Chapter 36 – Fly to the Sky (aka chapter that is boring as hell)

 

 

An awkward week went by with relatively no interaction between the couple that lived under one roof. Ever since they had been thinking about how to deal with their problems, they were too lost in thought to pay attention to one another. Since it was mutual, the two hardly even noticed how they were ignoring each other. It wasn’t a hostile situation, yet to people that didn’t understand what fully went on, it seemed like it was. Seohyun waited patiently for her brother to finally get back to her about the money she would be giving to Yonghwa. Soo Hyun promised her that he would make it seem as close to a real scholarship as possible. Yonghwa on the other hand, kept thinking up ways he would break the news to Seohyun. He was still clueless as to how much she already knew.

“Father, I need you to help me with something,” Soo Hyun requested. “As I’m still new to the company, I need some advice with something.” It had been just two days since the estranged son of the Seo family had taken over the family business and there were already drastic changes. Although the stockholders were very upset at the recent company matters, they could do nothing except sit back and watch.

“You dare ask me for help even after you have stepped on all of what I hold dear?” the father acidly questioned. Soo Hyun was temporarily living with his family and it was not a pretty sight. It irritated him to see his father care more about the well-being of the company and not his children. Soo Hyun wished he could just leave everything behind and go meet his wife, but things had to change now or else they never would. Their father could say whatever he wanted but in the end Soo Hyun would get his way.

“Father, this is serious alright? I need your help with the donation process. I’ve done it with other companies, but never one as big as this one. I know you don’t approve of my ways, but this is for the better. If the people of this nation see us as a benefit to society and not a tyrannical corporation that treats their company like slaves, then we will receive more recognition,” Soo Hyun reasoned. To him, the people he worked for and the people that worked for him were the most important. In his mind, the money was just a bonus. “Please, just approve of my methods just once. I promise you the company will not fall.”

“Insolent whelp… I have no choice rather than to do what you say. Those stockholders have done nothing but drive me up a wall lately. At least your wild and outrageous policies will give them a thing or two to think about,” the older man sneered. Although the former president of the company didn’t enjoy his son's way of doing things, they both had a common enemy. The stockholders had always been a pain in his side and he was more than happy to see them be harassed by his son. “What do you need help with?”

“Well, I’m trying to help a young man go to a very expensive university. I know it sounds stupid to you, but this man is a genius. It would be a shame if he weren’t able to go to this university just because of money issues,” Soo Hyun explained. He tried his hardest to avoid the topic of his sister’s boyfriend. He was sure the irritable man would throw a tantrum if he knew who the scholarship was for. “I need help disguising my donation as a scholarship. I don’t want him to know that it was our company that gave him the money.”

“Just give me the paper’s you have so far and I will look into it,” the leader of the Seo family grunted. “I won’t fill them out but I will do enough to get you started.”

“Father, I have to go see something about the new project site so I can’t stay any longer. I’m sorry that I’m leaving you through dinnertime but this is urgent. I left the paperwork in the office in the file cabinet labeled ‘donations’ so just look for it in there. It is a green folder with a small stack of papers in it. Excuse me father,” Soo Hyun politely excused himself. Even though Soo Hyun had a great deal of resentment for the man that brought him into the world, he was still a very polite person. He wouldn’t drop himself to his father’s level out of anger.

“Ungrateful son…” grumbled the middle-aged man as he walked towards his office. It almost hurt his pride to listen to someone that he considered inferior, but he couldn’t disobey. He knew Soo Hyun could turn the tables on him whenever he wanted. In order to stay on his son’s good side, he had to obey. After reluctantly making his way towards the file cabinet, he was met with a rather unpleasant surprise. “Jung Yonghwa huh?” Seohyun’s father almost laughed once he saw who Soo Hyun was planning to give money too.

“Yobuseyo?” Soo Hyun answered from his phone. “Is something the matter father? I can turn around and go back. I’m only a few minutes away.”

“Ani, that’s fine. Listen, I think this will be a little complicated, so let me do everything. I’ll be sure to give you all the paperwork ready to file as soon as I finish it.”

“Thank you father. I appreciate it. Is that all?

“Yes, that’s all.” The evil man chuckled as he flipped through the paperwork in his hands. Soo Hyun didn’t play and he knew that. “Jung Yonghwa, don’t worry, you’ll get to go to the university you want. Just wait and see.” The man diligently filed all the paperwork without so much as a grumble. He hated Yonghwa for taking his daughter from him, but he knew how to get revenge. Someone like Yonghwa held a lot of pride and he knew that he could exploit it. Soon enough the small packet of papers was complete and there was no problem except for one extra paper.

 

Please pass this onto Jung Yonghwa in the event that he asks about the scholarship:

 

Hello Jung Yonghwa-shi, this is your benefactor speaking. It is a small world isn’t it? Well, you’ve done what I thought you would never accomplish. Getting into the University of Tokyo is no small feat. I applaud your efforts for being able to go to such a prestigious university. If you’re able to go there it’s because of my daughter Seohyun. She asked me to give you this money and disguise it as a scholarship. Seohyun came to beg me to give you the money so you could disappear. Just when Seung Ri was sent to jail, my daughter finally repented and saw the error of your ways. Take this money and never come back to us. You are a prideful man and Seohyun knows this. Knowing this, she asked me to give you this money in order to get you away from her. She never really loved a piece of trash like you and she realized money is more important in her life. If she really loved you, she would beg you to stay and not let you go. Does this make sense to you? I hope you can take this as a sign to go away. Seohyun was too embarrassed to tell you this in person so she had to resort to this. If you don’t believe me, then just ask her yourself after you read this letter. I wish you the best in your career.

 

It would be just as easy for the malevolent father to just not file the paperwork, but Soo Hyun would just end up doing it eventually. He hoped that Yonghwa fell for this letter, but it didn’t matter anymore. If he did fall, good for him. If he didn’t fall, then he would just have to think up another way to break up his daughter and her boyfriend. “Well, now that they’re going to be apart for at least four years, I think it’s time for me to step into the sidelines,” he quietly told himself while sealing the documents.  He figured that the distance and the letter he wrote would be enough to get Yonghwa away from his daughter. After all, if he interfered directly, Soo Hyun would surely step in and complicate matters more. “Yonghwa, I wish you the best in Tokyo. I truly do.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hey, how was work?” Seohyun quietly asked the boy that had just walked into the apartment. Soo Hyun had already called her and gave her the go for telling Yonghwa. It would be awkward for her to start the conversation and get onto that topic, but it was now or never. “If you’re not too tired, can we talk about something?”

“Yeah, sure. I have something to tell you too. I think I’ll go first though if you don’t mind.” Both teens could see that the conversation ahead of them would be a hard one. A gloomy atmosphere descended upon them, only making the conversation harder to begin. “Seohyun, don’t you find it weird that you haven’t found out about your test results?”

“Yeah, I kind of do,” Seohyun responded. “Yonghwa, I think we both have to stop lying to ourselves and each other now. I know why I didn’t get the letter. You have it with you don’t you? I know everything already, so let’s not beat around the bush. “Yonghwa stared at her with a surprised face, but he supposed this was bound to happen sooner or later.

“I’m sorry I lied to you Seohyun,” he apologized quietly. “I know we promised to not lie to each other, but I had to straighten out a few things first. I really did plan on telling you about the situation, but it got harder and harder as time went by.”

“Don’t worry about it; I’m not mad at you for doing that. Thanks for looking out for me. I would have been really upset if I had found out a while back. Is there anything else you want to tell me?” Seohyun inquired. She already knew what he was going to say, but she had to make sure. Yonghwa gulped loudly and braced himself for the storm to come.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but we aren’t going to Seoul National University together. I won’t be there, but you will be. Here, I want you to have this.” Yonghwa pulled out an envelope with the emblem of the school they had wanted to go to since they were children. “I talked to the dean of admissions today. I tried to convince him for hours, but I finally got him to crack. As of today you’re now a student at Seoul National University.”

“You’re an idiot,” Seohyun stated dryly. “You’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met in the world. I don’t even know if it’s possible for someone to be as stupid as you. Yonghwa, I don’t even understand how you can be so dumb.” Seohyun noticed how Yonghwa bowed his head down in shame at her insults, yet she had a smile on her face. “Thanks for being such a .”

“What?”

“I knew all about this already. I knew you were planning on giving up your spot to me. Don’t feel bad about it, I really appreciate this gesture. In fact I feel even worse for letting you do this for me. It might seem like I’m trying to take your spot, but that’s not it. Yonghwa, thanks for this.” Seohyun closed the gap between them on the couch and brought him into a tight hug.

“You’re not mad? You’re not going to try to stop me from giving up the spot?” Yonghwa asked in surprise. “Did you eat something bad? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m not. Here, I want you to have this.” Seohyun brought out an envelope of her own and handed it over to him. “I know you’re going to get mad at Min Jung, but please don’t. She knew you were going to do something stupid like this and got this ready for us.” Yonghwa opened up the envelope and was left speechless by the contents inside. “Is it that much of a surprise?”

“How did you and Min Jung do this?”

“Min Jung’s dad managed to put in your application past the due date. Since he’s the director of the hospital there, he’s got quite a bit of influence. They saw your perfect score for Seoul National University’s exam, and they let you in. Just so you know, you got in fair and square. There was no partiality involved in this decision,” Seohyun assured him.

“Freakin Min Jung…” Yonghwa growled. “I told her not to get involved with this mess. I guess my threats fell on deaf ears. Seohyun I really appreciate you guys worry about me but what the hell am I going to do with this letter? I know I said if I could go there I would, but I don’t have the money.” Seohyun smiled once more and brought out yet another envelope. Soo Hyun had already got everything for the ‘scholarship’ ready, yet they didn’t know of their father’s letter. Luckily, the letter wasn’t amongst the papers that Seohyun had at the moment.

“That contains a scholarship the school gives out to a few international students each year. You can check all the details on that paper I gave you. Min Jung and I didn’t give you a single cent of money,” Seohyun lied. “You know I wouldn’t be caught dead asking my father for money. You believe me right?” If Seohyun knew her dad had a plan, she wouldn’t have lied to Yonghwa.

“Yeah, I believe it. Well, this whole situation is kind of unbelievable, but still. I don’t know what I would do without you or that little gangster that lives around here,” Yonghwa admitted. Seohyun’s smile grew ten times brighter when he finally came to terms with the situation. Both of them felt that it would be a long fight to get the conversation out of the way, but it went by relatively smoothly.

“Are you sure you want this Yonghwa? I really wanted to go to Seoul National University together, but I don’t think that will be possible. I know I’m nobody to stop you, but I really wish we could find a way out of this.”

“If there was another way out of this I would have already found it. I’m using this as a last resort, so there’s really nothing else we can do about this mess. I’m sorry I was being so stupid. I don’t know why I was just going to give my spot away to you without having a plan. I’m glad that you and Min Jung were looking out for me or else I would be screwed,” Yonghwa thanked sincerely.

“Oh I really haven’t done anything. All the thanks should go to Min Jung,” Seohyun lied once more. “So, graduation is in two weeks. Yonghwa, I don’t want to lose you. Why don’t we just forget about universities and colleges and just go live in the jungle somewhere. We could totally go live at that spot that you brought me to on our first date.” Yonghwa burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter at her suggestion.

“You’re crazy. I’m not going to go out to some jungle and live like a caveman,” Yonghwa mocked through laughter. “You say the craziest things sometimes you know that.”

“Yonghwa, it was a joke. Stop laughing because it wasn’t that funny.” Ignoring his girlfriend’s requests, Yonghwa kept on doing what he was told to stop doing. “Yah! You won’t shut up?” A fist made its way to make contact with Yonghwa’s arm in order to get his attention. “I thought we were going to have a serious conversation here.”

“Arasso, I’ll stop. Seohyun, I know it will be hard, but we have to go through with this. I can’t take your dream of going to that university away. It would hurt me to think that I did that to you. I know it can’t be helped, but I wouldn’t help but feeling sorry every time I thought about it,” Yonghwa confessed. “We just have to be strong and get through this. I mean, it’s only going to be four years right?”

“Only four years..?” Seohyun asked sarcastically. “You must not like me as much as you say you do. How can you ever bear not seeing each other for four entire years? Do you know how much time we could spend together if we had four years? I’m a little disappointed in your comment.”

“You’re such a girl,” Yonghwa groaned. “I was kidding. I know it will be a tough four years, but we have to stay strong right? If we go into this thinking positively, then there’s nothing that we can’t get through. It’s kind of weird for me to be thinking positively about something, but we need to do that in this case.”

“Are you really sure we can last four years without seeing each other?”  Seohyun hesitantly asked. “We’re pretty close, but it’s still really hard to keep that up. With all that distance separating us and with all the new people around, it will be really tough. We need to be absolutely sure we want to do this. If we screw up even the slightest, it’s game over.”

“Seohyun, I trust you enough to wait four years for me. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“Well, yeah I do. I’m not doubting that we can’t stay loyal to each other. I know you would never leave me for someone else, but distance does terrible things to a relationship. Most long distance couples end up in ruins after the first few moments. I would hate to see that happen,” Seohyun explained. In truth, both were very worried about the state of their relationship. They were a couple that was practically already married, but distance was a ruthless master of breaking couples up. If they weren’t completely ready for what was to come, they would surely end up alone.

“It’s not like I’m moving to the other side of the world you know,” Yonghwa pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. “Japan is just under two hours away on plane. I’ll be right across the ocean from you, it’s not that far. We have the internet, phones, mail, and thousands of other ways to communicate. I’m sure we will be okay Seohyun.” While she really believed that they would be okay, there was a little doubt in her mind about the whole situation.

“Let’s just forget about that and deal with it when the time comes. For now, we should just enjoy the two weeks we have left together. I really wish I could stop time and stay here with you forever.”

“What do you mean two weeks?” the confused girl asked. “We have the whole summer to be together. School doesn’t start until August doesn’t it?”

“Um, not according to this paper it doesn’t. It says here that my classes begin a few days after graduation. I don’t know why Min Jung thought it was a good idea to sign me up so early, but I can’t complain,” Yonghwa responded. Seohyun snatched the paper out of his hands and tried to make sense of the Japanese writing on the note. Sure enough, she found a date a little under three weeks away indicating that Yonghwa would be leaving much sooner than she thought.

“Oh my god! We have only two weeks left with each other?!”

“Calm down. We will make sure these are the best two weeks of our lives. Once graduation rolls around, we will deal with this school stuff. Can we just forget about this and pretend it’s not happening. I would rather have fun with you these last few days than sit around and complain,” Yonghwa suggested. Seohyun nodded weakly in agreement, but was still relatively upset. It was bad enough he was leaving for four years, now he was even deprived of his summer.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Yonghwa, get over here!” Seohyun whispered loudly. “My dad is here and he will see you if you’re out in the open like that.” Seohyun was currently trying to pull her stubborn boyfriend amongst the crowd of students wearing their caps and gowns.

 After spending a lovely two weeks together, graduation day had finally come. Everyone had been waiting for this moment for more than ten years of their lives. Finally they would escape the death trap that was grade school and enter the real world. Some students would go into the workforce, some would go to a university, and some would go the army. No matter what their paths were, everyone was awaiting the future eagerly. Only Seohyun and Yonghwa dreaded what the future had in store for them. They were each going to the most prestigious schools in Asia, but none of that mattered if they weren’t together.

“Seohyun, I’m not afraid of your dad. He can’t do anything in front of so many people. Just get out of that crowd,” Yonghwa ordered while pulling her out. “Ugh, when are you going to grow a spine and stand up to him?”

“Hey, I’ve done it quite a few times already. I’m just afraid of him ruining our graduation with his prideful attitude. I would rather not ruin the last moment of our high school lives,” Seohyun pointed out. “If you want to get into a fight with him, you can. By the way, is umma coming to this?”

“Umma? Oh you mean my mom? Yeah, she should be around here somewhere. I’ll find her once the ceremony is over.” Yonghwa looked around to see if he could spot Seohyun’s father anywhere. He had only met him once, but he remembred his face perfectly. Since today was the last day he would get to see him in a really long time, he supposed it was only right that he greeted him as Seohyun’s boyfriend.

“Aish, I wish she had been here earlier. I really want to see her again.”

“Students!” Shi seonsaeng yelled through a microphone. “I know you are all excited about graduation, but please sit down. We will all leave the cafeteria in a few minutes to go to the auditorium. Once we begin to leave everyone will need to be in formation just like we practiced.” The giant mob of excited students took their places in the cafeteria and began to quiet down. Shi seonseang was not someone to mess with, even if they were never going to see her again. Yonghwa looked over at Seohyun with a smile on his face. Since he was the valedictorian, he would be giving a speech as a representative of the school. With Seohyun being second in line to being the top student, she would also be giving a speech.  If they hadn’t been the smartest people in the school, they would be sitting on opposite sides of the room at that moment.

“It’s an honor to be sitting next to you Oh Great Mr. Valedictorian sir,” Seohyun joked. “It really is a huge honor.”

“Shut up, you know I hate this kind of attention. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even be sitting here right now. Principal Kang wouldn’t leave me alone about this matter and I had to give in. I really don’t feel like giving any sort of speeches,” Yonghwa groaned. “I wonder why everything has to be so troublesome…”

“Everything is troublesome or a drag to you. Can you just cheer up and get ready to give your speech? I don’t want to be known as the girlfriend of the guy who screwed up on graduation. You know that stuff haunts you for life,” Seohyun teased. “It looks like Shi seonsaeng is ready to move us so stop being such a sourpuss.”

“Everyone! Start walking into the auditorium. Anyone who messes up the formation will not be receiving a diploma. Now get your butts down there!” yelled the teacher that had almost ruined a few people’s lives. Slowly, the now graduating seniors began their trek towards the last moment they would spend inside the place that was their second home for four years. As they entered the room, the crowd of parents went wild with cheers and applause. Flashes lit up the room when thousands of pictures of their children were snapped.

“Welcome everyone to the 2010 Daewon Preparatory High School graduation. I am the principal of this fine establishment, Kang Oh Hyuk. It is my pleasure to present these students in front of us with the diplomas they have earned at this school. For some, this has been a hard road, and for others it has been an easy one. Nevertheless, every single one of these students deserves a round of applause for making it to this point of their lives.” A thunderous applause rang through the auditorium as Principal Kang ended his small introductory speech. “In response to this great occasion, we invite our top student to come give his final words. Everyone please welcome University of Tokyo future student, our valedictorian, Jung Yonghwa.”

As usual, the snobbiness of rich people never failed to amaze Yonghwa. As none of the parents present approved of having such a poor student be the leader of the graduation ceremony, they all refused to clap for him. Had he been someone like Uee or Seung Ri, he would have received applause loud enough to knock down the building. As he made his way to the stage, an awkward silence descended upon the spectators. Luckily, someone amongst the students stood up and began to clap. His savior was none other than the girl he had spent almost six months in the same house. Soon enough, all his fellow peers stood up and began to clap for him. The parents, forced to follow the lead, began to clap as well.

“Welcome to this joyous occasion. Although we got off to a rough start, I would love for all of you to leave with the same happiness I feel right now. First let me introduce myself. As many of you may know, my name is Jung Yonghwa,” the proud valedictorian began. “Considering the lack of applause I received from you parents, you must all know that I come from a world that is so unlike yours. From the beginning I come from a background that prevents me from even enjoying the pleasures that you all have. However, I am not ashamed of where I come from. At first when I came here, I resented every single one of you. I abhorred the rich and the way they spent their lives frivolously, without any care for this world.

“Yah, what’s Yonghwa doing?” Yoona whispered to Seohyun. “He’s going to get himself killed up there. Why is he saying all that bad stuff?”

“Just trust him Yoona,” Seohyun assured her friend.

“I would wake up every single day and dread coming to this school. There was nothing of worth in this school for me. The only reason my feet were able to drag me here, was because I knew I had to use this institution to further my goals. People were just tools to be used to get to the place I wanted to be in the future,” he continued. The audience grumbled and whispered loudly as if asking themselves why he was insulting them in his speech. Yonghwa could tell what they were saying, but he had no intentions of giving up his speech now. “However, I found someone that opened my eyes. That person… I owe that person my life. If it weren’t for her, I would still be lost in that darkness. I used to think I was smart enough to see things clearly without any problem, but she proved me wrong. That person could see farther than I could and pulled me out of that darkness.”

“Yah! Get off the stage you loser!” yelled an angry parent. “We don’t need any street dogs like you tarnishing our name.”

“That is exactly what I am talking about,” Yonghwa chuckled. “You people are enough to drive someone up a wall. However, I will change all of that. This school was something terrible before I came here, but I came to realize that it’s not really like that. People aren’t evil, they aren’t just tools. Everyone here has a heart and soul, regardless of how bad they are. The people at this school made me open my eyes and see people for what they really are. Would you like to know what is the most important thing I’ve learned at this school?” Yonghwa made a pause and looked around the seated adults in the room. “It wasn’t how to solve calculus problems. Learning how the human brain works wasn’t it either. It was learning the meaning of what it meant to be a friend.”

Almost immediately, the parents seated in the room began to quiet down. “Woah, I had no idea Yonghwa could give such a big speech,” Hara whispered amongst her neighbors.” Every student sitting in the auditorium had a smile on their face. Even though most of them had been divided until recently, they greatly appreciated the words Yonghwa was giving them.

“I also learned one more very important thing. Rich or poor. Strong or weak. Beautiful or ugly. Nerd or jock. Smart or dumb… no matter what kind of person someone is, they’re all human beings. We aren’t all perfect, but we can all work towards that. Regardless of what kind of person you are, you can do anything through perseverance. I didn’t get to where I am because of luck. I worked hard to get here. I don’t care if any of you look down on me, because that doesn’t matter to me,” Yonghwa affirmed strongly.

 “I make my own path, even if you all are here to put obstacles in my way. I will break down any walls you put in my way. You all have money? Well, that’s just great for you. I will show you all that even the lowliest of street dwellers can become as great as any emperor this country has seen, I swear it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think we have to get on with the ceremomy.” Nobody in the room had the courage to let out even a breath of air. Yonghwa’s words had left everyone speechless, even the arrogant snobs in the back. Eventuallly, Seohyun began the applause once more, only this time, the entire room joined in. After so much discrimination, Yonghwa had finally gained the approval of the people he once hated.

“Thank you Yonghwa, your words are strong and your heart is true. I’m sure you will do well in representing our great school at the University of Tokyo,” Principal Kang thanked in appreciation. “Now we have another speech from yet another one of the great minds in this school. Will Miss Seo Joohyun make her way up to the stage?” Yonghwa shot her a reassuring glance before letting his girlfriend get ready to give her speech.

“Well, I didn’t know Yonghwa was going to give such a powerful speech. Had I known that, I would have prepared a better one,” Seohyun shyly admitted, eliciting a few giggles from the audience. “All along my career at this high school, I was pitted against someone who claimed to be my rival. We clashed in absolutely everything, yet I continued the fight. I considered myself to be the better person in the argument, but in the end, I was just as guilty as she was. While my stay here I accomplished something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It wasn’t scoring a top score or becoming class president. It was nothing like that. What I accomplished here, was forgiveness. Had I not come to this school, I would have never been able to do such a thing.

“Just like Yonghwa, I used to believe this school was nothing but trouble. After so many hardships, I was finally able to discover what was truly important in life. The academics were just a bonus. Without all the wonderful students we have here, this school would be nothing. I would like to thank each and every single person present here. You truly are the best of the best, regardless of who you are. Just as Yonghwa said, everyone here is equal. Even if I didn’t know you, I bet you helped me at some point in my stay here, and I thank you for that. Congratulations Class of 2010, we did it. I know I couldn’t have done it without you all, and you probably feel the same way. Tomorrow when we wake up, we won’t be kids anymore. Let’s show the world what capable adults we can be and take the whole planet by storm. Who’s with me!?”

“Seohyun! Seohyun! Seohyun! Seohyun! Seohyun!” chanted the group of her peers. Just as Yonghwa had received a thunderous applause, so was the girl on stage.

“Thank you Miss Seo Joohyun. We will all be sure to take your words to heart as well as Yonghwa’s,” Principal Kang stated proudly. “Now, I am proud to present each and every student with their diplomas. Regardless of how hard they worked, they have all put in sufficient effort to earn this.” One by one, names were called in alphabetical order. It seemed like it would be forever until everyone to get theirs, but eventually each student held the paper that declared they were now part of the real world.

“I’ve watched many of these students grow academically, socially, physically, and spiritually over these past few years. In all my ten years of being principal here, I have yet to find such fiery and talented students. It is a shame I will not be in the presence of such a group in years to come,” Principal Kang lamented. “However, it is no longer my job to guide these students. These students will now guide themselves through this dark world of ours. Our school gave these angels the wings they need to fly, now they must fly alone and light up even the darkest corners of the Earth. Thank you all for the wonderful years you all have given me. I have no children of my own, but I will proudly consider you all mine if you will allow me to. I would be the proudest parent in all of history to have students such as you as my children. Although you all had problems getting along at first, you all overcame those obstacles and became a single unit of success. Now, it’s time for me to let you go. Thank you Class of 2010 and may you all be a success in the real world!”

With that, the entirety of the senior class was broken away from the chains that bound them to Daewon High School. They would no longer be prisoners to the social hell created by the selfish hearts of teenagers. Now they would shape their own destinies and not let anyone stop them from achieving their goals. The caps on their heads flew up in the air, just as they would soon enough. However, there was one difference. The caps flew into the air, but came plummeting down as they succumbed to gravity. The students on the other hand, would rise and continue to rise with no intentions of letting anything bring them down.

 

 

Author’s Note: Noooooooooo graduation!!! Blah, this chapter wasn’t too YongSeo-ish as I promised but I’ll leave that for next chapter. Yonghwa will be leaving soon, so they have to spend their last day together. Let the fluff begin. I still have no ideas as to what to write for that, so I apologize in advance if it doesn’t live up to the fluff I had in the forest chapter. I think I will fuse the Yonghwa-leaving chapter and this next chapter together into one super chapter. I’m guessing around 7000-8000 words this time, so be a little patient for it. I haven't been in a writing mood lately so it will be a little hard. Seohyun’s dad left that letter, but it won’t become a problem till later, so don’t worry about him for a while. Yonghwa won’t see that letter any time soon. Anyways, hope to see you guys soon.

As I don't know if they have valedictorians in other countries, I guess I should explain what that is. Basically it's just the person who is at the top of the class. I think that's obvious, but I know some poeple may not have heard the word before. Also, this is sort of based on an American graduation. I assume it's the same in most countries so my apologies if it isn't.

 

Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YONGHWA!!!!