More Than You Know

23 : Something to chew on

The audience cheered louder, already sensing it-Jennie and Lisa were just different when together.

The crew rolled out mats on the stage floor. Yoo Jae-suk clapped his hands, grinning like a man about to witness chaos.

"First game: Human Knot!"

Groans echoed from both teams.

"This one is for teamwork," Jae-suk announced solemnly. Then he cracked a grin. "And also for... possibly ending teamwork forever."

The audience howled.

Blue Lightning shuffled into a circle. Hands reached across, crisscrossing, tangling. In the confusion, Jennie's fingers ended up laced firmly with Lisa's, their arms brushing shoulder-to-shoulder.

Jennie tilted her head up at her, lips twitching. "Don't pull too hard."

Lisa bent lower, their foreheads nearly level. Her voice dropped just enough for the mic to barely catch it. "Then don't squeeze so tight, Jennie."

Jennie's breath caught. She shot her a mock-scandalized look, cheeks warming as she tried to shield her smile with her hair. Lisa just laughed, shoulders shaking, clearly pleased with herself. The cameras zoomed in instantly, audience squealing.

Meanwhile, Jungkook had taken it upon himself to be team captain. "Okay, okay-Jennie-noona, left! Lisa, duck under!"

"Duck?!" Lisa scoffed, but crouched anyway. Jennie steadied her instinctively, palm flat against the small of Lisa's back. The touch was brief, almost thoughtless, but when Lisa straightened, she threw Jennie a sidelong glance-smirk tugging at her lips.

Jennie cleared her throat quickly and focused on the tangle in front of her, pretending she hadn't lingered a bit too long.

"Yoonchae-ah, step over Jungkook's arm-no, no, not like that!" Han So-hee was already laughing so hard she nearly toppled.

Lisa reached up with their joined hands, murmuring, "Jennie, over here."

Jennie followed, ducking beneath Lisa's arm. Their hair brushed, Jennie's soft laugh spilling as she almost bumped into her. "You're too tall for this."

Lisa grinned. "Or maybe you're just too small."

"Yah!" Jennie's laugh turned into a playful shove against Lisa's shoulder-though she never let go of her hand.

The crowd screamed at the bickering, the hosts nearly doubled over with laughter.

Bit by bit, Blue Lightning untangled themselves, guided more by sheer stubbornness than strategy. When the final loop was undone, they all stumbled back in triumph.

"Done!" Jungkook yelled, throwing his arms up.

The buzzer confirmed it-Blue Lightning had finished first.

The five of them collapsed into laughter, some falling onto the mats. Jennie leaned heavily against Lisa, one arm hooking around her as she caught her breath.

Lisa didn't even budge. Instead, she steadied her with a hand at her waist, eyes crinkling as she teased, "Tired already?"

Jennie let out a soft breathy laugh, too unguarded to hide it. "Only because you made it harder than it needed to be."

The cameras caught everything: Jennie pressed close, Lisa casually bracing her, both of them smiling in a way that didn't feel like a performance.

On the monitors, the image replayed in slow motion-Jennie's hand on Lisa's back, Jennie leaning into her shoulder, Lisa steadying her like it was second nature.