Page 46 of GR8VITY

“Yes,” I tell him.

It takes him a second to realize that I’m answering his question. Swallowing hard and licking his lips, he leans in until I can feel his breath on mine. I give him a second to choose before closing the gap.

Our lips never part, but rather, Yoon Ji simply seems to be savoring the moment. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t as well. His lips are soft and fit perfectly against mine. There’s no rush. Just me and him in this tiny little bubble of the universe. When he finally goes to pull away, I realize that I’ve leaned on him and start to fall. He catches me easily with a bright smile. I can still feel him in the tingle of my lips, and I don’t know how it’s possible but he tastes as sweet as his personality.

“Thank you,” he says, eyes roaming all over my face again.

“You don’t have to thank me for a kiss,” I tell him gently.

His lips twitch as he fights another smile. “I meant for the penguins, but yes, that too.”

I close my eyes as I laugh and internally cringe at myself. He laughs with me before lifting my chin to steal another quick kiss and ducking down toward the tunnel.

I swear to God I can feel my heartbeat in my soul. It’s so hard that I’m surprised the crabs can’t feel the vibration of it through their water. I’ve kissed Kyung, Dav En, and now Yoon Ji. Realization hits me like a brick wall. My head and heart are being pulled a million different ways right now. Or honestly, just eight. I crouch down out of sight. I should’ve waited until I had a conversation with Kyung without everyone around. Sometimes we do or say things in the heat of the moment that we might regret later. What if he has later regrets, and I lose him? My chest hurts from the thought of it.

That’s how he finds me, elbows on my knees, sitting on my feet with my hand over my chest.

“Hey, sunshine,” he starts the moment he sees me, but quickly goes quiet as he finishes crawling to me.

Reaching out to the hand on my chest, he covers it with his own. “Everything okay?”

I nod slowly. “I think so.”

“What is it?” he asks. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t…” I start, losing my thoughts the moment I lock eyes with him. It takes a couple blinks before I remember and whisper, “I didn’t ask, Kyung. We didn’t talk about this. I shouldn’t have told Yoon Ji yes. It’s my fault. Don’t be mad at him.”

“Woah,” he says calmly and just as quietly so that we’re not overheard at the other end of the tunnel. “It’s okay. I wasn’t mad when you kissed Dav En, was I?”

Shaking my head, I can’t seem to get words to come out of my mouth.

He crawls all the way up to where he can lie on his belly with his arms around my waist and head in my lap. He's so tall that his feet are probably still close to hanging out of the tunnel. I run my fingers through his dark hair as he tells me, “I know full well what I agreed to tonight. As much as I would love to keep you for myself, I think your heart is just too big for one person. I’m sorry if we pushed too hard too fast. We can be a lot sometimes.”

“It’s not that,” I finally answer, lowering my voice even further to add, “I just don’t want to lose you.”

“Mmm,” he replies, burying his face into my stomach and the sound feeling like it’s vibrating my entire body. “I don’t know if you can tell or not, but I’m happy right where I am. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Okay,” I say, running my fingers through his hair again.

“Okay,” he slightly chuckles.

“Are you guys okay in there?” In Se calls through the tunnel.

“Do we need to send a search party?” Jae-un’s voice adds.

“I do not volunteer,” Yeon states, clearly further away than the other two.

Kyung and I take one look at each other and both bust out laughing. We’re a stumbling mess trying to finagle our bodies into the dome. He might be skinnier than Dav En and Yeon, but he’s taller, making it all the same kind of awkward fit.

When we’re finally settled face to face, he takes a quick look around in amazement before letting his gaze fall back on me. He presses our foreheads together, and I close my eyes, breathing him and this moment in. We get a few seconds of this small peace before he’s pulling away and kissing the tip of my nose.

“Come on, sunshine,” he says, leading us out of the tunnel. “We’ve got plenty more trouble to get into tonight.”

I don’t say it out loud, but as long as said trouble is with him, I’m ready and willing.

TRACK 12

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