WARNING FOR THE CHEESINESS OVERLOAD IN THE BEGINNING ROFL

2004

Time flies with a blink of an eye, just as the colours change together with the seasons. The one year period in which Soojung and Sehun have worked hard to see the end finally comes, with graduation speeches made by peers and principal and dark blue hats thrown into the sir with shrieks of joy. When Soojung's name is called out she steps onto the stage and collects the roll of paper that is her graduation certificate and diploma. It's funny how this small piece of paper determines her future ahead, because it's her herself who should be dictating where she wants to go in life, not anyone or anything else.

Sehun is many names behind her, and she waits patiently at the side for his name to be called too. When the familiar name is said she jumps in her spot and claps more than needed. It doesn't matter because Sehun has always been a popular figure in their school, and many others chime out the same three characters as well, effectively blending her supportive cheers into one big buzzing of static noise. Sehun bows to the audience in a dignified manner, with a charming smile that raises the volume just a tad bit, and then makes his way down to give way to the next person on the graduating list.

"We've graduated," is the first thing he tells her before he envelopes her in a hug. They sting more than they should, and Soojung, in her current state of exhilaration, vaguely remembers that graduation means that she has a whole new future in front of her. Graduation used to mean sleepless night and mock papers and coffee. Now, it means uncertainties and university applications and a jagged path ahead. Nothing is definite from now on.

Still, Soojung finds it surreal that she's out in the world, free to do whatever she wants. Nothing is definite, but everything is spontaneous. Rather than living life totally planned down to the last detail, it's more exciting to go with the flow, to live a rollercoaster-like life. Don't let minute details weigh you down. Don't let snarky words cut through you easily, like a scissors gliding through paper. Don't let prowling thoughts destroy your outlook of life.

To be completely honest, Soojung is the opposite of whatever she stands for. She's weak, mentally and physically. She can't stand for what she thinks is right, instead, getting frightened by harsh rebuttals all over. She worries too much over what could-have or should-have or might-have. She wakes up many nights with a tear-stained face and trembling lips, thinking that the monsters of guilt and regret have come to visit. She's a hypocrite, to say the least.

"Soojung? Are you okay?" Sehun wipes the tear trickling down her face with a swipe of his thumb. She blinks back the tears that threaten to fall, and surfaces a smile upon herself. "Yeah, just a little emotional, that's all."

She's glad that Sehun leaves it at that - the way he always does when he knows that he shouldn't prod. He's her mental strength, the one that holds her up when she loses all ability to stand. When she tries to stand on her own, he never babysits her; instead, he stands quietly by the sidelines, ever ready to catch her if she accidentally trips.

The whole ceremony in school passes by like a blur. Pictures are taken and tearful goodbyes with overflowing bouquets are given. Everywhere, pinkies link as promises to meet up again in the near future, when they've studied a little more, grown up a little more. Everyone wants to come back a better person, but the point is not to impress, but to assure that they are safe. It's okay, we're still all in this together, moving forward as a cohort.

After the ceremony, Soojung goes out with her female friends as a last gathering before they all separate to their own different paths. They end up watching a chick flick. Soojung doesn't particularly enjoy it, but takes it as a laugh for the measly attempt at portraying high school.

When dinner is done and this time, they all part for real, Soojung receives an SMS from Sehun. It reads, Meet you at the park?

Soojung glances at her watch. It's only slightly past nine; the night is still young. Okay, she replies.

It takes Soojung about twenty minutes to get to the park. She spots Sehun already there, sitting at the bench all-so familiar to her. Quietly, she slides into the space next to him.

"Aren't the stars beautiful?" His voice rings like pretty wind chimes out melodies in the wind. Immediately, she looks up at the sky. No longer is it that murky grey sky that clouded the twinkling lights. Now, the clouds have cleared to make way for a full moon that glows a pale shade of yellow. The stars, in contrast, shine to their full potential, just like they were meant to have on the night moons ago.

It's definitely breath-taking. In a way, it signifies the closure of their high school lives. Before, the stars were barely visible. Now, they stretched for miles and miles - a never-ending trail of constellations for fellow astronomers to look at. Their future was no longer as bleak as it had seemed. Without the minute worries of will I pass my exams and will I ever get to finish this stack of notes before sun rises and many more, the possibilities of what could be done was endless. They could be anyone they want to be. There's no need to worry as of yet.

"I told you we would be able to see them," Soojung nudges Sehun's shoulders playfully. He hums.

"What's a wish you would make right now?" This question catches Soojung off-guard. She looks at him and tries to search his face for any clues, but he is as passive as ever.

"There isn't any shooting stars in the sky. Even if I made a wish, it wouldn't come true," she tells him. Wishes are meant to be told upon a falling star. A falling star will bring all its blessings to the Earth.

"Well, you're wrong," he replies gently. "You shouldn't make a wish on a shooting star. Do you know why a shooting star falls? Because it's laden with far too many wishes. It's too heavy to carry all those wishes, so they just fall without granting any of them."

Sehun proceeds to sit upright. "Try making a wish before it falls."

It's not always that Sehun makes a request like this, and so she complies. Her lids shut close, and her hands are tightly woven together. I wish to get into a good university. I wish to become a best-selling writer. I wish-

Soojung nearly jumps out of her own skin when something moist touches her cheeks. It takes her a few seconds to realise it, but-

Did Sehun just kiss me?

In contrast to Soojung's state of bewilderment and panic, Sehun is unabashed. "If I were to make a wish," he muses, "it would be you."

He reaches out for her left hand - the one not on her cheek - and grasps it gently. "Will you grant that wish?"

Soojung looks into his eyes and sees an assortment of memories of the both of them flashing through. She recalls the times when Sehun would help her in her homework, and when she lifted her head up, smug from completing a hard problem sum, there was always a certain endearment in his actions when he patted her head on a job well done. When their circle of friends tease them for always being together - "Why aren't you guys dating yet seriously!" - she would blush and strongly deny their claims, and all he would do was laugh it off and bring his arm around her shoulder and say, "It's just because we aren't."

Soojung thinks back on the times his hand accidentally brushed her own and how her cheeks would flush. She thinks back on how her heart fluttered whenever he turned his eyes to her in the middle of class, telling a story though his eyes that only she could decipher. She thinks back on how a small bit her crumbled away when one of his admirers would come out to him and ask him to be her boyfriend, only for it to piece back together when he kindly rejected her with a soft smile.

Jung Soojung has already fallen hard, for Oh Sehun, who reserves his best smiles and laughs for her, and gives his only umbrella to her when the storm comes, leaving himself drenched. It's just that the term 'best friends' leave such a cordial feeling to her, that its warmth and comfort keeps Soojung from venturing any further.

Sehun has never disappointed her, and she decides that maybe she should trust him this time too.

She goes nearer to him, and quickly pecks his cheeks, before turning away embarrassed. "I'm your genie from now on then," she says, and Sehun gives her hand a squeeze.

It's only when Soojung in the comfort of her bed that night, that she realises, that no matter what, graduation always had Sehun in it. It didn't matter when it happened, because Sehun would definitely be by her side as long as he could.

Graduation means cuddling together during pouring rains and vanilla ice cream dates and late night kisses when they arrive at her doorstep. Graduation means facing the future with Sehun, hands held tightly in one another's, waking up early to catch the sun rise, hoping for a better day ahead.

Graduation means a lot of things, but what matters most to Soojung is that she slips the hours and minutes and seconds away with the one she loves the most.

2007

Dates with Sehun are often simple and easy, almost like routine. He picks her up at her house, and they decide where to go on the spot. Sometimes they watch a movie, but at other times, they just walk around the streets of Seoul, reminiscing on the youth and freedom they once had as high school students. Making time isn't as easy anymore, especially when they're both busy university students; Soojung majoring in Literature while Sehun does Medicine. Their schedules don't clash, but they do the best they can with their abilities.

To Soojung, Sehun is a ray of sunshine in her otherwise hectic life. He makes her face break into a smile just at his very appearance. He knows what food to give her on various occasions. He knows her like the back of his hand.

"So, I think I'll try out different publishers. I might get lucky with one," she announces over the phone one day nervously. "I won't stop until I find one!"

"Good for you then." His voice warms her soul and tickles her ears, even though the piece of plastic. "Just remember to balance your school work with this, okay?"

Soojung nods, and although he obviously can't see it, the mutual silence across the phone seals the deal. The comfortable silence is what makes their relationship so good, Soojung often thinks. No longer are unspoken words there - whatever they have in their hearts, they share it.

Sehun stops by the library sometimes during breaks to see Soojung crouching over her laptop, brows furrowed, just plainly staring at the Microsoft Word document while coming to a blank at how to continue on. While he tries to be useful and points out the minute mistakes made - "I think you missed out a word here" - Soojung is more than satisfied that he stays by her side through it all as moral support.

"You don't have to wait for me, don't you have that research paper to work on?" she would try to shrug him off at the end of the day. "I can take the bus home myself."

"It's not safe for a girl as attractive as you to walk home alone," he would reply and laugh when Soojung karate chops his shoulder for calling her attractive.

"I'm a horrible lady," Soojung mutters, "I'm 21 and I still don't know how to sit properly. I don't always dress appropriately for the occasion and I would burn the kitchen down if you let me near it. I'm not graceful nor attractive."

Sehun then pulls her closer to him, halting her in her writing. She closes her eyes and smells coffee, warmth and everything else about Sehun that she loves.

Head tucked into collarbone, arms around waist. If time could be willed to stop, she would.

The endless fatigue experienced over the past few weeks seemingly fades away, remaining with only the slight reminder of how her eyes feel so comfortable closed. In retrospect, planning for a book while in the midst of her final year might not have been the best thing to do, but Soojung likes to think that it's going to be worth it when her book gets splashed onto the front covers of magazines and book reviews have nothing but praise for what she's written. The years of hard work shouldn't be wasted, after all.

"You might not be the most lady-like person around, but you'll always be my number one. That's why I like you anyway." Something in Sehun's voice soothes her, in gentle waves of calmness that wash over her. It cleanses her from the inside, and she likes that because every time his voice rings out, it tells her that as long as they are together, nothing is impossible.

As the days drag on and the examinations get closer, Soojung drinks more coffee than needed at night and Sehun stays back more than usual. It's terrifying to juggle things the way they are as of now, but giving up is the last thing on her list. Not when so much support from everyone has been given. Not when Sehun has sacrificed so much for her since the beginning.

He's basically been writing with her all the way, getting nervous and kissing her trembling fingers when she mails the finished script to many publishers. "You're a great writer, you can do this."

So when she finally gets accepted to write a book, he rejoices with her too.

~~~

[a/n] this has been such a long time since i updated, isn't it awkward

1) sorry not sorry for the cheesiness of this chapter, i did warn you

2) completely not edited, partly written while fighting off sleep, bc i suddenly remembered i had a story to complete. :c

3) i will not make promises about how long this is bc it's getting longer as i type, ohmy

4) time to sleep carissa

i really do hope you like this chapter though. if you know me, you would know i cannot fluff and i cringed as i typed bc cheesy and corny and is that foreshadowing of the events about to come nopeee

comments are loved c: you can find me on twitter @currysauceee if you find the need to screech at me or sth, idk.