Payday. Paycheck.
Rolex on my wrist

The boys sat silently at their seats. Everyone in the room was growing rather quiet with anticipation.

A loud, synthetic voice boomed through the speakers all around them.

"Hotels Combined Artist of the Year."

The massive screen that acted as a backdrop for the stage was suddenly taken up with a video montage of the nominees for the 2016 MAMA Artist of the Year Award.

EXO was first, of course they were nominated, they were brilliant artists and performers. Next was Twice and GFriend, two amazing groups, and sandwiched between them in the video reel was BTS. The boys fiddled around nervously in their seats when their group name was read out. And last, but certainly not least, was Taeyeon.

A hush fell over the crowd as the announcer held up the box that contained the winner. She took a breath and glanced around the room.

"I'll announce it now."

The boys sat in their seats, practically sweating with anxiety. They all secretly hoped they would win, but they had to acknowledge that they were in the running with some very skilled and powerful performers.

"The winner is..."

The woman on stage send a smile out to the audience and unfolded the box, slowly pulling out the hidden card. She glanced down at it and then swept her gaze around the arena before finally announcing the winner.

She smiled at the crowd.

She drew in a breath.

She held up the card.

And she read, "Bangtansonyeondan. Congratulations!"

The boys went blank for a split second. The news they were hearing could not be processed so quickly. And then it hit them.

They won.

Namjoon rose to his feet. The boys stood along with him, all except for Jimin, who had fallen against the backrest of their bench in shock. Noticing this, Yoongi put a steady hand on his shoulder and guided Jimin to stand as well.

Then suddenly all their arms were around one another. Their limbs tangled together in massive hug as they clung to each other. Jimin was doubled over, not really sure if he was laughing or crying at the moment, but they squished him into the hug anyway. 

Huge smiles of elation lit up all of their faces and they began to walk towards the stage. It seemed that Jimin was the one most shocked of them all, seeing as he walked in a daze and lagged behind the rest of he group just a bit. But Yoongi noticed this yet again and pulled the younger boy along.

Taehyung led the way across the stage, a beautiful grin gracing his lips. The other boys followed after him. It was hard to tell when their shocked laughter had transformed into tears of happiness, but nevertheless some of them were beginning to tear up.

Namjoon could hardly breathe as he walked the stretch of stage up to the microphone. The announcer woman who held the award in her hands passed it on to Namjoon. The boys all bowed gratefully to her.

Namjoon drew a shaky breath and tried to speak but couldn't form the words because of the tears that drowned his voice.

This moment was unbelievable.

"ARMY," he pulled away from the mic, pausing to look out at the crowd and gather himself. "Thank you so much, really. From debut, there were many people who thought we couldn't do it and said it wouldn't happen. But thank you for believing in us right till the end... This was something we only dreamed of. Thank you for making it come true like this."

Jungkook, who stood at the far left end of their line was crying like no tomorrow. And Jin, their oldest, their most reliable and responsible member, was trying to hold back his own tears. Taehyung and Jimin looked to be holding their own, but they were on the verge of breaking down themselves.

"Bang Shihyuk and Big Hit, who always lead us. P-dogg, Slow Rabbit, and Supreme Boy, who make us great music. And along with our teacher Sungdeuk, Sunghyun hyung, all our staff who always stay by our side, we are so grateful to you. Thank you for making our dreams come true."

As Namjoon spoke, Jin's tears finally fell, he didn't even bother trying to hold back the waterworks. Hoseok and Yoongi, who stood to the right of Namjoon, hadn't yet shed a tear. However, Yoongi hadn't planned to cry, but he was already feeling the uncomfortable pressure behind his eyes.

Jungkook glanced out at the audience, all those people, all those fans. They were all clapping for them.

"And...ARMYs all over the world, let's fly with our beautiful wings in 2017 as well. BTS love ARMYs as always! Thank you very much!"

As Namjoon spoke those final words, Yoongi broke. He couldn't help it, the gravity of the situation finally hit him and he broke out in tears, turning his back to the audience so they wouldn't see him cry. Hoseok put a comforting hand on his shoulder and the boys pulled each other into another hug, right there on the stage, not caring that most of them had broken out in tears at this point.

"Thank you. We really love you a lot."

Yoongi's hand was clamped tightly over his mouth as he tried to keeps the sobs in and not show his tears.

"I hope that our stage and our performance and our music could be the hopes and dreams for many people of the world. Thank you very much."

"Thank you!"

Yoongi finally moved his hand and took a deep breath. He looked out over the crowd and clapped along with the others. Hoseok raised his arms to the ceiling, his smile lighting up the room and his joy radiated from him with a palpable energy. The boys all bowed to the audience in gratitude and slowly made their way off the stage.

They walked the narrow hallway that led backstage. Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jimin were the only ones who hadn't shed any tears. The others, however, were all crying unabashedly. Some of them were openly sobbing, not even trying to hide it, while others were wiping their cheeks and sniffling quietly.

Yoongi dragged his red sleeves over his cheeks and quickly made sure there were no more tears rolling down his face. He couldn't believe it. They won.

After all those years of hard work, grueling labor, and struggling to write music or just make a living, they'd finally made it. All the sleepless nights and practice injuries didn't matter in this moment, because they won. Every second, minute, hour, day, and year of Yoongi's life had led him to this moment. He'd made it. He was a musician. He had six great friends at his side. He was living his dream.

It wasn't all easy. But it was definitely all worth it.

ㄴㅇㄱ

Her eyes watched the television screen in complete awe. The boys of BTS bowed to the audience and slowly walked off the stage, taking their Artist of the Year award with them.

Chaerin wiped away stray tears as her eyes followed Yoongi's retreating figure until the camera zoomed out and a new frame popped up on the screen. Her heart swelled with pride. She couldn't remember ever being this proud of anyone.

Those boys struggled so much and worked so hard for everything. They helped build up Big Hit from the ground up. They spent countless hours practicing and rehearsing and making music for their fans. Those seven boys deserved that award. They deserved that and so much more.

And Yoongi, he'd been working towards this for years, and he finally made it. He was a musician, just like he always wanted to be. He had thousands of fans screaming his name, he had all the money in the world, and he had six wonderful friends at his side.

Chaerin flicked away another tear. The cold, silent apartment felt horribly lonely as she whispered her words to thin air.

"You deserve it, Yoongi. You deserve the world... I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you."