because maybe he wasn't the best choice to send after her alone. "Are you not staying over tonight?"

"Probably not, Yoon Ji," she says, sounding like she's moving away from him.

"What happened?" he asks, and I'm proud of him for sticking with her. "Why did you drop your stuffies on the floor and leave crying?"

I glance over at Yeon in confusion. His eyes are wide, and he shrugs.

Jae-un is sitting much like Kyung now, like he's ready to bolt up at any moment. Jae-un hates when the people he cares about are upset. He'd literally burn the world to the ground if it meant making them feel better. Only one of the many reasons why I love my best friend. The other two have taken off their headsets, and you could hear a pin drop in the room with us.

"If I tell you something," she starts, "could you not tell anyone for as long as possible? I'm not asking you to keep it a secret, because you should never have secrets in your family."

I can only imagine the turmoil happening within him right now. Out of all of us, he's probably the most honest, and is likely fighting the urge to either tell her that we're listening or hanging up.

He makes me proud, yet again, as he does neither and says, "Sure."

"Wait, Yoon Ji, whose shoes are you wearing?" she asks, sounding perplexed.

"I'm not sure," he replies, probably looking down at his feet. "I'm pretty sure they're In Se's. I was kind of in a hurry. I'm just glad they're not Dav En's."

They must be standing close because I can hear the sigh that escapes her, not even hinting at a laugh at his attempt of a joke. Instead, she drops a bomb on him and all of us. "Tomorrow is my birthday."

Yoon Ji gasps as the rest of us look around at each other in confusion and shock, even Kyung.

"But why?" Yoon Ji asks.

Somehow, this woman that has stolen eight different hearts from us, understands his quirks and questions just like we do, and we've been with him for twelve years now.

"I didn't want any of you to know," she replies. "I haven't celebrated a birthday since my omma died."

"Why?" he asks.

"She used to make sure that my birthday was all about me," she tells him quietly. "It didn't matter how many foster kids we had in the house. It didn't matter what was happening around us. That day was my day. No matter what. My first birthday without her, I was still in the states. It was probably the loneliest I've ever felt in my life. The house was too quiet without her. My next one was here as were the last two, but they weren't any better. Be that a fault of my own. I didn't want to spend that day celebrating without her."

"You know birthdays are a big deal, though," he tells her gently. "She wouldn't want you alone and lonely on your day. Just like we don't. Some of my brothers live for birthdays of the people most important to them. They can give some of the best gifts. Sometimes a little weird, too, not going to lie."

"I don't want gifts, Yoon Ji," she says, her voice cracking. "I just felt some kind of way because I wasn't going to be alone this year. Even if none of you knew."