So High 09:6

~ The Finals and Graduation ~

Hallways were quiet for the first time in a while. Students moved around quietly, without the usual buzz and cheer resounding in the various classrooms. The air was still and tension hung in the air like a thick, heavy curtain. It was the finals in So Nyuh High.

So Nyuh High students were mostly from rich families who had high expectations of their children. They were expected to excel and get themselves into the prestigious colleges that would furnish them with prestigious looking credentials before they step out into the real world and commence their journey as adults, to be groomed to take over the businesses that their families have built up.

There was also a significantly large group of girls from upper middle class families, like Sooyoung and Yoona, whose families may not own large businesses but are nonetheless well off. This group of girls would definitely be fighting for good grades, as their parents had hopes of them doing well and climbing up the corporate ladder well, just as they did.

Naturally, there would be a clique of girls whose families only hoped for them to marry into another rich family and that group would rank bottom when it came to grades.

Jessica fell into the first group. Her father, being so involved in the education and research business, naturally had high expectations of her when it came to academics. She had yet to disappoint her father, consistently scoring good grades across all subjects.

Sunny’s family wasn’t so strict on her but they too, would be disappointed if she did not do well enough to gain entry to a prestigious college.

Yuri was the perfect example of a girl from a well to do, upper middle class family. However, she was relatively relaxed, having already secured a place in Stanford with a track and field scholarship.

Taeyeon was someone who fell into a rather unique group. For one, her family didn’t really show much concern about her at all. She hardly ever saw her parents, who were usually out of the country, designing and building some awesome infrastructures in some big city out there. Neither was her family pushing her to marry somebody rich. If there were a name for the group she falls into, it’d be called the neglected group. She considered herself lucky to a certain extent. To be left alone was better than to be stuck in a family whose perspectives and expectations did not coincide with yours.

She was glad, for once, that her parents left her to do what she liked. She knew that if her father were to be like Jessica’s father, she wouldn’t have the chance to delve into her musical interests. As such, she was pretty hyped up about the launch of her single and it was all she could think about. And if her single took off well, she was prepared to invest all her time and effort into her music career.

But first, the finals.

The finals were a hurdle that meant different things for everyone. Once they got past the finals, they’d be faced with limitless (or limited, for some) possibilities and decisions to make that would shape the landscape of their future. But whether or not one looked forward to that, the future was something that could not be ignored or escaped from.

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

And then it was all over. School. High school. And as students filled the halls after their very last paper, the air was very different than when they first started the year. Students were older, not necessarily wiser, more or less mature and happier, or not.

Sunny was at peace. She had Jessica. She had good grades in the bag (she was confident about that much). And she had a place to go to after high school. She knew what she wanted to do and was on her way to achieving it. What else could she ask for?

Jessica joined her in the hallways and they held hands most naturally. She had been quite averse to the hand holding at first. She was uncomfortable about receiving one too many looks from people around her but being around Jessica had rubbed off on her and she became immune to unwanted attention from people who didn’t matter.

“Where should we go today? We have to celebrate our temporary freedom from school.”

Jessica smiled at her and replied, “Wherever you want to go is fine by me. But I’m feeling like some ice cream.”

“So ice cream it is. I’ll pick the ice cream shop.”

“Okay.”

They got to Sunny’s bike. There were times when they took her bike and there were times when they took Jessica’s chauffeured car. But Jessica started to prefer travelling on Sunny’s bike after a few tries. Sunny would always remember her whoop of joy when she finally got over her fear of the speed and openness of the bike. She was touched by Jessica’s effort to accept what she loved even when the girl was afraid of it. She knew that Jessica was putting in the effort for them. For their relationship. So she was determined to do the same.

Did she still think of Taeyeon?

If she were to be really honest, the answer would be less and less. She was busy and Taeyeon was practically non-existent in school during the final days. She had appeared for the finals but that was about it. Out of sight, out of mind. Yet, something held on. Something clung on. And that indescribable something was something that she suspected would never go away. Like a long standing memory of what someone once said to you. Or a particular moment in time that was frozen and preserved in the deepest of recesses within your heart.

Taeyeon would never go away. But Jessica was here.

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

The days went by and everybody got on with their lives. Yuri had packed her bags and was due to fly back to America. And Yoona was crying herself silly from missing her even while she was still in Korea.

“Unnie,” said Seohyun as Yoona was about to leave the house to go to the airport with Yuri, “stay strong but cry all you want. Don’t hold back anything so that you will not have any regrets.”

“Seohyun ah…”

“Go…go to the airport and say goodbye. But it’s not goodbye to your relationship with her. It’s just her physical presence that you are saying goodbye to.”

Yoona wiped her tears and nodded. “I know. I’ll be brave. I’ll stay strong so that she won’t have to worry so much about me.”

To which Seohyun smiled and said, “No, let her worry. It’s only natural to. Don’t stop her from showing her love for you, unnie.”

“Omo, my little Seohyun is so wise. Thanks for the words of wisdom today.”

And with that, Yoona left for the airport to join Yuri who was departing in a few hours’ time.

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

The whole group was there to send Yuri off. Sunny and Jessica, Sooyoung and Tiffany, Yoona, by herself and Yuri’s other friends from school.

They each hugged Yuri and said their goodbyes but when it came to Yoona, her tears flowed freely.

“I’ll miss you so much, Yuri.”

“I’ll miss you too. We’ll keep on calling each other, okay?”

Yoona nodded. She was determined to make it work.

“Every day. Till you come back.”

“I’ll come back for you. I promise. I’ll work really hard and come back as a national coach one day. Then you’ll be my wife.”

“Yuri…”

“Hush, don’t cry anymore. Your eyes are so red that they look very painful to me.”

Yoona hugged Yuri as tightly as she could for one last time before she let go.

“I’ll miss your touch,” she sighed.

Yuri smiled sadly. “Yoona, kiss me one more time.”

And they kissed deeply, even as everybody else looked on.

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

Sunny was downcast as they left the airport. She had just said goodbye to one of her best friends that she was going to miss an awful lot.

Jessica’s arm went around her shoulders and the taller girl poked her cheek.

“Don’t be too sad for too long.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s go for some ice cream.”

“Okay.”

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

“Have you received the offers from the universities yet?” Sunny asked Jessica as she dug into her strawberry ice cream.

Jessica nodded. “I’ve received a few.”

“Any of it from SNU?”

Jessica looked her in the eye and nodded. “I’ve got one from SNU”

Sunny brightened up at once. “Oh that’s great! So have I!”

“Sunny…I didn’t want to tell you so soon but I may not be going to SNU.”

“What? Why?”

“My father.”

“Oh.”

Sunny knew that Jessica’s father was very much an authoritarian and whatever he wanted would eventually go his way.

“He has mentioned a university in Canada. So I might have to go there.”

Sunny was stunned. Going to another university wouldn’t have been a problem but going to another university in another country?! Why would she doing an Kwon Yuri?!

“I hope you’re not serious.”

“Sunny, I’m serious. But nothing has been cast in stone yet. He only mentioned it at dinner yesterday in the passing. But he wants me to take up a course that will lead to higher research in medicine and apparently there’s a university that’s well known for that in Canada.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You can start thinking after my father casts it in stone. Until then, let’s not think about it.”

“Okay.”

Knowing that she might not have Jessica by her side saddened her. It made her want to spend more time with Jessica.

“Sica…”

“Hmm?”

“Sleep over at my place tonight, okay?”

Jessica smiled understandingly and nodded. “Okay.”

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

That night, Sunny snuggled as close to Jessica as she could. She could only hope that Jessica wouldn’t be sent to Canada for studies. She knew that Jessica was probably just as reluctant as she was but the older girl wasn’t showing it much. Perhaps she was trying not to be negative about it.

“Sica…”

“Hmm?” Jessica responded sleepily.

“What will happen to us if you really have to go?”

“Sunny, don’t think about it yet. We’ll deal with it when the time comes. All this worrying may be for nothing if my father changes his mind.”

Sunny sighed. What Jessica said was true. There was no point in talking about it until her father made up his mind. Right. She wouldn’t ruin the mood. So she nuzzled Jessica’s neck and tightened her arms around the older girl and thought about all the fun they would have for the next few days.

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

The day of their graduation ceremony had arrived. And as Sunny stood at the entrance of So Nyuh High, she couldn’t help but feel that time had passed in the blink of an eye. It seemed like just yesterday that she had met Taeyeon in the parking lot and winked so ostentatiously at her. It seemed like just yesterday that she became Taeyeon’s girlfriend and it seemed even more like yesterday that they had broken up because of a bad misunderstanding.

And then there was Jessica. Jessica Jung. The girl she was with at the moment. The girl whose hand she was holding as they walked towards the open ground where their ceremony was being held at. Jessica’s father still hadn’t made up his mind about the university that she was to go to and it was making her more and more strung up as the days went by. She hated the suspense of not knowing where Jessica was going. She hated the suspense of not knowing where their future was heading towards.

She spotted her parents and sisters in the crowd. They were seated, all ready and excited to see their youngest daughter graduating from high school. Sunny however, was a lot less excited suddenly. Graduating didn’t seem like a good thing now. People were leaving. Things were changing. Goodbyes had to be said. She hated the transient feeling. The feeling that the only constant was change and that change was constant. She hated it.

Yoona and Sooyoung appeared together with Tiffany. As far as Sunny knew, Yoona had been hanging out a lot more with Sooyoung and Tiffany now that Yuri was away. Poor Yuri couldn’t even attend her graduation ceremony since her college term started earlier and she had to get settled down and attend orientations and everything. Sunny felt very sorry for Yoona.

“How are things with Yuri, Yoona?”

Yoona pouted. “I miss her being around me but we call each other every day and I get to see her on video calls. But the time difference is getting to us. We have to compromise and find a time that’s good for the both of us and that’s going to be a challenge once I start school again.”

“I’m sure the two of you have a backup plan for when you can’t make video calls.”

Yoona nodded. “We agreed to send lots of text messages and I’m making her send video clips and pictures of herself to me so that I can see her.” She giggled. “She’s complaining about that a little.”

Sunny smiled warmly and patted her shoulder.

“I’m sure the two of you will find a way to get around it. And depending on what Jessica’s father decides, I may have to adopt some of your strategies to carry on a long distance relationship too.”

“Jessica’s father?”

“Sunny, don’t worry the others about something that isn’t definite yet. Yoona, my father hasn’t decided which university he wants me to go to yet so we don’t know if I’m staying on in Korea or not,” Jessica interjected.

“Oh…well, I hope that you get to stay here. I mean, I’ll give anything to have Yuri by my side, even though we have so many ways of talking to each other.”

“I hope so too. But in any case, there’s no need to think about it just yet.”

“Okay.”

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 “Lee Soon Kyu.”

Sunny walked up the stage to accept her scroll which contained her high school graduation certificate. Her friends cheered and clapped for her and she waved happily at her parents and sisters as she walked off the stage.

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

She was surrounded by her family as they took picture after picture of her with her scroll and with them.

“My youngest daughter… Oh gosh… This is so emotional for me…” said her mother who had hugged her so many times that she had had quite enough of it.

“Soonkyu ah…you’ve done us proud.” Her father smiled proudly and patted her back.

“Gosh, in just a few more years, my own daughter will be attending high school!” exclaimed her eldest sister who was fifteen years older than her. Her sister’s daughter was ten and would be attending high school real soon.

Sunny giggled. “And she will be graduating from high school before you know it too, unnie.”

“You’re right.” Her sister sniffed nostalgically. “It only seems like yesterday that you first entered high school.”

Just then, Jessica came by with her father.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you, I am Sunny’s friend.”

Friend?

“Oh hello, it’s nice to meet Sunny’s friend. Sunny, your friend is so pretty.”

“Yes, she is.” Sunny smiled despite feeling a little disturbed by the way Jessica introduced herself. And she turned to Jessica’s father to greet him as well.

“It’s nice to meet you, uncle.”

He smiled kindly at her and said, “Sunny, I heard that you did very well for your finals. Congratulations.”

She smiled politely and said, “Thank you, uncle. But my grades aren’t as good as Jessica’s. Hers are really top notch.”

He chuckled at her comment. And he looked proudly at Jessica as he said, “With grades like hers, she’ll have no problem getting accepted into the University of Toronto. I’m proud of her alright.”

And that was an even bigger shock to Sunny than Jessica introducing herself as just a friend. Had Jessica’s father decided? Why haven’t she heard anything from Jessica? What was going on?

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

A/N: Firstly, I have to apologize to the readers of SNH for leaving this story for so long. I’ve been very active in writing Personal Differences and had little time to write anything else. But here’s an update as we move even closer to the final chapters of SNH. Again, my sincere thanks for reading this story and sharing your thoughts on it with me. :heart: