My Greatest Award (나의 제일 좋은 상)

Remember (L)

"I'm fine, Lisa."

I look on, feeling helpless as Y/N downs the bottle of soju in his hands. I contemplate pulling the bottle away from him, but I've never really dealt with this kind of situation before, and I'm not sure what I should and shouldn't do. The cheers from Jennie, Jisoo and Haejoon aren't exactly helping the situation, either. I chew the inside of my cheek gently as the knots in my stomach grow stronger at seeing Y/N's face after he puts the bottle down. His face is a shade of dark maroon, and his eyes seem unfocused, ever so slightly. As Y/N goes back to eating the meat on his plate, now looking flushed and hot, I think back to everything leading up to now.

The outburst Taylor and Y/N had with each other was unlike anything I've seen from Y/N. I've heard Y/N angry before, like when he had that argument with his ex outside the training room months ago, but this was different. Although it only took a moment to escalate, the look on his face and the change in his tone told me that he was deeply hurt. Not that he hadn't been hurt by his ex, but this felt like a much more deep-set problem than just that. Like it's something Y/N has grappled with for years, but never brought to light as much. That would make sense, going by what he's told me about his family life.

I look around the table. Jennie has switched places with Chaeyoung, and she and Jisoo are chatting about something while staring at Jennie's phone screen. Chaeyoung, who now sits further away from me, looks between Y/N and I with a look of concern which probably in a way mirrors my own. Daniel shares a similar look at Y/N, though he seems unsure of what to do, as if panicking internally.

"Oh, by the way," Taylor's voice breaks through, interrupting Jennie and Jisoo's conversation as we all look back at him. "I have to say thank you, Y/N."

"For what?" Y/N's words slur together slightly, as if mumbled. His tone is a mixture of disinterest and annoyance. A smug grin forms on Taylor's lips and dread begins to fill my gut for the next words out of his mouth.

"Thanks for handing your sheila over to me, mate. Means a lot." My blood begins to boil, and I have to fight the urge to get up and wipe that disgusting smirk off of his face. Before I can look back at Y/N, he gets up from his place, followed by a couple of shrieks from Chaeyoung and Jennie. Heart beginning to race, I look to my left and to my horror see that Y/N had decided to enact the exact idea I'd just had in my head.

Taylor's smirk doesn't leave his face as he stares Y/N down smugly, collar of his grey sweater being gripped by an enraged Y/N's fist. "That's right, you little shit. Piss all over your drunk self. Turns out you're more like dad than you thought, huh? Oh wait, let me rephrase that; you're more like how dad treats little cunts like you, who will never, ever-" Taylor cuts off as Y/N tightens his grip on his sweater, pulling him a little closer and causing a few plates to shift. The sound of a lone chopstick clanging onto the floor reverberates through the room.

"I swear I'm gonna f-"

"Hyung, snap out of it. Breathe," Daniel cuts Y/N off, pleading at him desperately as he lifts one hand to Y/N's shoulder. Daniel's sudden action snaps me out of whatever trance had kept me frozen on the seat, watching with my heart pumping out of my chest. Finally coming to my senses, I reach out to Y/N as well.

"Y/N, please," is all I manage, now barely able to keep my breath steady. Y/N tenses up ever so slightly at my touch, and breaks his focus from Taylor for the first time since the beginning of his outburst. He turns his head to the side to look at me, and I watch as his rage slowly fades from his face and is replaced with regret. Looking into my eyes, he loosens his grip on Taylor enough for him to pull away from his grasp.

"Yeah, that's right, you little-"

"What the hell, Taylor!" Chaeyoung starts yelling, causing Taylor to fall silent in shock, along with the rest of the table. "How could you be such a self-centered, ignorant, immoral brat? Did you really need to say all of that? Did you? Just because you were the favourite child doesn't mean you can shit on your brother like that. Do you ever think of anyone's feelings other than yourself? Or are you too caught up in basking in your self-made glory to ever give a shit?"