My Greatest Award (나의 제일 좋은 상)

You

After Lisa feeds her pets and takes a shower, we head back out to my place. After a little convincing (and begging), Lisa decides to let me drive her car. I may or may not have done a somersault in my head; it's a BMW for crying out loud.

The drive is mostly uneventful, with what sounds like an aespa song playing on the radio, and Lisa texting someone on her phone. As I stop at a red light, Lisa looks up from her phone with a shocked expression.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, concerned. She turns to face me, but before she can reply, the song ends and the radio announcer starts speaking.

"And that was Future by aespa, right here on KBS Happy FM. And we have some shocking news. Just this morning, recent Internet sensation, ex-YG trainee and rumoured missing member of the infamous The Third Eye, Y/N Jackson shared a video on his Instagram story, and fans were quick to recognise the two little furballs in the clip. The video shows two cats, play-fighting and making the most adorable sounds. What's interesting is that, the two cats in the video appear to be Leo and Louis, belonging to none other than Lisa, formerly from Blackpink. What could this mean? Fans are beginning to speculate what it means for Y/N to suddenly be hanging out with Lisa. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, everyone. Up next, we have Clear by Wendy..."

"Well, that was quick," I point out with a slight smirk on my face, which fades instantly upon seeing Lisa's worried expression. "It's fine, Lisa. Like I said, there's no reason to hide anymore." I give her a more sincere smile, and place my hand over hers.

"But the fans might... you know." She looks at me with eyes that could make an ice sculpture melt in the winter, but with concern that doesn't waver. "I don't want you to be hurt because of me."

A little guilt pops up in the back of my mind. She'd been hurt by me for years on end, and yet she feels this way. Even though fans harassing me would have nothing to do with her at all.

"They're not important to me," I say, still smiling warmly as I lift her hand up to my lips, not breaking her gaze. "You are." I plant a kiss on her hand, just as the light turns green again. I let go of her hand and return both of them to the wheel, sensing Lisa's gorgeous smile return next to me without even having to turn and look.

We arrive at my apartment complex, and we walk in comfortable silence up to my place, with her clutching the inside of my arm. We enter the apartment, and I head over to my room to change into a new, clean shirt. As my head pokes out from the collar of the shirt, my heart stops, noticing Lisa standing at the door to my bedroom.

"Oh, I- I'm sorry," I blurt out awkwardly as I finish putting my shirt on. Damn, I can be absent-minded sometimes.

"So- sorry," Lisa utters just as awkwardly, looking away to the side. Though judging by the way she's biting the inside of her cheek softly, her head bowed slightly as her face is flushed a dark red, she'd probably only averted her gaze to the wall once I'd seen her. She looks back at me and gives me a sheepish grin before stepping back out of the room, closing the door behind her. I change into a new pair of shorts as I try to erase the awkwardness that had arisen in me.

I step out of the room, and Lisa's texting on her phone, sitting on the couch in the living room. Hearing me come out, she looks up at me and smiles sweetly, as if nothing had happened just a couple of minutes prior.

"So I'm gonna start working on the demo now," I announce. "You can watch TV instead if you'd rather."

"Are you saying I'm only good for watching dramas?" Lisa gets up as she pouts at me.

"I mean, not saying anything, but..." I tease. "Remember that time you managed to rewatch Snowdrop twice between practice and recording sessions."

"Shut up," she rolls her eyes as she approaches me. I almost bring my arm up on instinct, expecting her to whack it again. Instead, she gives me a genuine smile and wraps her arm around mine again. "Just let me watch you work. Besides, you never know - maybe I could give you some ideas for the song."