Penny does glance K's way, giving him a grateful smile as well. She's had friends stand up for her plenty of times in the past, but she's really only just met K. Having someone that's close to being a stranger stand up for her is a new and buoying experience.

The grateful smile morphs into an excited grin when he gives her a thumbs up, and she returns it with equal excitement. She's a pretty physically expressive person, but it's still a relatively novel experience to have someone to exchange these gestures with.