Mad Clown wins #1 on SBS' Inkigayo's 800 episode + performances by Shinhwa, Nine Muses, Promise, U-KISS and more

               

SBS' 'Inkigayo' aired its 800th episode latest episode and celebrated the achievement with several special stages. Joining us as usual were MCs Hong Jong Hyun, Kim Yoo Jung, and ZE:A's Kwanghee.

SEE ALSO:  JYP family share encouraging messages for Promise  in SNS  

On this episode, U-KISS returned with "Playground", Yonghwa made his solo debut with "One Fine Day", Nine Muses made a comeback with "Drama", Lizzy made her solo debut with "Not An Easy Girl", Davichi returned with "Cry Again", Promise debuted with "WILD",  Eddy Kim came back with "My Love", and 1PUNCH debuted with "Turn Me Back".

In addition to those comeback stages, nineties duo Turbo including member Kim Jong Kook performed in honor of winning #1 on the first 'Inkigayo' episode with their song 'December'. Shinhwa who debuted the same year as 'Inkigayo' began also performed. Finally, SONAMOO performed an intro to Shinhwa's special stage.

As for the winners, Mad Clown, Noel, and EXID were the nominees, but Mad Clown took the #1 trophy with "Fire".  

Congratulations!

        The black screen slowly lit up to show nine girls standing in a line, they waited two seconds before speaking and greeting the audience. At the corner of the screen, the date 150125 showing for later reference. They all wore smiles on their faces, some bigger than others, it all depended in the moods of each one. They were all looking at their manager, who stood behind the camera and was responsible for filming them.

 "Welcome!" After the cue of the camera man/manager, they all bowed down and quickly straightened their backs, gently waving with both hands. They were dressed in comfortable clothing, varied clothing types and colors. They only thing they shared were the shoes which were provided by the company. This time, Daya, Lia, Angel and Rose wore matching white sneakers while the rest wore matching black Bianca heels.

"This is our practice room." MinJoo, who stood besides Alice, spoke with a huge smile on her lips, making gesture around them to their private practice room.

"And~" Alice continued from the center of the line,  a small smile on her lips as she did so. She didn't speak much because she had started to feel a little ill since the showcase, was raspy and swallowing hurt, so she had to be cautious. Stuffy nose, fever and body aches were the norm since a few days ago, she was told to rest and skip the recording but she wouldn't dare to. What kind of idol could skip group activities so early? She sure wouldn't. The last thing she needed was to be labeled as irresponsible by netizens and harm her group's image. Much less the day of their official debut which was today. The manager had aided her by bringing her some medicine for and that was all they could do for today.

"We are Promise!" They all said, waving with both hands as they did so. They skipped their greetings, seeing they were all wearing their names on them, they didn't deem it necessary. The names read: Lia, Daya, Ace -written in English-, Alice, No MinJoo, Choi AeBi, Rose, Angel and Sky -also in English-. Normally, JYPEnt. didn't identify their group members in dance practices but since Promise was so big in number of members, they decided it was necessary.

"Yes, hello. I'm Promise's leader, Lia. We've recently checked into our official  YouTube channel and noticed that our debut MV, Wild, reached ten million views in only fifteen days!" Lia spoke while holding a microphone with both hands close to her chest, her strong voice could be easily heard even without the microphone but that wasn't the case of all the members.  Once Lia finished, they clapped and cheered, even when they weren't really necessary.

  Lia smiled gently, clapping quietly along with everyone before holding the microphone for Daya, whose voice was various octaves lower and gentler than Lia's. Daya spoke gently, not rushing too much because if she did, her Chinese would get in the way of her speaking clear Korean. "As a way to thank you all for the success of the MV and our showcase, we decided to start a series which will be broadcasted through JYP Entertainment's YouTube channel." Daya nodded as she finished and looked to the side, gently grabbing the microphone from Lia and holding it for Ace, whose hands were shaking behind her back but thankfully, her voice wasn't.

"The series will show us as we practice each day, prepare for comebacks and will be uploaded once a month, every 15th in remembrance of the day our MV came out." The main dancer spoke, she felt nervous at the idea of their everyday practices going online each month but she trusted in the JYP staff and how they wouldn't allow anything that could harm their image go public. Not that they were evil to each other but she couldn't help but be weary of the netizens. The idea of cameras following them everywhere was also a little unnerving, they had to be cautious all the time thanks to that.

"In this, the first episode of RealPromise, all videos from our first practice as Promise until today will be shown to demonstrate our progress from day one." Haneul said from the end of the line, using a different microphone and holding it up for Angel as she spoke.

"So we really hope you enjoy this. Fighting!" Angel spoke from besides Haneul, grabbing the microphone from Haneul since she was holding it too low for her. Angel's soothing and quiet voice graced the microphone before holding it for Rose, playfully poking her lips with it.

"Up until now, this has been Promise!" Rose giggled and held the microphone at reasonable distance from , narrowing her eyes at the main vocal before they all bowed and broke formation. "Thank you!" 

  They slowly dispersed, AeBi moving forward with the microphones which she turned off and handed to their manager. All nine members quickly found their positions for Cupid, the first song they ever practiced as Promise and when the last member found her position, the music started. 

  The video was made to show a time-lapse, they started as eight members with an instructor teaching them the dance moves which they performed clumsily with the exception of HaeJin, who very easily picked them all up. As each day passed, they grew comfortable with each other and their song, slowly starting to change positions and formations until they could practice while singing out loud. They showed some break downs from the members, injuries, absences, members injured and just moving around along with the others to avoid further injury and the dreaded struggle with their weight. Changes in choreography and lines along with changes in the members' aptitude every few days. From bright and excited, to tired and exhausted, happy and overjoyed, to full of hatred and wishes to give up even when they were just about to have their dream come true. 

   With the members of Promise, having had a almost-debuts before, they didn't trust so easily but luckily, none of them gave up and now they were hours away from they actual debut in SBS' Inkigayo. They stopped at the company to record the video, it was just 4AM but they were fine with that, they had a lot of days of rest after their showcase with a schedule close to non-existent which they didn't mind, for now.

   Present day Promise returned to the screen short after and took their Female President formations quickly. The music started and once again, the video was replaced by the old ones until they had shown all the songs up until Wild. Once again, they showed their various changes, up and downs and hid nothing from the audience. From Female President, they switched to B.B.B,  from B.B.B to Pandora and from Pandora to Cupid and finally, to Wild. A Little More didn't appear as it was the only song in their album that did not actually have a choreography, much to Ace's disdain.

  Somewhere along the way, the missing member joined them, who quickly caught up and the music kept playing and they continued to get better day after day until they showed the current day and time, were all nine danced with confidence and ease. They quickly caught up with their V-formation at the end, all walking confidently forward to jump and slightly stand with their legs apart, finishing the choreography gracefully with their leader as the center. They stayed in position for exactly two seconds before erupting into cheers for a job finished. Their little ruckus lasted little time and they all went back into their formal line to greet the audience one last time.
 

 "Up until now, this has been Promise! Thank you!" This time, AeBi was the one  that said the goodbyes while the other members bowed and waved. Just as the recording stopped Alice broke into a fit of coughing. Alice was presenting signs of the flu and that was not passing unnoticed by the rest of the members, who quickly covered their faces with masks offered by their manager to keep them safe. He moved swiftly to Alice, covering with a napkin and helping her up.

"How did you ever catch this?" He asked and Alice's cheeks burned up in embarrassment which was confused by his manager as fever. "Alice, is your fever returning?" He asked, helping her with the mask when she didn't stop coughing. The other members moved, grabbing their bags and changing their shoes; Lia being the leader, approached Alice and changed her shoes for her, also grabbing the bag and carrying it. 

  Alice did know exactly where she caught the flu but she couldn't just say 'yeah, I was on a date with my boyfriend and oops, he didn't know he had the flu and infected me'. She couldn't even say she had a boyfriend, Promise did not actually have an official ban on dating since some of them were in the age of marriage. JYP did not enforce that kind of ban on them because he wanted genuine idols happily dancing onstage; glad to be there and not idols that regretted their decisions to become an entertainer over something as vital as pursuing their love relationship. Yet even when he did not enforce a ban on dating, he lightly suggested that if they decided to pursue someone romantically, they should keep it a secret, not only for their safety but for the safety of their loved one.

  It did sound quite tough but it was something that had become some kind of law among KPOP idols. So Alice just fixed her mask and shrugged, speaking from beneath it quietly. "I don't know, Oppa. Must've been in the showcase when I was between the audience, someone was coughing besides me." The truth was more invasive than someone just coughing besides her. The truth involved lots of loving kisses, some cuddling and then lots of loving goodbye kisses when the moment came. She had a sweet date with N and she was still reeling over it, even when N was already anxious for not seeing her in so long. 

  N wanted to cherish her while he still could, she would debut soon and he was already preparing for a February comeback with his group, he obviously wished to take care of her while they were somewhat available and time had sadly ran out. He wished he had taken her on more dates while she was still a trainee without the fear of someone recognizing him, how many times had her parents offered to pay them tickets for a vacation? They would have gone to Alice's home in California during one of his breaks and they would have spent alone time, in peace and without the pressure of someone recognizing him and snapping a picture. Yet he said no, not wanting to burden her parents with such a thing. He missed a great opportunity to spend time with Alice and now he was regretting it.

  Alice was and would always be one of the things that kept him going, even when she was also the only thing that brought misunderstandings to his teammates and him. Curious about the misunderstandings? Easy. Ken, otherwise known as Jae Hwan, Main Vocalist of VIXX, had known Alice for a few years before N was introduced to her by f(x)'s Krystal, a mutual friend between the two. What none of the three knew was that Ken had been romantically interested in Alice, still is, yet they also didn't count on Alice enterely falling for N. He had been momentarily distracted by this, wanting to break his friendship with Alice in hopes of keeping his group together without those kind of disputes, obviously that didn't work.

  N became depressed, his activities eventually came to a halt, the company becoming clearly concerned for his wellbeing and confused as to what had happened to the leader of their money-making group. They had to push a comeback a few months until the members sat down and talked to the leader. There, absolutely everything was talked, Ken and N discussed their feelings which felt absolutely weird between male friends, yet they didn't feel less manly, they actually felt like gentlemen, discussing Alice and her feelings with four other members as referee for if things got out of hand.

  It was then when Ken, for respect towards his leader and love towards Alice, took the decision of not pursuing Alice. Still, Ken only gave in with the condition that the moment N failed to Alice as a man, he would step in and take her away. Of course, Alice knew nothing about this conversation or Ken's feelings. She just knew that after three months of feelings of despair and loneliness, N came back to her and she couldn't have been happier when that happened. It's been about two years since that, February would be their anniversary and they would have overlapping schedules around the end of that month, which didn't make it so bad.

"Oppa? Let's film B.B.B again, I am two seconds late at the beginning." Daya spoke to the manager in Korean, a shocker for most members since they barely even heard her saying hello when they weren't filming for anything. Daya mostly spoke through the leader or other members that could actually communicate with her easily, like Angel. Daya reminded Alice of VIXX's Leo, even when she visited the VIXX dorm, Ravi did most of the talking for him. 

"You are in the center in this specific part, so it's okay." He said, looking at the taller Chinese member with curiosity. She was normally one to just get things at the first try and if she did get them wrong, she would let them be if she wasn't asked by another person to do them over. "Do you believe so?" She asked quietly, rewinding the video again and humming while she studied her movements compared to Angel, Lia, and Rose's, who danced with her on the floor. Rose stood behind the Chinese member, peeking at the video and reviewing it along with her. 

"You're fine, Unnie. I stumbled into AeBi half-way through the dance, that's easier to notice than a two-second delay." Daya stayed quiet for a few seconds and then nodded, handing the camera over to the manager. "I guess that's true. Thank you." She said, looking at Rose, who rested her chin on her shoulder, blinking innocently. "Now what do you want?" Daya asked, raising an eyebrow slowly. 

  Rose could pretend she didn't want anything and ask later, when the eldest least expected it or she just could say it and avoid the whole thing later. "Well...you know how GOT7's Jackson-sunbae is in Roommate, right?" She asked slowly, tilting her head. "Of course. Why?" She asked, her eyebrow still half way up as she watched the Maknae through the mirror. Rose took a deep breath before speaking, preparing for a possible refusal from the eldest.

"Remember when he paid food for us and we kind of promised to pay him back somehow?" The youngest waited for comment but the oldest started walking and she wrapped her arms around her, walking along with her. She took the silence as authorization to continue talking, which she did. "Well, a little bird told me he has been craving some real Chinese food and..."

"And you want me to cook and send it to the Roommate home?" Daya was quick but she still wanted Rose to ask for what she wanted, herself. With that asked, Rose let her go and jumped in front of her, nodding quickly and rubbed her hands together as if begging. "Please?" She asked softly, the other members calling from the door as they were instructed by the manager to move out of the practice room and get into the showers, after they would be taken to have breakfast to start the day in a nice way and after that, their real schedule would start.

Promise's D-Day Schedule:

AM 2:00 - 2:40 - All members must be waken up and getting ready, meal will be taken later in the morning. *Everything will be recorded.

AM 2:50-3:00 Members must be all ready and on their way to the JYP HQ. *Everything will be recorded.

AM 3:30 - 4:10 - Dance Practice recording. *Partially recorded.

AM 4:10 - 5:00 - Members will be taken out to eat by manager. *Everything will be recorded.

AM 5:00 - 8:00 - Members will be taken to the salon. *Everything will be recorded.

AM 8:00 - 8:10 - Light snack. *Will not be recorded.

AM 8:10 - 9:00 - MinJoo will attend meeting for possible drama casting offer with manager. *Will not be recorded.

AM 9:00 - 9:50 - Manager will attend meeting in MBC building to schedule recording for WEEKLY IDOL. *Will not be recorded.

AM 9:50 -  PM 1:00 - Members will meet with Miss A, Wonder Girls, 15&, Baek A Yeon and Sunmi for congratulatory lunch. *Everything will be recorded.

PM 1:00 - 2:30 - Members will travel to SBS. *Partially recorded.

PM 2:30 - 2:40 - Members will greet fans outside building. *Everything will be recorded.

PM 2:40 - 2:50 - Stage rehearsal. *Will not be recorded.

PM 3:00 - 3:50 - Members will get ready and be put on stand-by. Will have small interview with MCs backstage. *Partially recorded.

PM 4:45 - 4:49 - Debut stage.

PM 4:50 - 5:50 - Members will be sent to Dressing room, will have dinner up until they are required to go to the stage again. *Partially recorded.

  He had read the schedule various times, even when he made it himself, he checked it almost every minute to make sure he wouldn't be running late or forget anything in it. It was barely 4:00 and they had finished recording, which meant they had a little time in which he would walk to the PR section in the building to deal with what was just recorded while the members cleaned up after themselves in the practice room. Daya had agreed to only help Rose's cook instead of cooking it all to herself and Rose had excused herself to the bathroom after getting her phone from her manager, she texted Jackson, knowing that he was probably asleep.

To: Wang Kong <3 ㅋㅋ

4:06 am

Hi, boyfriend~ I know it's really early but I wanted to text you now

my phone will be taken away by the manager ~ so that's why

First of all, I know you've been craving Chinese food ~ while 

I'm not really good at the cooking business as I am at singing

~

I found someone who is good at both and she will help me

I am planning to send it to your roommate set, just send me the

direction so I can send it through delivery ~ I hope you sleep well,

I really, really love you, you do know that, right? I'm sorry that I will

be busy from now on TT.TT 

  The screen of Jackson's phone lit up and a small notification sound was enough to wake him up and have him open the message just before Rose came out of the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes, his face greasy since his room was the warmest in the whole house/set of Roommate. He unlocked his phone slowly, still half-drowsy while Seo Kang Joon, his actual roommate turned around in his bed to escape the light of the phone's screen. 

  Jackson smiled when he saw Rose's name on his messages. He quickly read the message and sat up on his bed, making it impossible for the camera to catch anything of his conversation. He leaned against the wall, sighing in quiet content as he read her whole message and taking to heart what she said about her phone being taken away, he quickly typed down. 

To: Cutie Bum

4:09 am

hi, honey. today is your debut,

so i don't want you to worry

over anything that isn't doing

a good job on stage. i love you much more

than you believe and i will send you the address

after your schedules. I LOOOOVE YOU, SONG JIA.

YOU ARE THE BEST, SONG JIA. BEAUTIFUL, SONG JIA.

DO YOUR BEST, SONG JIA. 

  Rose was about to open the door when the phone's screen lit up and she swiped her finger to unlock it. She read the message and her lips curled up into a shy smile, her cheeks following suit with a pink tint taking over them. She didn't answer but allowed her phone to label it as 'read' below the message. She took a deep breath and smiled brightly, turning off her phone and opening the door of the bathroom to walk out. While she had prefered to excuse herself to the bathroom, some members rushed into the showers and were now getting dressed to go out for breakfast.

  Haneul and Angel for example, would not walk out of the building in training clothes. That would be a sin and Haneul had received strict directions from her mother to use fashionable clothing at all times and also, she would have to use clothing from her mother's fashion lines. She would have gone up against her, refused to serve as another tool for her and her ambitions but she didn't wish to fight with anyone in such a special day. She slid denim jeans on, product of her mother's most recent fashion line on denim, followed by clothing from brands she actually liked and was not forced to wear.

  She had been woken up by a Skype call from Sydney, where her family lived and was moved to tears when her brother's faces appeared on the screen. Han Jung had woken early because he had to leave for the hospital but before he did that, he woke up Han Sol - they needed to greet their baby sister before they did anything else, especially today - the day of her debut. While Han Jung was bright with enthusiasm for seeing her after a few days, Han Sol broke into tears after minutes of strange silence. 

"Wait, Han Sol... Why are you crying?" Haneul asked, frowning and stopping on the hallway of their dorm, clearly concerned. Her brother was not one to just cry, she couldn't even remember ever seeing him cry and it shocked her to actually see him do it. Han Jung laughed and patted the back of Han Sol, who wiped his eyes quickly and looked at the image of her sister in the tablet's screen. 

"You have grown so much, Hanni. You've grown so much and we really haven't been there by your side to support you. I feel like the worst older brother in history." She smiled softly at him, tilting her head to the side and trying to keep her tears at bay. "Oh, really? Then why is it that I find you to be the best one in the world, ever? No offense, Han Junggie." She said quickly, giggling before focusing on her talented lawyer of a brother.

   Han Sol was the oldest of the twins and needless to say, the heir to everything in their family yet that didn't stop him to completely grow into a generous and loving human being, taking care of his younger siblings with every breath he took in and absolutely falling in love with Haneul from the moment he first saw her in thet hospital room the day she was born. As a proud four year old, he promised himself he would protect that beautiful being, his baby sister, every single day until the day he died. Seeing Haneul so big and realizing that he hadn't been by her side in so long? It killed him.

"Oh my God, Hanni. I've never seen this guy cry." Han Jung said to his sister, rubbing Han Sol's back to comfort him while he tried to comfort the eldest. While Han Sol was caring and understanding, which also meant sentimental, Han Jung was kind and very reliable, that was why he kept his own tears under control and took care of his older brother.

   Haneul remembered the rest of the conversation with a smile, having finished dressing up, she moved out of the bathroom and met the rest of the members in the hallway. She had a few minutes before the manager came to take the phone, so she took it out of her bag after rummaging through the clothes she had just taken off, she swiped with her finger and the screen lit up. She was planning to send a few messages first but Lia, the leader, had other plans for everyone. 

"Ladies, let's move down to the van quickly; Oppa will meet us down at the parking lot." She said, carrying her bag on her shoulder and taking Alice's too, not wanting the younger girl to exhaust herself in any way. Lia patted Alice on the back, leading her and slightly pushing her to keep up with the rest of the members. She wished they could give Alice rest and also, she wanted to avoid other members getting sick. For now, Rose and Alice had exchanged beds, so Rose slept in Alice's dorm room with AeBi and MinJoo, while Alice slept in Rose's dorm room alone. It was all to avoid anyone else getting sick.

  Lia was rather exhausted, she had stayed up late all week, considering that she was in charge of the members inside the dorm, she had to stay up late each night to make sure every member was in the dorm, had eaten and most funny, had showered. They had spent the last week reviewing the recordings of their showcase, pointing out visible mistakes and spending the following week in the practice room polishing the routines up until no visible mistakes were in there. That was why JYP decided to have them do their Debut Showcase before their actual debut in any music show, he wanted them to see what could go wrong in an actual stage and have them polish it.

Lia sighed softly and walked into the elevator, still leading Alice with a hand on her back and it was then when her phone rang.

Block B's Be The Light

[Jaehyo] bichi doeeojwo (Shine your light on me baby)
bichi doeeojwo uh-uh-uh-oh
bichi doeeojwo (Shine your light on me baby)
(saljjak seuchigiman
haedo modeungeol ppaeatgin gibuniya)

  She raised her eyebrow and frowned, looking inside her pocket to fetch her phone while trying to not drop the two bags she was carrying. She clicked her tongue and looked at AeBi, who quickly put her own phone away and took one of the bags from the leader. Lia didn't look down at the name and just answered. "Hello?" She answered, expecting an answer from the other side but receiving silence instead. She tried again, in Chinese this time, seeing if it was one of her Chinese relatives calling but Korean greeted her after a few more seconds of silence. 

"Hi." The answer was short; no enthusiasm or anything but it didn't take long before Lia's eyes widened and she looked at her reflection on the doors just as they opened.

"Don't speak, if you do I will hang up because I won't be able to contain myself." She pushed Alice forward and made a gesture to the members to go on without her. All eight of them moved out, Daya taking over leading Alice who was overcome by another coughing fit but at the moment, Lia had more pressing matters. 

"Jin Hoon told me you weren't happy about the letter and I know, Lili. I swear to God I know how you feel because I wanted to give you more than a stupid piece of paper but I am so scared." Lia turned around and covered with her hand. Scared of what? She wanted to ask that, listen to his reason to see if they made any sense to her, see if they could actually fill the void of loneliness he left after leaving her. It's been over a year, maybe less, maybe more? She had lost sense of time for a long time after their break up. 

"But your debut is coming, right? I promised you I would be there for you and know that I am dying to be there, hold your hand and cheer you on." The doors of the elevator closed behind her and she closed her eyes, tears b and sticking to her eyelashes. "It's killing me to know that if we ever had overlapping schedules and just met gazes on a music show, that could harm you in any way. Right now, the pain I'm feeling is unbeara-" There was a pause and a shaky breath, Lia was containing her own sobs and knowing that he could be also crying, made her feel oddly better. She knew she hadn't been the only one crying for the thing they had; the beautiful thing they had.

"I love you so much, Lili." Jaehyo whispered into the phone, his eyes on the picture he was holding on between two fingers.

  A polaroid, it was quite old, one of the last dates they ever had before things went undeniably astray. In the picture, they were doing Jaehyo's favorite activity ever, playing in Apgujung, somewhere around AM 1:30. He was carrying Lia on his back as she complained her feet were hurting after a long day of training in heels, he could only relate so much, he had never been forced to dance on heels for hours to know how it felt. So he turned around, let go of her hand and pulled up bridal style which she appreciated for a short time before she noticed people looking at them weirdly.

  Quickly, she started to move uncomfortably until he was forced to place her down and it took her three seconds for her to jump on his back. But before he began to walk again, she handed him her polaroid camera and asked for a picture of them and he didn't refuse, he looked good all the time and he needed to feed Lia's need for taking a picture everywhere she went. He took the picture and five minutes after, he had set Lia down on a bench, where she sat and looked through her bag for something to write on it. He sat behind her, hugging her waist with one arm while she scribbled all over the picture. 

"What are you doing there, Lili?" He asked after a while, having gotten bored of looking at the rather empty park. He hummed and unwrapped his arm from around her, brushing her long hair all to a side so he could keep from behind her. 

"What do you call this?" She asked, straightening her back and leaning to the side so he could see what she had writted all over it. She was looking her mind, the word in Korean for souvenir but her mind was reeling in her on her mind but only English and Chinese words came out. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his arms going around her waist again before he shrugged.

"An incredible beautiful picture with two gorgeous beings in it?" He asked, watching the beautiful Chinese girl as she titled her head and started to make popping noises with her tongue before she giggled. "I guess so."

"And even when I love you, I have to admit that if this thing we have was impossible before, I cannot imagine how it will work now." Lia took a sharp breath, attempting to not let out any sound that would let him know she was crying. He was still worrying. Could he please stop? She didn't need him worrying. All she needed from him was...him? Like before. Even if it was once a month or once every three months, he managed to sneak out and meet her and it wasn't even sneaking out...everyone knew about them in his company. 

  When things got tough? Not a manager, not a representative and not even the CEO suggested a break up. He did that, he decided to break up and she couldn't understand why.

"I'm sorry... Good luck on your debut."

"Ahn Jaehyo, you are not even trying." She whispered into the phone, taking a deep breath and clearing . 

"How can you tell me it will not work when you are not trying? I bet everything I have right now that you have never thought of a way to be with me and by me without harming me. And don't you dare say it's the only thing you have been thinking about because I won't believe you. Back then, you promised me this would only be temporary, yet how long is temporary for you? I've been miserable over the thought of not being able to be with you for a long time and even when it hurt and it made me go crazy, I waited and now..." She couldn't continue to live like this and she knew it, this uncertainty was killing her.

"Wouldn't it be better if you told me that you never want to see me again?" Jaehyo's eyes widened and he placed the picture down, pushing his seat forcebly to send it crashing against the floor when he stood up.

"I did not say that, Emilia." He was shocked by her words, how she seemed to easily blurt them out without a second thought.

"I know you didn't, that's why I'm saying it, Jaehyo." She turned around in the elevator, the door was opening in front of her and it had her looking down and covering her face. She walked out of the elevator, scurrying past the people with her face still covered and her head down. 

"Why would you even say that?" He asked, turning around and walking out of his room quickly, slamming the door behind him and walking to the door of the dorm. He got the keys to the manager's van, opening the door and stepping out after putting his shoes on.

"It's better. For myself as a debuting idol..." She took a deep breath, covering the phone with her hand to silently sob. 

"No, Lili, where are you? If you are complaining I'm not trying, I'm going to try so hard, don't say that." He knew exactly where she was going and he couldn't accept that. She could say something along the lines of...

Yourself as an active idol...

"You, as an idol." She said, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes to look at herself in the mirror. 

"Both of our groups, especially mine. I'm a leader, can you imagine...?" This time she giggled, the sound followed by a pitiful wail from her. She dropped down, crouching to rest her elbow on her knee and cover her eyes with her free hand. "I've been such a terrible leader. One of my members is sick and all I'm doing is locking myself inside a bathroom and worry about my impossible love life. I'm not terrible, I'm the worst kind. Mino would be so ashamed of me."

"Oh God, Lili, don't cry." He whispered, running a hand through his hair before smashing his palm against the wall. 

  He was hurting her and he was so stupid. How could he do this to her? This beautiful person that always stood by him, who always went along to what he wanted to do, left him alone when he wanted to but never went out of his sight, until he told her to. Until he told her to leave by being the absolute worst person ever to her, pushing her away until she couldn't help but blame herself over something that was totally out of her control. 

  He had allowed obsessed fans follow him to her apartment once and that was all it took for Lia to start receiving death threats and scares inside her own apartment. He should have been stronger, he could have protected her and cherish her until she decided to go and leave him, on her terms but that didn't happen.

"No, I have to cry. I have to let out all this pent up frustration and pain I've been holding in for a year and nine months, I have to let it out." He got inside the van, starting it and immediately driving out of the living complex.

"Tell me where you are." He was desperate, she had started to cry since the beginning of the call and he knew that but she had started to truly cry since the mention of their respective groups.

"For what? It's not worth it, Jaehyo. We are over and it will not work. You just said it, didn't you? Fine. Let's do that." And with that, Lia hung up. She closed her eyes, hugging both of her knees with her arms and sniffling. She stayed there until her thighs hurt from the uncomfortable position, frozen on the spot while her body trembled. Wasn't she supposed to feel relief after that? Then why was she feeling this stabbing pain? 

  Why was she crying?

   Why couldn't she stop?

    Would she ever stop?

     Would the pain stop?

"Lia, are you here?" Daya asked from behind the door, knocking twice before opening the door to the bathroom. The manager had met them at the parking over ten minutes ago and the camera crew were installing the cameras in the van, so the manager couldn't move from where he was, sending Daya to find the leader and Daya came across a pair of gossiping trainees that had seen Lia at the floor she was currently in. Having checked practice rooms and offices, the bathrooms were the only thing left.

  Lia could have moved and put on an act, but she was exhausted, so when Daya opened the door, all she found was the leader of the group, falling to pieces. Daya blinked slowly, frowning but stepping inside either way, turning around and putting the lock of the door. She moved quietly, having her steps resonate against the white tile of the bathroom; she stood behind the leader, reaching down to grab her by her arms and pulled her up. 

  Lia didn't put any strength to help the other girl, she felt literally lifeless as Daya held her by her waist and led her to the sinks. Daya didn't say anything, running the water and grabbing tissues from the wall while Lia stared at herself in the mirror. She proceeded by wetting the tissue with the water and gently taking a big part of Lia's hair to hold it back and away from her face, wiping Lia's face clean of makeup before forcing her forward. Lia came to herself when Daya splashed some water on her face, forcing her to close her eyes and take deep breaths. She gasped a few times, the tears slowly disipating but she was still crying by sobbing from time to time.

"Come down when you are done crying." Daya said, taking off the elastic of her own hair and pulling Lia's hair up messily into a bun before patting the back of the leader. "You'll be fine." She continued, taking a step back and walking around the leader towards the door. Daya smiled softly and opened the door of the bathroom, walking out to find a trainee about to walk in and she would not allow that. 

"Oh, hi." She said, forcing a bright smile onto her lips when the trainee's eyes widened once she recognized Daya from the Promise poster which had been recently placed between the other sunbaes' outside the building's windows. 

  Lia walked out of the elevator with her head high, her hands on the pockets of her fleece jacket while she walked through the parking lot. She walked towards the van, opening the door and getting on without a word. She expected her manager ask what she had been doing but he just nodded and started to move the van. She frowned and made a small popping noise with , looking behind her to find all the members way too entertained to even notice her, all except Daya, who was looking straight at Lia with a stoic expression which could have scared any of the members to their death but it was followed by a nod and a small smile before she looked out the window. Lia smiled and faced forward, reaching for her seatbelt and securing herself. 

"Buckle up." She reminded everyone, fixing the rear mirror to look at the members and make sure they were following directions. They all moved, finding their assigned seats for the day and putting their seatbelts on.

"Oppa, may I have your phone? I want to DJ." MinJoo said, reaching forward with her hand and having the phone on it mere seconds later. "Thank you!" She said, leaning back on her seat and checking if the WI-FI connection was securely stablished with the van. She browsed through the library for a while, unimpressed with the music until she resigned herself with EXO. Overdose started to play and while a member bitterly sunk into her seat and tried to fall asleep, two others blushed and tried to contain their giggles, of course, one did not notice the other while they did it.

  HaeJin smiled and clapped happily around 20 seconds into the song, singing along to the voice of EXO's leader, Suho. The camera recording everything and everyone as they gleefully sang to the songs. They were excited, even Lia's mood went up with the little ruckus going on behind her, they sang along to Overdose, Trouble Maker's Now, AOA's Miniskirt, Sunmi's Full Moon (who everyone awkwardly danced to while sitting and buckled), Soyu and JungGiGo's Some (Lia's mood was high enough that she rapped, or tried to) and finally, MadClown's Fire before they reached the place they would eat.

  They got down quickly and waited for the camera crew to get down before they got moving. The manager walked up front with AeBi, who was asking questions like what was her budget, if she could sin against her diet and if she could take some food for the way.

"You don't have a budget because I ordered enough for everyone, you cannot eat anything deep fried or sauces, you may buy youself something for the way." He clarified before opening the door for the members to go in. They all went in, taking off their shoes and placing them away before they stepped on the floor of the restaurant. The manager had called the place beforehand and they had it all ready when the members started to settle down. "Thank you." For around three full minutes, while the table was being filled with food, that was the only word that could be heard until the ladies disappeared to the kitchen of the restaurant to cook more food for the members.

  They laughed with each other, growing closer as they served each other food and fed each other in playful manners. They forgot the cameras were there and sincerely enjoyed the whole thing. They were becoming one, weren't they?

Soon, they would become one in a whole new level.

 Author's Note: Hi~~~ It's been so long and I know I said this would be the chapter of their debut but it got so long as I tried to give each character a fair amount of time, so I decided to divide this into two and next chapter will be focused on Angel, Ace, MinJoo and AeBi. I worked really hard through this chapter. This chapter was written thanks to BTS' song I need U, it helped me stay focused and actually write. Let's just say my emotions are working against me and when I'm supposed to write happy things I get super sad and when I have to write sad, I just get...depressed. I am so sorry if it is not of your liking. All I have to say is thank you for each and everyone of you for being so patient.

...

AH! ALSO, special thanks to the creators of Rose and Alice, who always talk to me and ask me of the progress of the story even when it sounds dumb and maybe cheesy, that really cheers me up. Thank you, Susie and Crystal~ (Those are your names, yes?)