[oneshot] Goodbye My Love part1
Title: Goodbye My Love
Genre: Drama, romance
Summary: Saying goodbye is the hardest thing to do
A/N: I’m not quite familiar with how graduations are held in SK so I just patterned it with our graduation ceremony and also from some Asian dramas that I have watched. ^^
It was a big day for the third year students of Seoul National High School. April 11 marked their much awaited event, Graduation Day.
The school’s auditorium was decorated for the special event. The stage was adorned with a slight touch of flowers. There were pillars on both sides of the stage. A podium was also set up on the front for the speakers. Thirty minutes before the start of the commencement ceremony, the graduates along with their family and friends were filling up the seats inside the auditorium.
“Eomma, Appa, I’m going to find my friends now.” Jaejoong said to his mom and dad as he led them to the seats provided for the families of the graduates.
“Alright” Mrs. Kim responded as she took a seat. Jaejoong smiled and left his parents.
Jaejoong quickly spotted Junsu and Yoochun among the sea of students inside the auditorium. He approached them immediately. Junsu waved a hand at Jaejoong as he saw him.
“Jae!” Junsu exclaimed, happy to see his friend.
“Hi guys!” Jaejoong greeted with a smile.
“Hi Jae. So, who’s here with you?” Yoochun asked.
“Appa and Eomma, you?”
“My mom. Yoohwan’s sick so he couldn’t attend. But wait, why aren’t your noonas here?”
“Chun, it’s because Jae doesn’t want a cheering team for his graduation.” Junsu said and laughed at his own joke with his dolphin-like voice.
“Yah! Su, there you go again with my noonas.” Jaejoong pouted. “But yeah, it would be chaotic if they were here. You both know how hyper they can be. It was actually pretty hard convincing them not to come.”
“I’m sure if they were here, they would be taking lots of pictures of you.” Yoochun stated.
“Not just me, but all the other cute guys that they would spot. And that includes the two of you. You both know that my sisters are so fond of you.” Jaejoong pointed out.
“Hey, don’t forget Jae’s business woman-like eldest sister.” Junsu added.
“Oh God, Hyori noona is number one on my black list. If she’s here, I’m 100% positive that she would be selling our pictures to all the girls here.” Jaejoong said with a slight cringe of his shoulder as he imagined his noona.
“Uhm, Jae, am I just hallucinating or is that Hyori noona talking with those girls?” Yoochun pointed at a woman not far from them. Jaejoong looked at the person Yoochun was pointing at. His eyes widened when he saw that it was indeed his sister. He instantly stormed towards her.
“Hyori noona!” Jaejoong hissed as he grabbed his sister’s arm.
“Oh, Jae! Good! I don’t have to find you anymore.” Hyori smiled at his brother.
“Why are you here? And what are you doing?” Jaejoong demanded. He snatched the pictures in Hyori’s hand.
“Yunho’s pictures are selling like hotcakes! This is the perfect memento for his fangirls!” Hyori said excitedly. Jaejoong face-palmed himself because of what his sister said.
“Aish! This is why I didn’t want you to come! Can’t you just sit and watch?” Jaejoong’s voice was laced with a bit of irritation.
“Jae, that’s so boring.” Hyori whined childishly.
“Then do something fun elsewhere. And don’t go taking pictures of my classmates, especially Yunho. By the way, how did you take these pictures?” Jaejoong asked.
“I asked Yunho to pose for the camera. Your boyfriend is so kind.” Hyori winked.
“Noona, I really don’t know what to do with you. Where are the others?”
“BoA and Yeonhee are over there, taking pictures with Junsu and Yoochun.” Hyori smiled innocently. Jaejoong glanced over at his friends. His noonas were indeed there. He saw Changmin pass by and he didn’t have a chance to escape. BoA and Yeonhee grabbed him.
‘Poor Min’ Jaejoong thought.
“Your other five sisters are on paparazzi duties.”
Jaejoong gave out a deep sigh.
“Well, since you’re all here, I guess I have no choice but to be silent and pray that nothing bad would happen.” Jaejoong said.
“Yunho!” Hyori waved at Yunho and ignored what Jaejoong said.
“There Jae, Yunho’s here already. Go and talk to him.” Hyori said and quickly pushed Jaejoong towards Yunho to get rid of him and resume her business.
“Hello Hyori noona.” Yunho greeted.
“Here Yunho, Jae is all yours.” Hyori said and quickly left them.
“Yunho, I’m so sorry about my noona.” Jaejoong immediately apologized. He noticed Yunho’s uncomfortable expression and asked him if he was alright.
“I have to talk to you Jae.” Yunho said seriously. He held Jaejoong’s hand and led him outside the auditorium.
The two of them were silent for a while as they stood outside. Jaejoong waited for Yunho to speak. He could see the agony in Yunho’s eyes and dreaded to hear whatever Yunho was going to tell him.
“Jae, there was a sudden change in plans.” Yunho started. “I’m…I’m going to leave tomorrow.”
As soon as Jaejoong heard Yunho’s words, everything went silent to his ears except for the beating of his heart. He wondered if he heard his lover right. But he perfectly heard every word that Yunho uttered. He just didn’t want to believe it.
It took Jaejoong a minute before he was able to respond.
“But…b-but why? I thought you were going to leave next week?” Jaejoong’s voice was close to breaking.
“Yes, that was what I also thought. But my parents told me last night that the plan has changed. It’s because of the family business that we need to leave earlier than the original plan.” Yunho explained.
Jaejoong remained silent and didn’t dare look at Yunho. He was already on the verge of crying and was trying his best not to cry. They still had the graduation to attend and it would be awkward and weird for him to be crying before the ceremony had even started.
Yunho had already told Jaejoong that he and his parents would be leaving Seoul after he graduates from high school. His parents wanted him to continue his studies in America. The second reason was because of their family business. Jaejoong already knew that Yunho was going to leave, but the sudden news was too soon for him. His heart wasn’t prepared. Everything was happening too fast.
“Everyone, please settle down. The commencement ceremony will start in 5 minutes.” one of the teachers announced. Jaejoong was thankful for the distraction.
“Come on Yunho, let’s go inside.” Jaejoong was about to walk towards the entrance to the auditorium when Yunho’s strong hands prevented him from doing so.
“Jae, wait. Can you promise me something?” Yunho looked intently into Jaejoong’s eyes.
“What is it?” Jaejoong kept his eyes on the ground.
“Please promise me that you won’t cry.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Jaejoong forced a smile. Yunho took that little assurance from Jaejoong and smiled back. He held Jaejoong’s hand tightly before going inside the auditorium.
The graduation went smoothly according to the program. The event started with several speeches from important people. After that, the diplomas were given, along with special awards for outstanding students. For the last part of the program, it was time for the valedictorian of the graduating class of that year to deliver his speech.
“May I call on Mr. Jung Yunho, class valedictorian, for his valedictory speech.” the MC announced. Everybody clapped their hands and cheered for Yunho, the loudest were Jaejoong’s sisters. Yunho got up from his seat and went up to the stage, stopping in front of the podium.
“Mr. Park Dongjun, our respected principal, teachers, families, friends, fellow graduates, a pleasant evening to all of you.” Yunho started his speech by greeting everyone inside the auditorium.
“I actually want to say a lot of things, but I’ll just cut my speech short and simple, without the flowery words and all, and take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone. First and foremost, to our dear Lord, for guiding me all throughout my high school years. Second, to my parents, for their unconditional love and unwavering support. Third, to our teachers, for sharing their knowledge and for their dedication in teaching their students. Fourth, to our homeroom teacher, Mr. Oh Jungwoo, for caring, nurturing, and leading us in the right path. Fifth, to my classmates and friends, for the genuine friendship. And lastly, to Mr. Kim Jaejoong.”
Jaejoong didn’t expect Yunho to explicitly mention his name. His heartbeat instantly went faster.
“If I were to mention the things that I am thankful to Jaejoong for, it would take all day. The list goes on and on.” Yunho said and paused to look straight at Jaejoong’s eyes. “Jae, thanking you in front of everybody here is not enough for what you have done in my life, but still, thank you for everything.”
Jaejoong’s tears slowly fell down his pale cheeks. That simple act from Yunho was enough to touch his heart. Junsu, who was sitting beside Jaejoong, saw him crying. He held Jaejoong’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. The little gesture by Junsu comforted Jaejoong.
“Everyone, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.” Yunho said and continued. “My fellow graduates, our graduation marks an end. But most importantly, let us look at it as a beginning. Let us all welcome this beginning as a challenge. As we take the new journey and challenge in our lives, we should face it with courage and perseverance. Always remember that we are not alone. I wish us all good luck.”
“Hwaiting!” Yunho shouted with a genuine smile on his face and raised his fist up into the air. The other graduates did the same. After that, deafening cheers and claps filled the auditorium.
“That is so like you Yunho.” Jaejoong whispered softly with a smile as he clapped his hands.
The ceremony officially ended as soon as Yunho finished his speech. The graduates have started hugging each other. Some of them were crying. After that, everyone was busy taking pictures with their friends and families.
The celebration continued in the graduation ball for the graduates. The event was held in a hotel. The hotel’s function hall was rented for the night.
Jaejoong’s family dropped him off in front of the hotel.
“Enjoy the ball honey.” Mrs. Kim told her son before he could go out of their van.
“Jae! Can’t we join?” Hyori whined. She badly wanted to go to the graduation ball. And her agenda? Of course. Business purposes.
“Noona, isn’t the graduation enough?” Jaejoong asked.
“Don’t you want to take pictures at the ball? I’ll be your official photographer. And I promise to be good.” Hyori put on her best angelic expression.
“Hyori, stop bothering your brother.” Mr. Kim said and turned to Jaejoong. “Jaejoong, you go ahead. I’ll pick you up later.”
“Thanks Appa.” Jaejoong smiled and stuck a tongue out at Hyori. He then got out of their van and entered the hotel.
The hall where the graduation ball would take place was already full of people when Jaejoong arrived. There was a dance floor in the middle of the hall. Music blasted from the speakers and there were people dancing. There was a long table full of food and drinks on one side of the hall. Just as Jaejoong expected, he spotted Changmin filling up his plate. Tables and chairs were set up on the two sides of the hall.