"Ah~"
"It's the middle of the night. Can you not tell such creepy ghost stories in that much detail? And then scare me on top of it. Blake Su, you're so mean."
Yoona grumbled as she entered the hotel.
"Hahaha!"
Blake Su laughed from the side, clearly enjoying her reaction.
"Hmph~"
Yoona looked at Blake Su, who was grinning after successfully scaring her, and pouted as she muttered, "You're such a scaredy-cat, yet you still watch horror movies.
And then you go around telling ghost stories to scare other people. Seriously... so devious~~"
...
The next day.
10 a.m.
After waking up and getting everything ready, Blake Su and Yoona prepared to head downstairs for a nutritious breakfast before leaving for the airport.
The two waited by the elevator doors.
Before long,
"Ding!"
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened.
"Let's go."
Yoona stepped inside first, but Blake Su stopped outside the elevator doors. Yoona blinked her big eyes and asked, "What are you doing? Come in."
"Yoona."
Blake Su pointed at the elevator and said, "There are too many people inside. If I get in, it'll definitely be overloaded. Let's wait for the next one."
"What?"
Yoona stared at the empty elevator, completely confused.
Blake Su, however, stood outside with a serious face, one hand on his suitcase, showing no intention of going in. He looked as if he really meant it.
"Hey!"
"That's not funny at all."
Yoona muttered. Even though she knew it was probably fake, she still felt a chill crawl up her spine, especially with Blake Su acting so serious.
She furrowed her pretty brows and looked around. The more she looked, the more creeped out she became, and she was already thinking about stepping back out.
Just then,
"Pfft!"
Blake Su laughed again and teased her, "Yoona, you got scared. You believed it, didn't you?!"
"Hey!!!"
"Blake Su!"
Realizing what had happened, Yoona rushed out and gave him a "fierce" beating. Amid Blake Su's merciless teasing, the two fooled around as they rode the elevator down.
After breakfast,
Blake Su sent Yoona to the airport and watched her pass through security before returning to the villa.
On the way back, he received a text from Mia Quinn. Naturally, it was a message congratulating him on advancing, but... filming had recently reached its most important stage, close to wrapping.
She was busy. Very busy.
She could only text and could not call.
Blake Su understood, and he was happy for her.
"Hurry up and wrap filming. A small script like this isn't Quinnie's stage!"
...
Around the same time,
the NBA officially announced several other season honors.
The All-Defensive First Team was Kobe, Howard, LeBron, Blake Su, and Rajon Rondo.
The All-Defensive Second Team was Kevin Garnett, Andre Iguodala, Joakim Noah, and Chris Paul.
The MIP award, meaning Most Improved Player, went to the Timberwolves' Kevin Love. Even though, because of the Suns and because of Blake Su,
he had been hit several times with the criticism of "stat-padding,"
there was no denying that this fifth overall pick from 2008, as the Timberwolves' new king, had made enormous progress this season.
He won with a high 38.31% of the vote, while Aldridge and Wright received 15.04% and 11.88% of the vote respectively.
They finished second and third, missing out with some regret.
As for Rookie of the Year, there was no suspense at all. It went to the "Monster Rookie" Blake Su, who won with an overwhelming 95.51% of the vote.
A thoroughly deserved honor.
Griffin and Wall, who finished second and third in the voting, only received 3.11% and 1.07% respectively.
In addition,
the DPOY award, meaning Defensive Player of the Year, once again went to "Superman" Howard, who received a high 76.25% of the vote.
He crushed second-place Kevin Garnett, who only had 5.21% of the vote.
For the third straight year, he won Defensive Player of the Year.
Of course, Defensive Player of the Year evaluates a player's entire regular-season performance, and Howard truly deserved to win it again.
But after his late-regular-season struggles, plus his poor playoff performance,
many fans felt that Howard's era in the paint had already passed. This might be the last time he won DPOY.
Then there was Coach of the Year.
That award also went, almost without suspense, to Suns head coach Alvin Gentry.
Two separate 20-plus-game winning streaks in a single season, leading the team from near the bottom of the West all the way to first in the West and even the best record in the league.
Gentry was naturally Coach of the Year.
Of course, plenty of fans and even coaches complained, saying that if they were given Blake Su, they could also lead a team to such a good record.
Talk was talk.
Coach of the Year was ultimately about record, and since Gentry won it, everyone eventually accepted and recognized the honor.
Aside from those,
there was still one final honor, and it was the topic every fan cared about most: who would win Regular Season MVP?
Blake Su, Rose, or Howard?!
It had not been revealed yet. The final result might not come out until the second round began. For now, all anyone could do was wait.
And the second round would begin in just one day.
For the Suns, who had fought through seven hard games and advanced through Game 7, having only three days of rest was not exactly friendly.
But there was nothing they could do.
A team like the Hawks, who swept their opponent, had already rested for nearly ten days. The schedule could not keep being pushed back just because of one team.
This was the price the Suns had to pay for advancing through Game 7.
Of course,
when it came to stamina and form, they still had three days to adjust. And although they had played three extra games, the difference was not that huge.
The second round.
When the two teams met, it would still be a full-strength showdown.
...
Soon,
that night arrived.
8 p.m.
US Airways Center.
The "dark horse" Suns vs. the "defending champion" Lakers. Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals would begin in one hour.
With the better regular-season record, the Suns still had the first two home games.
The stands
were packed early, just like always.
"Go Suns!"
"Go Suns!"
The home fans' cheers burned with passion. Along with the arena DJ's hype, the Suns' home-court advantage was pushed to the limit.
The game had not started yet,
but the entire Suns team had already seized the initiative on the court.
"Hiss~"
Pau Gasol, who was warming up, pursed his lips and said, "Phoenix is a small city, so what's with these deafening cheers?"
"Heh."
Beside him,
Kobe smiled and said, "Because of Blake Su. Phoenix's popularity is already no weaker than a big city, just like the Cavaliers when LeBron was there.
They're the kind of players who can influence an entire city all by themselves."
"Yeah."
Pau Gasol nodded in agreement and said solemnly, "My brother has called me several times recently, telling me I have to pay attention to Blake Su and stay on guard against him.
He said Blake Su is even stronger than we imagine, even on the playoff stage!"
"Exactly."
Kobe nodded noncommittally and said, "I told you all before, don't underestimate Blake Su. Especially don't treat him like a rookie."
"Got it."
Pau Gasol nodded seriously, his gaze locked on Blake Su, a deeply solemn glint flashing in his eyes.
And while both teams were warming up, the arena DJ's bright, booming voice suddenly rang out.
"Hey!"
"To everyone here tonight, we have a major announcement!"