"Give us a spin?" Somi did as she was asked and waddled in a circle in her place, showing off her outfit as requested.

"Look at you" Minhyuk cooed at Somi.

"You look gorgeous" Somi's face went red and she bit down a smile that was still visible.

"You all look amazing" She complimented, she wasn't wrong, the seven of them standing there in their gold and black matching suits really was a sight to behold. Somi found herself being glad that she was the first person to see them in their full look for the red carpet, smiling as she looked over them all fondly.

"Are you all ready to go?" One of the stylists asked and they all looked to her then to each other again.

"Yeah, I think we are" Hoseok nodded.

"If you would follow me then" They walked out of the room and the group quickly followed. Hyunwoo offered Somi his hand as she fiddled with the length of her dress.

"Thank you" Somi smiled sweetly as she looked back up, taking Hyunwoo's hand as they left the room and walked down the hall. Other students were in the area, each person fancily dressed in suits and dresses. No one had a strand of hair out of place or a blemish on their skin, makeup and hair having been done to perfection to make each student ready for the cameras.

"There are stairs, will you be ok?" Hyunwoo looked down at the tail of Somi's dressed and she did the same, letting out a huff of air.

"If I go sideways and hold onto you, I think I should be fine," She told him and Hyunwoo nodded, keeping a tight hold of Somi's hand when they left through the exit of the building, coming face to face with the stairs they had been discussing.

"Are you ready?" Hyunwoo squeezed Somi's hand and she shook her head.

"Not really"

"Cool let's go" Muffled laughter mixed with whimpers that struggled to stay quiet rung out behind Sumin and she looked back up the steps she was walking down to glare at the one behind the noise. Kihyun looked physically pained by trying to hold back his laugh and Som's hand swung forward in the bat of an eye to slap him.

"Stop it you're making yourself look ugly!" She growled at him and Kihyun pulled his hand away from his face to laugh out loud at her.

"Stop laughing!" Somi exclaimed.

"Just focus on the stairs" Hyunwoo chided and Somi huffed, working her way down the stairs, where she patiently waited for the laughing Kihyun to reach the bottom before she approached him and pulled him to their awaiting car by his ear.

"Ow! You think this will make me apologise?!" Kihyun slapped Somi's arm, trying to make her let go of his ear as they scrambled over to the car and the door was opened for them.

"Get your sorry in the car!"

------------

"It's quiet out here" Somi looked around as the members filed out of the car one by one, standing in a line together as they waited for their next order.

"They don't allow cameras near the cars, because they don't want anyone getting hurt," Jooheon told her informatively.

"How considerate of them right?" Changkyun smiled at them and Jooheon scoffed.

"This way!"

"Time to go" Jooheon cheered, he clasped Somi's hand tightly from her left, putting Somi's arm between his own and his side. Changkyun took her right hand and the trio followed after the others as they made their way around the building that stood wide and tall in front of them.

"Now we get to smile for the cameras"

"Remember," Hyunwoo looked back at all of them before anyone could spot them approaching the event, "we're here to act like we're happy to be the winners, we don't cry over the people we killed or hurt in the process" He told them all for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Yes, I can't wait to act like it's totally normal to have done such things for a trophy and screen time on the TV" Minhyuk nodded, sarcastically smiling. It went quiet for a moment, no one moving as they all looked between each other, hoping for the bitterness to pass. It never left them, only got pushed back when a staff member yelled at them again.

"Move onto the carpet!"

"Monsta X is here!" It had been loud before any of them touched foot on the red carpet, the event harbouring an amount of noise that could be heard from where they all got of the car. Smiles pulled at their lips and hands waved on cue when cameras pointed at them, flashing bright lights in their direction as people called out to them from behind a barricade that kept the uninvited off the carpet at a safe distance.

"Stop in front of the wall up there" A staff member directed the group. Jooheon loosened his grip on Somi's hand, no longer clasping it so tightly as they approached their first hurdle of the night. Three red-carpeted steps got closer and closer to them as Changkyun guided Somi along when Jooheon's hand slipped from hers. Somi let out a sigh and Changkyun bit down the smile that came with knowing he was about to witness Somi climbing up the stairs, having to fight against the bottom of her dress again. Hyunwoo stepped up first, with Hoseok following him closely behind, looking over his shoulder as Minhyuk stepped up and Hyungwon followed him, trying to discretely push Kihyun up the steps as he tried to watch Somi climb up the steps last.

Mandatory photos were taken of the group lined up, camera ready smiles on their faces as they stood shoulder to shoulder, turning right, forward again and then left, facing every direction of any possible camera pointing at them. It was after what felt like too long for all them that they were finally told to move on. Hyunwoo waited at the foot of the steps to be the one helping Somi down again, with Changkyun helping to hold the bottom of her dress before they all moved on.

"You're meant to be acting professionally up there" Hoseok warned Kihyun.

"But have you seen Somi trying to get up and down the stairs? You don't want to miss it after seeing it for the first time" Hoseok shook his head as the group walked down the red carpet, merging with interviewers, cameras and other people from their school with staff members running back and forth on the sidelines, making sure things were going smoothly.

"Monsta X, a few questions if you would?" One of the people in front of the cameras, waiting with a microphone waved at the group and with Hyunwoo nodding, they all approached, shuffling around until the cameraman gave a thumbs up, signalling that they were all in frame.

"Everyone, this year's winners Monsta X have arrived on the carpet, tell me guys, how was it after finding out you were the winners of this year's game?" The interviewer turned from the camera to the members with a bright smile on her face. Minhyuk leant forward and catching his movements, the microphone was held out for him.

"We're very happy with our win in this years race," The same smile tugged at his lips as he nodded, "we're proud of our achievements" He spoke as if he had been forced to memorise a script before walking onto the carpet and Hoseok quickly leant into the microphone when Minhyuk stepped back.

"Finding out we were the first over that line came as a big surprise to all of us, we're honoured to have that recognised, it's very exciting for us"

"I can see you're all wearing black and gold tonight, it looks amazing, is the because of the position of first place?"

"That wasn't discussed as such in the leading up to this event, but if that's how it's shown, we won't deny it"

"Well, you look great. What are you wearing tonight?" She asked and Somi looked down, past the microphone in front of her to double check her outfit.

"A dress" She stated plainly when she looked back up at the woman asking them the questions.

"Well, who are you wearing to be more specific" Somi frowned, she hadn't been told who made the dress, why was it so important right now? These heels were hurting her feet and it was a little chilly in the night air, even with all the lights shining down on them.

"We had a team that came and designed our clothes for us" Somi looked to the others for help.

"They're aware of who they are" Jooheon nodded.

"Excellent, I'm sure there are lots of others waiting to ask you questions. So if you could individually step in front of this camera to give us one more look at your outfits, you can be on your way" The interviewer gestured to a second camera lined up and waiting for them. Hyunwoo went first, standing on the cross marked on the ground. The camera did a circle around him and Hyunwoo's head followed the camera operators actions, giving them a thumbs up when the camera was back at its starting point. Feeling nervous, Hoseok pushed Kihyun to go before him. Kihyun approached the marked spot with no hesitation, he took his hands out of his pockets to fix the cuffs of his sleeves as the camera made its round and the others cringed as he walked to join Hyunwoo on the other side with confidence. Hoseok was forced by the others to go before he chickened out. Changkyun followed, then Minhyuk, Jooheon and Hyungwon before it was just Somi left.

"Put a hand on your hip" The interviewer advised her when it was clear Somi felt unsure of herself in front of the camera. She did as she was told and her head naturally followed the camera, shyly pulling off a peace sign as it still in front of her with the members mocking her from the side.

"Leave me alone!" Somi protested, she bowed to the camera operator and the female that had interviewed them before scurrying after the boys.

"Look at me!" Hyungwon teased in a high pitched voice, puckering his lips and copying the peace sign Somi had made.

"I didn't do that with my face" Somi punched him on the arm.

"It was more like this" Jooheon pulled an unnaturally wide smile with his fingers making a peace sign next to his face.

"Why am I being put through this tonight? Minhyuk literally jumped like he was in a car commercial" Somi complained.

"I bet that come out well" Changkyun gave Minhyuk's shoulder a pat and Minhyuk nodded enthusiastically.

"Don't ignore me!" Somi huffed but didn't try to put up any more of a fight since the teasing had stopped. The group didn't have to be asked to stop in front of the next camera and they gathered, shoulder to shoulder as they all looked down at the small woman holding a microphone with sparkly nails.

"What are you wearing tonight Monsta X?" She jumped right into the questions and Hyungwon took the liberty of leaning forward to be heard through the microphone.

"A suit" Hyungwon answered, much to the dismay of the reporter and Somi, who glared at him, showing him her fist below camera level, only making Hyungwon smile in amusement.

"Very funny" The reporter laughed as she watched the moment between Hyungwon and Somi.

"Are any of the members feeling nervous about debuting as a group tonight?" She asked and they all looked at each other as Hoseok cleared his throat, receiving the microphone in return. Hoseok looked down at it and then to the woman that awaited his answer now that he was nominated to speak.

"Right now, I think we all feel pretty good about it, it's not something we've really discussed with each other. But I think when the times comes, everyone will be nervous about going up on stage, not just our group"

"And Somi, tonight will be the official debut night of you entering the Great Race, can you tell me what it was like leading up to the race, what was it like for you in there? And how does it feel knowing that you've won the race?" The next question rolled out immediately and Somi jolted at the call of her name, shuffling past Hyungwon and Changkyun to be able to answer the question through the microphone.

"It's certainly a lot to take in when you're starting at a new school. The moments leading up to the race were hard, there was a lot of training I had to catch up on and understanding what the Great Race was took some time. The moments leading up to standing at that starting point was difficult too, it was a lot to take in and I almost thought that I wouldn't make it, that I would be left behind still trying to get my clothes on or something"

"We dressed you like a toddler" Kihyun commented with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Somi's face went red, a colour that was hard to see under the layers of makeup she wore. She still covered her face and the reporter laughed at the interaction.

"You had to help each put on your clothes?" They asked and Minhyuk shook his head, humming his disagreement.

"No Somi was the one that struggled the most, our clothes were made from leather and latex and Somi had a hard time getting them on" He corrected. Jooheon acted out someone jumping around to try and get their pants on from behind Minyuk and Somi glared at him, raising her fist as a threat.

"I think I'm stuck" Kihyun mimicked and Somi pulled up the skirt of her dress, swinging her leg and threatening to kick him.

"I see, it looks like all of you have become rather close. Can you tell me a little more about that? The seven of you boys had always run as solo competitors, we've even seen you go head to head in past races, how did the team come about and how does that tie into winning the race?" The group settled down again and Somi stepped back, giving the others room to answer the question.

"Yeah look, it was an interesting thing, none of us really had plans to enter as a team, even after we grew to be friends. Our gym teacher assumed that a few of us had made a team together this year and threw us into a test together, after that, we have Changkyun to thank for wanting us to be a team, otherwise we all would have gone in as solo runners again" Hoseok explained and the reporter nodded as Hoseok looked to the others for more.

"As for winning," Hyunwoo started and the microphone was put in front of him quickly, "we can admit that it was pure luck that our hard work put