- wanna one next door -

thirty five (fin)

- seojin pov -

end of the school year

We were all waiting backstage with our white gowns and square hats, anxiously awaiting the principal to call our names one by one. It was the day, graduation day, the day that we announce our future plans - what company we'd contract with, what university we'd attend, what other exciting adventures we would seek.

"Ready for this?" Woojin asked, as he grabbed my hand and smiled.

"More ready than ever! This is the day we worked so hard toward!" I jumped up and down and gave Woojin a big hug. I sighed, knowing that after today, or rather after the celebrations that conclude this time of the year, we wouldn't be able to see each other as often. The members who stayed next door would be moving out into their new dorm, and Wanna One together would be busy doing promotions, especially with their US tour coming up.

"I'm going to miss you, Yoon Seojin," Woojin said. I could feel tears forming behind my eyes and couldn't bear to let him go.

"I'm going to miss you, too..."

"Hey, Seojin!! Get going! They are waiting for you!" yelled Hyeyoung. I made eye contact with her and she saw the small droplets near my eyes. She sighed, "Come out soon, okay?"

We released our hug reluctantly, and Woojin pulled down my head and planted a small kiss on my forehead. "Let's go!"

"Good afternoon, everyone, my name is Hwang Chi Yeul and I am the principal of Curie Multi Arts High School. I am here to start the graduation ceremony for the Curie Multi Arts High School, Class of 2019. This class, in particular, is extremely talented and multi-faceted, with students specializing in all kinds of singing, dancing, and acting. You all are also part of this family, as you played a large part in who you came to support today. Thank you for all you do for these students. They would not be here without the support of their family." Everyone in the audience clapped. "Without further ado, we will begin the valedictorian message, delivered by none other than our class valedictorian, Yoon Seojin!"

I could hear clapping from every direction and the second floor, and even from backstage. I could hear my friends shouting my name from the crowd and Woojin whispering words of encouragement as I stepped out into the light and in front of the podium. From my gown, I took out a small folded piece of paper with an extremely rehearsed speech that I took forever to write.

"Hello, my name is Yoon Seojin, and I am honored to be here as the Class of 2019 valedictorian," I read off the paper. For some reason, what I wrote didn't capture what I wanted to deliver. I folded back the paper and put it away. "I wrote something, and it took me a long time to write, but I don't think it has the words that I want to deliver today." I could see Jihoon, Hyeyoung, and Woojin staring at me like I was crazy. I looked over, gave them a smile, took a deep breath, and...

"Today, I don't want to talk about how bright all our futures are or how successful we will be. That's something that we all know as common knowledge, I mean we are at Curie for goodness sake, we better be talented," some audience members chuckled. "I want to talk about all the things that brought each of us here today, not as a successful student, but as a bright, talented, and intellectual member of the community."

"Before this school year, I had no idea why I wanted to pursue arts. Sure, it was cool and it was something different. But other than my brother being a k-pop trainee and now idol, there was nothing going for me. I thought so many times to myself, do I even belong here? Why should I be here, despite there being so many talented singers in this country?"

"But this year, things changed. I developed a passion. I developed an urge, not to just get satisfaction from achieving goals, but fully enjoying the journey I take and the experience I have in the process of reaching them. Curie Multi-Arts High School is unlike any other school. Curie teaches us to inspire each other and bring a friend up when they're feeling down. Curie teaches us to focus on building our character and mentality so that once we go into the real world, we're ready to take on whatever challenges there are before us. Most importantly, Curie taught us to love. To love what we do, to love the art of learning, and to love each other."