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They don't believe it at first.
It's kind of unbelievable, honestly, so Seungcheol isn't entirely sure he wants to believe it. They're up against VIXX, after all. And Twice. Block B. Jung Eunji of A Pink.
That’s three of their seniors and a more than formidable yearmate. And somehow....
Hands push Seungcheol to the front of the group. Over the voice of the MC, he can hear their fans screaming. Hands pat his shoulder, his back, and one his hair.
Seungcheol can hear his members -- incredulous, stunned, pleased -- and he can feel the way they shift now with an energy that he, too, feels. It sits in his bones like an electric current, wiping away the exhaustion of a long schedule and a live performance because this, this is what they’ve been working for.
It hasn’t even been a year, but this is their first win, and this is the proof they all needed, the validation that the years of training and hardship, and scrapped project groups and the goodbyes... It was all worth it, because for better or worse, they’re here now, the thirteen of them.
Soonyoung’s choreography; Jihoon’s composition; Jihoon’s, Wonwoo’s, Seungkwan’s, and his lyrics; the dedication of their group. They’re here now.
Seungcheol becomes dimly aware of the MC waiting for him to speak, but Seungcheol knows that if he opens his mouth again, it’s not a thank you that’s going to come out. He turns, passing the microphone off to the first person he sees.
Soonyoung is almost in tears himself, but he takes the mic and steps forward, and Seungcheol allows himself to slip back into the group where comforting hand pull him into a solid side. He’s pretty sure it’s Jun, but he knows Minghao and Joshua are there, too.
Seungkwan’s voice comes and goes. Jeonghan’s. Seokmin’s. Chan’s. Then the mic is there, and Seungcheol reaches to take it. He manages something about becoming a better group, a Seventeen that Carats can be proud of, before passing the mic to Jun.
As soon as he’s hidden behind Seokmin, Seungcheol continues to cry, dimly aware of a sobbing Jihoon at his side and his members around him.
This is hardly professional, but Seungcheol thinks that this one time, it’s okay.
This is what they’ve been working for. This is what Seungcheol has trained for, for the last seven years.
And finally -- finally! -- he’s here.
Seventeen is here. All of them
Together .
And this is just the beginning.