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blm_sunshine: last practice before @gaon_awards tonight with @babylips_mk & @nuestaron ^.^ #gaonawards #babylips #nuest #bestnewgroup_bl

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lagosdmoreno commented on your photo: wahhh! so cute <3 very excited for tonight's awards show.

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Sun huffed tiredly after practicing the group performance for the last time before the awards. They would be taking place that night, but the girls of Baby Lips wanted to get one last practice in before returning to the the Pledis building to get ready. 

As they walked off the stage, they passed EXO who were next to practice their routine for the last time before the event. Each group who wanted a practice just hours before the event only had ten minutes on the stage and they had to use that time wisely. In that time, Baby Lips were able to practice it twice. Passing the EXO boys, the girls of Baby Lips shot each other looks of distaste. The more hateful glares came from EXO's maknae line, Jongin and Sehun. While from Baby Lips it was Juri and Kyungsuk, who were more commonly known by their stage names Jai and Kia. 

Sarang--the leader of the girl group--nodded to Junmyeon out of mere respect. But her eyes held that same level of dsipleasure they all held for each other.

Yixing was the last of his group to enter the stage and Sun was the last to leave. 

Their eyes met for a moment and he smiled--the tiniest hint of a smile towards her--before he forced it off his lips. She held her head down as she raced off the stage to let them practice. 

After EXO was Nu'est for their final practice, and then Sun would practice her duet with Aron on stage. That was another twenty minutes away and the girls of Baby Lips assured they would wait for her so that they could all return to the Pledis building together. 

It was no use to take separate cars since they were all going to the same place.

The girl group sat backstage where there were several foldable chairs in front of large televisions which displayed what was happening on stage. Sun suddenly felt a bit subconscious that Yixing and his group had probably been sitting there just moments earlier--his friends criticizing everything the girls were doing. Soon enough her group mates would do the same. 

Rin, their Vietnamese-Korean member was the one to start the criticism fest. 

"Ugh, they think they're so great." She commented, crossing her arms over her chest as the music began playing and the EXO boys got into their formation. The other girls in the group nodded in agreement, except Sun who only kept her eyes trained on Yixing as he danced on stage.

They were going to be performing a dance routine for History, alternating between EXO-K and EXO-M members on stage. 

Their ten minute practice session was finished quicker than Sun thought it would, and already five minutes before was Aron with the rest of Nu'est, waiting to go on stage. He spotted Sun in the crowd of girls sat backstage and he pulled a smile onto his face. He took a few steps toward her and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, since she was sat in one of the chairs.

Sun smiled back and slipped her arms around him for a brief moment, pulling him into a short hug. "Good luck out there." She said in a whisper, but just loud enough for her other group members to hear. "Love you." She forced the last words out. 

"Love you too, princess." He replied so naturally, even though it meant nothing to him.

Just as they were pulling away, the EXO boys were on their way off the stage. There was suddenly a crowd of about thirty idols backstage. People were tripping over each other as they tried to exit, while others tried to enter the stage. EXO's leader Junmyeon even ended falling onto Baby Lips' leader Sarang, to which she responded by yelling out in an exaggerated pain. Kia and Jai helped her by pushing him off. 

The EXO leader quickly apologized before he scurried off muttering about how those girls were crowding the waiting area. 

The last person to enter the backstage area who spotted Sun and Aron just as they were pulling away from their embrace. His eyes were on them for a fraction of a second before he looked away quickly, eyes trained on the ground as he pushed past everyone to get to the exit where his group members were waiting for him.

In about a minute, the area cleared and chaos was over.

Nu'est entered the stage for their practice performance, and then it would be Sun's turn to practice her duet with Aron.

-

The category for best new group had just been announced, along with the five groups that had been nominated. Among those was EXO, Baby Lips, and Nu'est. Before the award show host could read off the winner, she announced that they would cut off to commercials and that the duet which had been written especially for the award show would be performed, prolonging the suffering of the fans of the five groups which were nominated.

As the lights dimmed in the venue, Sun and Aron were summoned from their seats in the crowd and they followed security back stage to prepare in the commercial break for their performance.

Each of them were handed a microphone with their name on it, and were pushed to the edge of the stage from which they would emerge after commercials. From where they stood, Sun could hear someone instructing the audience. "When we return from commercials, we want you all to cheer really loudly. Sun from Baby Lips and Aron from Nu'est will perform a love song together. Even if they're not your favorite idols, cheer very loudly as though they were. They have worked very hard. Okay, we're returning from commercials in ten seconds." His words about her not being their favorite idol were obviously directed at the EXO boys and their fans who weren't afraid to show their distaste for anything having to do with Baby Lips.

Sun swallowed the lump in her throat as there was a countdown. She had sang solos and duets before, but that was all in Baby Lips. This was her first duet with a boy, all on her own without her group members and it made her nervous.

When they returned from commercial break, the host announced with excitement, "Now give it up for Sun of Baby Lips and Aron of Nu'est performing their single Light Of My Life!"

To Sun's surprise, the majority of the auditorium erupted in cheers. There were a few boos here and there, which came from EXO fans who couldn't forgive her and her group after all the back and forth fights between both groups. Sun walked onto the stage side by side with Aron and he grabbed a hold of her hand upon seeing her nervousness, giving it a light squeeze.

Sun wanted to pull her hand away because she knew Yixing was watching. 

But she restrained herself because she needed to pretend for the cameras.

The music started playing and the lights dimmed, displaying different colors to set a mood for the song. Sun's dark eyes skimmed the audience to look for her boyfriend. She had been lucky the seating had been arranged in a way that EXO was forced to sit behind Baby Lips. It had been done purposefully by the television network for dramatic purposes, so that if there was an argument unraveling between both groups, it would be easy to capture it on camera. Or perhaps in order to set off an argument by sitting them so close to each other.

Sun began to sing with her eyes set on him, who had been sat right behind her. Now he was sitting behind an empty seat. 

He watched her too, clapping slowly in an attempt to be encouraging, but also so as not to arouse suspicion from anyone. For moments he would look away, talking to Baekhyun who was sat to his left and other times with Lu Han who was sat to his right.

-

Her performance ended before she knew it and the music faded out, the lights returning to their normal brightness in the auditorium. She and Aron stood there together as the crowd clapped and cheered for them, with the occasional booing from some of the EXO fans that was directed specifically at Sun. 

Before walking off stage together, Aron did something that caught her off guard. She had been smiling wide, looking at Yixing, and when she turned to look at her labelmate, he leaned in to kiss her on the lips without warning. It had been a quick peck, but it was enough to turn the auditorium into a chorus of gasps and excited squeals. Sun was taken aback and did not respond, only followed Aron as he linked arms with her and led her off the stage. 

Her eyes searched for Yixing in the audience but he was gone. Now there were two empty in front of each other and once shesat down, she sat in front of an empty seat. 

Aron returned to his own seat and the host returned to her spot on stage.

"Don't go very far, Aron and Sun." She said with an excited grin after what had happened on stage. "We're about to announce our winner for the category of best new group."

From backstage, someone walked towards her with an envelope which held the results.

The host opened it painfully slowly, and Sun could almost feel herself stop breathing. Behind her, she heard the steps of someone walking in between the seats, saying excuse me as he returned to his own chair.

Yixing sat down just as the woman yelled out, "EXO and Baby Lips!"

All members of both groups looked up, confused.

They hesitated for a moment before one by one getting up from their chairs and piling onto the stage. At one moment, there were twenty four people standing there, excluding the host.

"You must be wondering why there were two winners." She said to both groups. Junmyeon and Sarang stood at the front, as leaders of their respective groups, and both nodded in agreement with her words. To say they were confused was an understatement. When she got a response, the woman host continued, "This has never happened before. But when we counted the votes, both groups were equal. So we asked a panel of six judges to vote, and we were equal again! Finally, we decided that both groups have worked equally as hard and that both deserve this award." 

She gestured to hand the small golden colored statue which was given as an award to EXO's leader, but he shook his head, offering it to Sarang who was closest to it. Sarang hesitated for a second before she took it, bowing gratefully at her EXO rival and male leader counter part.

The rest of the members stood in two lines. The boys behind Junmyeon, and the girls behind Sarang, and in between them was a gap of about three feet, like they were allergic to each other.

Sarang approached the microphone stand and spoke first.

"We would like to thank Pledis Entertainment because we wouldn't be where we are without them, Lina unnie, our families, our fans, and everyone who believed in us. Thank you!" She kept it short and sweet before the tears could spill out of her eyes. To win an award for the first time--whilst competing against EXO was a big feat for them, even though EXO had been awarded as well. Before stepping back to allow Junmyeon the chance to speak, she added quickly, "And...I guess..." There was a lack of enthusiasm in her voice, yet at the same time she was grateful. "Congratulations to EXO as well, and thank you for letting us take the trophy home."

From close by, Sun could hear one of the EXO boys muttering, "Enjoy it because its the only one you'll ever win."

But she couldn't tell who it was.

Sarang stepped to the side and Junmyeon gave his speech in between tears and sobs, to which his group members responded by rushing to hug him. Since EXO was a fairly new group, it was about the second important award they had won. They had already won countless other awards, like Baby Lips, but they were for smaller things. 

After both groups were congratulated and gave their acceptance speeches, they walked off the stage together, with EXO letting the girls go first.

Sun was last, as she was trying to lock eyes with Yixing to apologize for what he had to see.

Her kiss with Aron.

But he kept avoiding her gaze through the rest of the night.

-

drama drama drama.

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter. i had a ton of fun writing it because i got to use my award show knowledge from when i went to see the TCA's here in los angeles. they actually do things like that. like they'll say "blank artist is going to sing next. so when they come up, we want you to cheer super loud. pretend they're your favorite even if they're not" 

so thats why it always seems like the artists who perform there are really well liked. i find it kind of sad bc i felt like it degraded the artists a little bit. and also, i do what i want. if i didnt like an artist, i wasnt gonna cheer for them. 

have a wonderful weekend everyone!

-clary xx