LA LA LOVE YOU | LIZKOOK

xxii. green like money

Another year, and another Gayo Daejun performance exactly on Christmas day. This year, the Pinks were putting on a special stage with Jennie starting with Solo, then the three other members coming out for a dance break leading into Ddu-Du Ddu-Du. They were all excited for it, but Lisa couldn't help feeling a little bit of apprehension, as her presence at this show also meant a risk of seeing Jungkook again. Deep-down, it thrilled her a little to be able to see him again, but as she had learnt at MMA and the after-party, he could still find ways to easily distract her and consume her thoughts just by being in her presence. She was finding that this constant pining attraction for him wasn't doing her willpower any good! It had almost shattered completely on the balcony when she had been so close to kissing him again!
As if the fates were playing a cruel game with her, they announced Blackpink onto the introduction stage directly after BTS. Rosé walked first, her head held high, despite the embarrassment she faced the morning after her fateful tabletop dance. Her mobile had blown up in the morning by friends who took the advantage to tease her. She had never been more mortified but was just glad that she hadn't proceeded to throw up in front of everyone at that party by the end of the night - she had saved that particular spectacle just for the Pinks and the iKon boys that drove them home, as the car ride had turned her stomach and she had thrown up everything as soon as they had stopped in front of their dorm building.
Rosé led the girls to stand next to the BTS members, leaving a wide gap for safety. All the girls acutely felt the awkwardness - they had heard about the fans shipping them and it made any interaction with them in public a little unbearable. Lisa felt particularly sorry for Rosé and Jimin in that moment as they were both stood next to each other looking stonily ahead and ensuring there was no eye contact. 
"Lisa, come stand at the back next to me," Jennie whispered to her. "You're taller than Jisoo so let her be in front." 
Lisa acquiesced and swapped places with Jisoo gladly - at least this way, she would be a bit more hidden from the audience's scrutiny. As they waited for all the other artists who were performing that night to join them on the stage, she could feel eyes boring into the side of her face. She made to look around at the audience while sneakily trying to check who was staring at her so intently. When she turned to the right, she spotted the culprit - Jeon Jungkook quickly looked away at the eye contact. Lisa quickly fixed her eyes back on the ground too.
Her face remained stoic as the rest of the introduction stage took place. They left quickly when it was over, all the artists heading to their respective dressing rooms to get ready. Lisa still needed to be sewn into her costume, as they didn't have time to change before the introductions and she was still in her red carpet outfit. She could see Jungkook from the corner of her eye, but she hurried off to the dressing rooms before she could do something rash. 

-&-

Jungkook had been pacing back and forth restlessly in the BTS dressing room for most of the evening. His hyungs had told him more than once to calm down and take a seat but he was worked up and waiting for one particular performance.
When he saw the rest of the Blackpink members finally join Jennie on stage, he sat down, poised at the edge of the sofa, intently watching the performance. Their dance break transitioned into the opening notes of D4, but not before a camera close-up of Lisa pivoting on her feet to face the camera, giving an intense, fierce look straight down the lens. Jungkook felt his throat run dry at that look.
"Oh they're good," J-Hope said, singing along.
Jimin joined him and whistled lowly in appreciation at Rosé's bridge - her vocals were always impressive.
The nice thing about Gayo Daejun compared to the other end-of-year award shows were that it was purely a performance show for the fans. The artists weren't part of the audience and therefore, it was the one event where a lot of idols came together and could catch up backstage.
After the Blackpink performance, the BTS members split off and explored the backstage area. There was a communal area for idols with a TV, large sofas and other bits of entertainment to keep them all preoccupied while everyone waited for their turn on the stage. Jungkook found his '97 liner friends gathered on bean bags in a corner of the room.
"Mr. Jeon," Bambam shouted out, holding open his arms to receive a hug from Jungkook. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to you guys too," he greeted back to Bambam, Jaehyun, Mingyu, DK and Yugyeom. 
"Did you catch Blackpink's performance?" Bambam asked with his knowing smirk. "My girl Lisa burning up the stage, amirite?" he nudged Jungkook in the arm with his eyebrows rising up and down. 
The other '97 liners just knew Bambam could be weird, so didn't think much of it, but Jungkook wasn't really sure if they knew about Lisa and his relationship or not. He played it safe and just shrugged in response. "Yeah, I guess."
"Ahh, it must feel good to be part of the two biggest k-pop groups right now. BTS and Blackpink are really blowing up in America," Jaehyun said, who heard about it constantly from his old American buddies. 
"Not just America - I swear the Thai people love you more than me, Kook," Bambam joked. 
"Well it's not hard, is it?" Jungkook teased right back, to which he earned a punch in the arm. 
"Have you heard? There are rumours Blackpink are playing Coachella too," Yugyeom said conspiratorially. 
"Oh come on, who even trusts rumours in this industry?" Mingyu chimed in in disbelief.
Yugyeom shrugged. "Well if it's true, that's pretty fucking cool."
"Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, Coachella is the standard in the West."
Jungkook listened silently but couldn't help but be surprised. If him and Lisa were still going out, she would have told him such monumental news, even if they hadn't signed a contract yet. To be asked to perform at Coachella was a big deal. He felt a bit saddened that he was missing out on her telling him all these great achievements. 
"You okay, Kook?" DK asked, probably picking up on Jungkook's weirdly silent and brooding state. 
"It's alright, Kook, BTS will get a Grammy instead!" Mingyu joked cheerfully, slapping his knee in comfort. 
"It's not a competition, guys!" he reassured. "And plus, a Grammy?! Don't plant hope in me for something that would never happen!"
"Well you never know! If any Korean artist can do it, it's you guys!" Bambam said optimistically. "And speaking of, here comes your members now."
He turned around and saw a couple of his members walking over. "Hey, hyung," he addressed Suga, who was walking between Jin and Namjoon. "Mingyu said we'd get a Grammy one day."
Suga weighed it up in his mind for a second. "Yeah, he's right." His tone and expression were entirely serious.
"Really?!" Jungkook said. He would take it serious if his hyung said it, but when Mingyu said it, it had just sounded like a well-meaning pleasantry - like what your parents were obligated to tell you when you asked them if you were ugly or not.
Namjoon slapped a hand down on his maknae's shoulders. "If Suga said it's to be, then it will be."
"But first, a Billboard number 1!" Suga said with his whole chest, crossing his arms over and nodding his head, manifesting it into BTS's future by sheer force. 
"Ya, aren't we demanding too much," Jin said, exasperated. "The gods will be angry if we keep asking for more."
Suga didn't care about asking for more and was ready to get into a theological debate with him about it if Namjoon hadn't stepped in.
"Yo, Jungkook, it's our time to perform soon."
Jungkook nodded and got up, receiving good lucks from his friends before heading to the stage.