"And now, for the Artist of the Year Award, we have...

"So Nyuh Shi Dae! Let's give a round of applause for them!" The mc announced, clapping as SNSD made their way onto the stage. Cheers and applause echoed from all around the room.

Only one man kept his hands clasped together, a small smile on his face. 

"Let's have the leader Taeyeon say a few words, shall we?" the mc passed the mike over to the SNSD Leader, Kim Taeyeon, who took it gratefully and spoke through the mike, "I'm really glad that So Nyuh Shi Dae has won this award. This will spur us to reach greater heights and do even better than we have before!"

Her words brought on another round of cheers and applause that nearly brought the house down. 

The man remained silent, the smile still on his face. She still looked the same after so long...

The SNSD members walked back to their seats, still clasping each others' hands. Taeyeon and Tiffany sat back down beside each other, smiling and chatting, in a good mood after their victory.

"And now, for the next award, the Rookie of the Year Award!" the mc called out, reading from his script. The noise in the hall died down to a murmur as everyone paid attention again.  "The Rookie of the Year Award goes to none other than...2PM! Let's welcome them onstage everyone!"

Taeyeon and Tiffany politely clapped. They had heard about this new boy band, but had not had any contact with them so far, so were quite unfamiliar with them. Even as they watched, their bandmate Yuri gave a gasp, "Isn't that Junsu oppa? And Jay! They're the new boy band?"

All the members of SNSD except Yoona and Seohyun, the maknaes, had been in the same school since middle school. And it seemed that the new band, 2PM, had been in those schools as well.

"Let's hand the mike over to the 2PM leader, shall we?" the mc relinquished the mike again, waiting for the 2PM leader to speak.

Taeyeon heard Tiffany's gasp from beside her. Her own body stiffened, her fingernails digging into the armrest.

It couldn’t be…

But it was. 

Jang Wooyoung took the mike from the mc, inclining his head slightly. With a smile, he faced the audience and spoke, "I can hardly believe that we've won this award. Of course, we have to thank all of you for your encouragement and help, and we also have to thank the sunbaenims for all the support and advice they gave us, especially TVXQ and SHINee. We will strive to reach even greater heights and meet the expectations you have for us!"

The audience burst into appause. Wooyoung's eyes studied the crowd. Then his eyes met hers. Taeyeon obviously recognised him. She was staring at him, tense. He shot back a smirk, but walked off the stage with s without another word. 

Taeyeon's eyes followed Wooyoung's as 2PM returned to their seats. Tiffany whispered from beside her, "I can't believe it...it's really him. He's come back."

Oh yes. Come back he had. But something about him had changed. Taeyeon knew that. She could see it in his eyes. Because now, instead of the cheery playfulness his eyes had contained in the past, there was also a hint of mockery and spite.

And resentment. Most of all, there was dark, deep resentment.