𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘂 || 𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗸

vingt-deux.

as jaehyun and taeyong walked in, the nct leader swore his heart almost exploded at the sound of lisa rapping one of their songs. to be specific, one of the songs he composed himself. jaehyun chuckled at the sight of taeyong's starstruck gaze before pulling him along. before he could pull him down with him on the seats next to jungkook, ten had pulled the poor nct leader away and made him sit down next to lisa.

the blonde haired female's eyes widened as she watched ten sit him down next to her. her cheeks began to redden as he had caught her rapping to one of their songs. she considers taeyong as a very close friend, however, she had never once rapped or sang in front of the male. especially to one of their songs.

the redheaded male didn't seem to mind though as his eyes encouraged her to go on.

as the chorus came, ten handed the nct leader another microphone encouraging him to sing along with her. taeyong, being the shy person that he was began to protest but with ten's glare, he ended up giving in. no one seems to be able to handle ten's glare. no one had been able to go against his wishes...probably except johnny but he was the only one that seemed to get away with it. (a/n: i live for johnten 🥺🥺🥺)

taeyong made sure that the blonde was okay with it before he joined in along with her, singing the chorus along with her. his voice couldn't do it justice as hers fit the part so well. her voice was soft but it was stable. she could've easily been a vocalist. it was a bizarre sight to see the swag-filled charismatic rapper to sing so softly. it was like taeyong was seeing two different people.

after the chorus, taeyong encouraged the blonde to rap his part. he noticed the very small details when she switched from singing to rapping. she seems to be more carefree when she raps and definitely more confident. the nct leader was very much aware of how insecure the thai female was of her singing. she would always praise the other members of blackpink for their stable singing but she seems to always be bringing hers down.

seeing the look on the others' face as they heard the blonde sing made the redhead think she was underestimating her own capability a little too much. it was like she wasn't fully aware of her talent. besides her incomparable dancing, her rapping was unique. despite being an idol rapper, she sounds like she was beyond it. her singing was unique in a good way as well. if only she was more confident in it, she would've been unstoppable.

she could've done well in sm. how taeyong wished she was under the same company as he is. it would've been easier for them to hang out. it would've been easier to pursue her. but it still doesn't change the fact that taeyong would risk it all for the blonde. he had already done something that could potentially jeopardize his relationship with his members. all for the angel next to him. is this what love is?

after doing the first part of taeyong's rap, the blonde nudged the male as she nudged him to go on. the redheaded idol grinned before putting the mic right to his lips and began to rap the second part.

everyone seems to enjoy themselves as they cheered on. that night, everyone had forgotten they were idols. all the stress and worries had been forgotten for the night. all the burden they might've been carrying for carrying the title was also forgotten. that night, they were just regular people having fun with their friends.

after the song, everyone had clapped and screamed which made the yg artist blush. although she had been an idol for almost 2 years, the feeling of being praised and complimented was still new to lisa. although she naturally oozed of confidence on stage, she still manages to blush like a schoolgirl every time people would cheer for her and compliment her.

"you were awesome, lisa. if i knew how much the song fits you, i would've done it with you instead...but please don't tell mark and the others that...especially donghyuck. i wouldn't be able to live it down." the nct leader said with a small chuckle.

the blonde laughed, softly as well before nodding in response. "of course. don't worry. i can keep a secret. i think you may have to worry more about ten though. he's a little bit of a blabbermouth."

both the nct leader and the blonde blackpink member glanced at the thai male. despite ten's craziness, both still loved him to death. he never fails to make anyone laugh even through hard times, especially now that ten's about to leave for china, he still managed to make the people around him feel good.

the whole night went by and everyone else but mark (tuan), jaehyun, taeyong and lisa were either a little tipsy or drunk to the core. sorn and minnie were the first to leave, followed by jungkook, eunwoo, mingyu, dokyeom and minghao who decided to leave together.

bambam stumbled his way towards his thai best friend with mark trying to keep his arm around him to help stabilize him while also attempting to keep jackson on his feet as well. lisa giggled at the sight. jaehyun offered to carry ten as the thai male wasn't really that heavy.

"mark-oppa, do you need help? i can assist bambam." the blonde female offered. the taiwanese idol shook his head.

"it's fine, lis. i can handle these two. i already called a cab, it should be here soon. our dorm is farther away from sm and yg dorms so you should stick with these guys. it's pretty late." the taiwanese rapper, then, looked at taeyong as jaehyun was too busy trying to keep ten quiet as the drunk thai kept slurring nonsense.

"don't let her off alone, taeyong-ssi. i trust you to get her back in her dorm safe and sound." just as mark had said those words, a cab pulled up in front of them.

lisa and taeyong assisted mark before waving at them and watched as the cab drove off.

jaehyun looked at the pair.

"hyung, since it's not too far from blackpink's dorm, why don't you walk her home? i'll deal with ten...he keeps on pestering me about going to the convenience store. i'll probably buy something to help him sober up."

before taeyong or lisa could reply, jaehyun had began walking towards the convenience store across the karaoke bar dragging the drunk thai male with him.

the two watched and laughed as jaehyun began to scold ten for drinking too much before turning the opposite the direction towards lisa's dorm.

"i hope it isn't any bother to you that you have to take me home. you didn't have to listen to mark-oppa, you know. he's just a little protective. i can take care of myself." lisa chuckled.

"even if he didn't tell me to, i would've done it anyway. i'm not gonna let you off on your own, lisa. it's really late. it's pretty dangerous to be out this late especially when you're alone." the red-haired male replied.

the thai rapper grinned and nudged the nct leader.

"so if danger were to come right now, you'll protect me?" the female playfully asked.

"hey, don't you underestimate me! just because i don't have big muscles like jackson hyung or jungkook doesn't mean i don't know how to fight." the male pouted at her.

"i was kidding, old man. calm down." lisa laughed softly which made taeyong scrunch his face at the nickname.

"yah! i am not old. you're only two years younger than me."

"hai hai!" the blonde sang in japanese before breaking out into laughter.

"you dork. now, come on. walk faster or i'm leaving you here."

"hey! if you do that, my unnies and my friends will come for you if you leave me here to get murdered."

"well, if you use those long legs to walk faster, maybe i won't."

"shut up, jack frost."

"that only works if i have platinum hair."

"oh yeah...speaking of, you should definitely hold off dying your hair right now. you're balding. i could see your scalp from where i'm standing."

"no, i'm not!"

"no no. i definitely see it. based from my calculations, you'll be bald by 30."

"..."

"taeyong...yah, lee taeyong! i was kidding. please don't run away from me!"