“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jung Hwa asked as she finished checking her care’s left hand. The sound of crowd cheering was echoing in the background.

Lisa sighed as she surveyed her bandaged hand—the pressure relieving some of the pain she was having. It was during her last performance when she accidentally hit the back of her hand on one of the metal rigs backstage—becoming swollen and painful. A medic had already looked at it and told her it just needed rest for a couple of days, compression, and medication if the pain became unbearable. She wiggled her exposed fingers as she found the bandage uncomfortable.

“It’s nothing, unnie.”

“You can be such a klutz sometimes.” Her manager scolded but Lisa only smiled. She knew Jung Hwa was only worried since Lisa was about to perform on stage along with the others.

“I look cool though.” She raised her hand and posed like she was an action star. The bandage somehow complimented her encore outfit—BLACKPINK hoodie, denim shorts, and a classic pair of Chuck Taylor’s.

“Just be careful when moving around. Don’t injure yourself further.”

Lisa saluted with her good hand which made Jung Hwa roll her eyes. The other members’ worries lessened once they knew her hand would heal in a day or two. And as they went back to the stage with thousands of fans screaming for them, Lisa could almost forget the dull throbbing in her hand. She danced and moved around as she carefully placed her left arm still on her side. Some of her labelmates shot questioning and worried looks at her once they saw the bandage but Lisa simply sighed with an embarrassed smile.

Once the chorus of Fantastic Baby hits, Lisa started dancing goofily with a junior—her laughter so contagious. She bent over in laughter and then someone bumped her from behind. If it wasn’t for the strong grip which quickly held her arm, her face would’ve met the floor.

“Sorry!” His deep voice shouted and as she straightened up, she looked back to see Seung Hyun with an apologetic look on his face. He had been flailing around earlier and must’ve bumped into her accidentally. Quickly removing his hold on her, his eyes landed on her left hand which she instinctively protected from the supposed fall. His thick brows immediately furrowed.

“What happened to you?”

“It’s nothing.”

His eyes went further down and she followed his gaze. Her right shoelace had become undone and she hadn’t even realized it.

“Aish! This girl…” His eyes briefly flashed back to hers before crouching down and tying her shoelace properly.

Lisa was well aware of the thousands of eyes witnessing what was transpiring. The screams became louder and she tried to drown them out as she focused her gaze on the top of his head. Her heart seemed like it stopped for a moment when she realized how close he was. She wanted to reach out and touch his black hair but she was brought back to reality when he stood up and gave her a brief smile before joining the others on the moving stage. It only took a second before she plastered another smile on her face. But deep inside, she felt a little dejected since he went away before she even got to say thank you.

Two months had already passed in their tour and they had already finished their Japan leg. Hong Kong was their first stop in their Asian leg and the response had been immense. In those two months, Seung Hyun had been nothing but friendly towards her—staying true to his words that he wanted to remain friends with her. He acted like his usual self when there were others around. They were always surrounded by their friends, crew, and labelmates and nothing went amiss aside from the excessive ribbing they got from them since finding out about their kissing scene in the movie. But they soon got tired of teasing them and Lisa was extremely glad since she had to take in everything with a smile on her face. And she was grateful that Seung Hyun didn’t seek her out alone anymore. He gave her the space that she wanted.

But still… for some reason… she felt like something had changed between them.

Maybe it was because he was treating her like before in front of the people who knew them… that Lisa knew he had gotten over what happened between them. She couldn’t help but think of the worst things. Like how he probably thought her to be a momentary distraction or that he never really liked her that way. So it was easier for him to cope with their situation. Because for her, no matter how friendly he was being towards her, she felt like dying inside whenever he smiled or talked to her.

“Omo! Look at this!” Jisoo scooted closer to her in the booth. The night had been long but they were required to attend the after party in an exclusive club. Fans paid a lot for their tickets and they should show up. All Lisa wanted to do was to be on the hotel bed and sleep. Her hand had become more painful since she opted not to take any painkillers because of the casual drinking they would do.

Jisoo showed her Instagram and Lisa’s disinterest vanished when she saw a fancam of her laughing on the moving stage. Seung Hyun was dancing a few feet behind her and he did accidentally bump into her. They could be seen briefly speaking to each other before he crouched down and tied her shoelaces. The camera zoomed in even more and it clearly captured Lisa’s surprised face. Once Seung Hyun stood up and walked away, the change in her expression seemed so abrupt that it made her cringe.

“Ah! You’re so flustered!” Jisoo laughed as she scrolled through the comments. “And look at all these shippers you have. They’re going crazy!”

Lisa huffed—not caring about what others thought at that moment. The thing already happened and there was nothing she could do about it. It was Seung Hyun who had told her to be careful but there he was… acting like that during a show. But then it was probably nothing to him.

That made her mood sour again.

“Does he still affect you?” Jisoo’s sudden question made her tense and her friend comfortingly put an arm around her shoulders. “You’ve been quiet recently and you know you can always talk to me.”

Lisa sighed as she leaned her head on Jisoo’s. “It just takes time, unnie.”

“Of all the guys you could like, it’s him. Now you seem like you’ve changed a lot.”

“I don’t know… it just happened.” Lisa pouted and then looked at Jisoo—a frown appearing on her face. “What do you mean I’ve changed?”

The older laughed as she pinched Lisa’s cheek. “It’s like you’ve matured and have become a real woman… with all the complicated romance thingy. I can’t relate!”

Lisa laughed—her mood suddenly lifting because of her dear friend.

“What happened to that actor who kept asking you out a few months ago? You told me you kinda like him.”

Jisoo’s face scrunched as she stuck her tongue out in disgust. “I don’t anymore! I found out he’s got a bad attitude and it’s better to steer clear away from that.”

They talked about that for a while before one of their seniors appeared in the booth with new cocktails. Jiyong was already tipsy when he slid in and sat beside Jisoo—his head hanging lazily on the backrest as soon as he gave the drinks to them.

“Ah! I’m so tired!” He shouted and the two nodded sympathetically.

“Oppa… it’s okay if we go back early to the hotel, right?” Jisoo asked and Jiyong sat up straighter then—his eyes widening.

“I really ing hate after parties. Drink those up and let’s go rest.”

They did just that and then stood up from the booth. Lisa was clinging to Jisoo when they were walking at the dark second floor and Jiyong was at her other side. Some people tried to get their attention and all Lisa could do was smile. Once they neared the stairs, she happened to see a woman in a curve-fitting black dress—cleavage showing s women would envy. Her pale skin seemed glowing and when Lisa saw her face, she couldn’t help but think she was quite stunning. Heart-shaped face framed in long black hair, big eyes, narrow nose, and pouty lips painted in crimson. The woman’s expression changed when she saw Jiyong approaching.

“Jiyong-ssi.” She greeted him and Jiyong along with Lisa and Jisoo stopped walking. Lisa looked at Jiyong who seemed like he was thinking hard.

“Have I seen you before?”

The woman smiled shyly. “I’ve met you briefly in China a few years ago.”

Jiyong just nodded and it was clear he couldn’t exactly remember when that was. The woman was speaking in Korean but her accent was a bit off. Lisa briefly wondered if she was Chinese.

“I’m Nika Zhou.”

That answered her question. The gorgeous woman named Nika looked at the two women and smiled at them—her eyes lingering a while longer at Lisa and her red lips curved upwards.

“I’m looking forward to seeing your movie with TOP-ssi.”

Before Lisa could even respond, Jiyong suddenly pointed at the woman. “I remember now! Beijing, right?”

Nika suddenly looked flustered as she briefly nodded. Her eyes widened when Seung Hyun suddenly appeared behind the three. Lisa’s heart picked up at his very presence but she felt something was definitely off when the woman’s lips curved into a different kind of smile.

“Long time no see, TOP-ssi.”

“Yes.” Was his brief reply and Jiyong gave a loud sigh.

“The girls and I are tired. We’ll get going.” He excused himself and the two followed him. Lisa couldn’t help but look back at Seung Hyun and the woman who was left behind with him. He remained standing there looking at the floor. As they descended the stairs, she saw the woman take a step closer to him and kissed his cheek.

She quickly averted her gaze—not wanting to see more of it.

“Jiyong-oppa! Who’s that woman?” Jisoo suddenly inquired once they got inside the black sedan.

Their senior huffed and he looked a bit pissed. “Hyung’s buddy from years ago.”

Lisa froze and she curled her fingers on the hems of her dress. She leaned her head on the glass window as she felt Jisoo hold her forearm.

“That bastard was with that woman whenever we came to China and we never knew until I saw her get out of his hotel room in Beijing.” Lisa didn’t want to hear any of it and she shut her eyes—feeling more miserable by the second. “Hyung always liked that type… beautiful with big s.”

“Men are all the same!” Jisoo exclaimed—her voice surprisingly angry and Lisa fought the increasing self-pity she was having.

“But I prefer cute than y!” Jiyong chuckled then and drawled on in a half-drunk way. “Speaking of… I really need to have a girlfriend. I want to get married and have adorable children. I want three!”

Lisa couldn’t sleep that night—tossing and turning on her bed as the pain in her hand only worsened. Jisoo who was on the other bed didn’t say anything once they got back to their hotel room—knowing Lisa needed time to process that information. Of course, she knew a man like Seung Hyun would have women around him. But actually knowing that fact hurt nonetheless. What was she then?

“Aish! Unnie!” She sat up—throwing the sheets away from her and Jisoo woke with a start. She the lamp and rubbed her sleepy face.

“What’s up?”

Lisa’s eyes were blazing with fury. “I should stop liking him! I won’t like him anymore! He’s not wo