LA LA LOVE YOU | LIZKOOK

xxviii. spice of life

"You've got to eat it, J-Hope oppa," Lisa said with a stern voice.
J-Hope looked around the table, at the faces staring expectantly back and then down at the piece of chicken in between his chopsticks. It barely looked edible anymore, as it was covered with a thick red sauce that burned his nostrils even at the smell of it.
"I can't stand spicy stuff," he tried to make an excuse again, his chopsticks lowering once more as he chickened out of taking the lethal bite.
"A penalty is a penalty, hyung," Jimin said from his other side. Lisa thought Jimin was just glad that he didn't have the misfortune of losing this particular deal, if the look of boasting satisfaction on his face was anything to go by.
The deal in question was a game of rock, paper, scissors between all at the table with the loser having to try the plate of extra spicy chicken that they had ordered as a joke. The restaurant had warned that only the best at handling spice would be able to tolerate it. They hadn't been wrong if the look of it foretold how spicy it would taste - it had arrived at their table with almost a fluorescent glow, with several visible chilli's among the meat too.
"One bite, that's all," Lisa coaxed from J-Hope's left side. She even moved his glass of water closer to him in consideration.
Jung Hoseok finally took the bite, but almost immediately after he started chewing, he had to open his mouth to fan the flames that were licking at his tongue.
Everyone, both Blackpink, BTS and their personnel that had tagged along, burst into laughter at his reaction. He couldn't even chew it all before he just decided to swallow and then took the glass that Lisa held out for him and downed it all in one go. Even that wasn't enough and he was still huffing and holding his tongue out at the spiciness that had completely defeated him.
Lisa smiled in sympathy before curiosity got the better of her and she pinched a piece of spicy chicken between her chopsticks to sample. As she popped it casually in her mouth, everyone stopped to stare at her, wide-eyed, waiting to see her tortured reaction. However, her own eyes widened for a completely different reason.
"Wah, it's delicious!" she exclaimed with a happy jig of her shoulders. It was indeed spicy, but just in the way she liked it, making her tongue and lips tingle. Jungkook had sat to her left, on the side not occupied by J-Hope. She smacked him excitedly on the arm and urged him to try it too. She knew he could handle his spice just as well as her Thai taste buds and would love the numbing flavour too.
He spun the lazy Susan and took a piece for himself, trying with a bit of a grimace after seeing his hyung's reaction. However, his eyes also widened. "It's super spicy but the flavour is incredible!"
"Unnie," Lisa called across the table, gaining Jisoo's attention. "You'll like this too! Try it!"
Everyone burst into laughter seeing Lisa's polar opposite reaction compared to J-Hope's. He was still dabbing away the tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes.
"You two must be monsters," he commented dramatically, seeing how well both Lisa and Jungkook had handled it. That only made everyone laugh even more.
It was strange seeing both groups sitting around the same table in a private room at one of most exclusive restaurants in South Korea. But here they were. Lisa thought back to how this had all happened, and the surprise when she heard from her manager that YG and BigHit were looking to strengthen their business relationship over the next year, potentially forging a partnership with YG's strong distribution channels and BigHit's advantage in reaching its fans through their own platform. As such, a couple of the board members at each company decided a dinner between their two biggest acts would help their business dealings go smoothly, which is how she came to sit here between Jungkook and J-Hope, with her members spread out between BTS. A couple of her managers and theirs were also seated at the table, along with BigHit's CEO, Bang Si-Hyuk. It was a shock for Lisa to see him again, and a little awkward, as the last time they had met had been when Lisa and Jungkook were still going out and their relationship had almost been exposed by an amateur Dispatch employee in New York. However, Bang PD-nim greeted her with an open smile and didn't mention or refer to her and Jungkook's relationship for the whole night, for which she was grateful.
The girls had arrived together first with their managers and instantly chose seats next to each other at the table, hoping for some semblance of protection if the events of the night happened to be super awkward. However, as soon as Bang PD entered with the BTS members following behind him, he had ordered the girls to stand up and choose a different seat with a friendly authoritative tone. They had laughed as if they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, their plan to stick together instantly falling apart. However, they acquiesced, and that's how Lisa currently found herself between Jungkook and J-Hope.
When the dinner first started, the conversation had been slow and forced. A few stilted congratulations about BTS's recent comebacks had followed, and they had enquired about Blackpink's own comeback plans before silence engulfed the table once again.
On top of that, Lisa could barely even look Jungkook in the eye. They hadn't seen each other in several months, not after her sleepover in Jungkook's apartment, where they had kissed again after abstaining for almost a year. Their morning after that incident had been blissful too - they both went out for coffee and breakfast, wrapped up in their own little bubble. The weeks and months that followed, they had stayed in that bubble, talking as usual by text around their busy schedules, even flirting a little. But neither of them once mentioned the kiss. Broaching the subject felt like it would make their fragile bubble instantly pop and they would have to come crashing back to reality.
"Lisa," J-Hope said, catching her attention. He seemed to have recovered from the spicy chicken thankfully. "I've seen all your Lili Films, they're amazing."
"Really? T-thanks," she said shyly.
"My favourite's got to be the second one, it's totally my style."
"I can't pick a favourite, they're all like children to me!"
"Have you got any more planned?"
She winked and tapped her finger to her nose. "It's a secret."
"Ah, that must mean a yes then," he deduced with a laugh.
She resolutely neither confirmed nor denied.
"We should do a dance collaboration," Hobi suggested brightly.
"I would love to!" Lisa replied a little too eagerly, barely even letting him finish his sentence.
"Yeah, at one of these award shows or something. We could do a street dance."
Lisa's eyes almost glittered at the prospect.
"Careful, hyung, if you dance with her, she might scold you if you don't do it right," Jungkook teased from beside her.
"I'd almost forgotten!" J-Hope said with glee, also finding his chance to tease Lisa about her 'strict mentor' role on a Chinese variety program, Youth With You. "'One more time'", he parroted in English, imitating her signature line with scary accuracy.
Lisa's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. She panicked as she tried to reassure them she wouldn't do that when dancing with J-Hope. However, her pleas were ignored as they took the chance to also imitate her 'Why don't you smile' line too.
"Oh my god," she finally sighed in exasperated defeat. "You guys are too much."
They both laughed, but stopped their impressions of her much to her relief. Their conversation moved on and Lisa took the chance to glance around at the rest of the table.
Naturally with a table so large, several conversations had branched off between seat neighbours. Jisoo and Jin seemed to be engaged in a heated debate across the table from Lisa. Jennie looked comfortable talking to Taehyung whilst Namjoon and Suga were amusing themselves. Rosé was laughing at something Jimin had just said. And their managers and Bang PD had also found something in common to talk about.
No awkwardness remained, and everyone seemed to be getting along well.
Lisa tuned back into the conversation between Jungkook and J-Hope. However, she instantly stiffened minutely at the touch she felt on her left hand that was resting in her lap beneath the table. Thankfully, her flinch was small enough to not be noticeable. Jungkook tugged lightly at her fingers to loosen them up and once successful, he slid his large hand into hers and held it there. Lisa held her breath at the sudden sensation of his hand in hers, but let out a deep exhale through her nose when he kept it statically there. It didn't take long for her fingers to reciprocate and tighten around his.
No one around them seemed to notice, not even J-Hope, as the table cloth managed to hide a lot and the angle they were sitting in meant that Lisa was in front of Jungkook to hide his slightly extended arm.
Lisa dared a quick glance from her peripheral to try to gauge Jungkook's reaction but from what she could see, he was still fully engaged in what J-Hope was saying.
It was unfair really, how he could act so stoic and unaffected, but Lisa's insides felt like they were twisting around each other torturously.
It got worse and suddenly felt like sparklers had been set off inside of her when Jungkook started to stroke her hand gently with his thumb, just in a soothing, repetitive motion that could have even been unconscious, as he still maintained conversation with his member during it all.
Lisa absently noted how it felt like their relationship was fresh and green again, taking her back to the beginning when they were still unsure where this would lead.
Their hands stayed locked for the rest of the evening, and Lisa didn't want it to ever end.