Hiccups     Dongwoo fidgets in his seat. He keeps on pulling at his tie that Sungjong, knotted a little too tight for his liking. He’s clad in a three piece suit with his hair slick in hair gel and coated with some strawberry- scented hairspray. And to be honest, he’s not even the slightest comfortable with his current state.      He sighs and fishes his phone out of his pocket. He scrolls down his contacts until he finds his boyfriend’s number. His finger hovers over his phone screen debating whether he should drop a call. But Hoya might be busy with practice, considering he has attended a district meet-up for the qualifying rounds of a national dance competition.     He sighs audibly, disappointed at the thought that Hoya can’t even make it to his oration contest. He leans back on his chair and close his eyes. Just then, the backdoor flies open and in comes his five bestfriends who start to fuss over him.     “Do you still remember your speech, Dongwoo- hyung?”     “Yes, Myungsoo-yah. I practically inhale the whole thing over the past few days.”     “Don’t worry. If you forget you can always do my plan.” Woohyun grins. “Remember, what I taught you?” And with sync, Dongwoo and Woohyun let out cutesy noises with matching finger bunny ears. They throw hearts at the rest of the gang who cringe at the sight of two idiots combined.     “Please make them stop, Gyu- hyung.” The maknae, Sungjong whines when he can no longer bear the sight of his two elders doing such things.     “Okay, quit that, you two. We’re not doing such ridiculous things.” The squinty eyes student body president grabs the Woohyun by the ear. “Namu, what did I tell you about not being a bad influence to the group?”     “But, Gyugyu---”     “Hush now.” Sunggyu turns to Dongwoo. “You can do it, Dongwoo-ah. Trust yourself.”     Dongwoo nods. Sungjong pats his suit, inspecting it for any speck of dust or any crumple on his immaculate suit. “We believe in you, Dongwoo- hyung. Hwaiting!”     “We’re supporting you all the way, hyung. We even made you a banner!” Sungyeol holds out a roll of handmade poster with all the colors, glitters, and hearts that can possibly blind any person within the fifty- meter radius. “Awww.” Tears brim Dongwoo’s eyes. He can never be thankful enough for having such friends. He huddles the his friends. “Group hug~~~”And they can only chuckle at Dongwoo’s request.           

 

    Dongwoo paces back and forth in the backstage, trying to recall his speech. He groans when he feels that he’s losing the words out from his memory. His palms get sweaty and now, his bouncing off agitatedly on his feet.     He’s nervous as hell.     He peers out from the thick curtain and sees the auditorium filling up with students and faculty members. He tries to even his breathing, but fails so. He starts to hyperventilate. He crouches down and curls up in a ball. Images of him grinning like an absolute fool in front of the audience when he forgets his speech floods him and crashes down every bit of his resolve to go out and perform.