bi | nomin

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 32 | ɢʀᴀᴅᴜᴀᴛɪɴɢ

Jeno pov :

"i'm sure it's gonna be okay" Jaemin said and patted Haechan's shoulder

"yeah just don't look at us" i said, making both of them laugh shortly

"and after all, it's just a single speech. it's not like everyone's gonna remember it for the rest of their lives or something"

Haechan sighed "i guess you're right but-"

"Haechan, it's your turn" one of the professors cut him off

He gulped and nodded before turning back to us.

"i'll go now. you two better not laugh" Haechan pointed a finger at me and Jaemin and we just nodded before pushing him away

I took Jaemin's hand into mine and smiled to him.

"we should go sit down" i said and he hummed as a yes

It was the day.

We would finally graduate.

We went to sit down to the front row and i kept holding Jaemin's hand in mine. I didn't care about the adults looking at us weirdly, i just glared at them and then turned back to Jaemin, smiling.

Haechan cleared his throat before stepping closer to the microphone. He tapped it softly, making sure it was on.

"hello everyone" Haechan started "um, first of all, i'm not really good at holding speeches but i still decided to do this. so please forgive me if i'm awkward or make any mistakes"

Quiet chuckles were heard from the audience and Haechan gulped before talking again.

"this year has been long. i'm sure everyone made a lot of memories and hopefully new friends" he said and i looked at Shotaro, giving him a quick smile while he did the same

"but here we are now, graduating. well, not all of us, but many people. it's crazy, really. i remember the first day in this school. i was just a little boy and i feel like we've all grown a lot since that time. both physically and mentally" Haechan continued "this moment feels scary and exciting at the same time. it feels like we're finally free, but that doesn't mean our lives are ending. we all still have a long road to go. come to think of it, most of us aren't even adults yet. we're kids"

I looked at Jaemin. His eyes were teary and he was just staring at Haechan, not noticing that i was looking at him.
I smiled to myself before turning my attention back to Haechan.

"i'm sure we've all learned a lot through these years we've spent here. i mean, i have learned a lot and i really hope you have too. i've made many new great friends and done some even dumb stuff with them" he said and eyed me and Jaemin for a second "some crazy stuff has happened to them and to me. some of them got into accidents, some fell in love and some of them moved away. but still, these years have been memorable and really meaningful to me. and i hope the next years will be too.
before i end this short speech, i want all of you to ask yourself a question. you don't have to tell the answer to anyone, just keep it in your heart and remember it.
okay, so, we all have some times we've failed at something. but now, think about it;
was it really a failure? or was it just something to learn about?"

Haechan stayed quiet for some time, letting everyone think about the question. After a while, he spoke again.

"alright, now, i hope you all realized that the failure wasn't actually a bad thing at all. we all learn new things almost every day and there's no way to learn them except by failing at first. and it's totally okay to fail many times, i promise you'll get whatever you want if you fail enough times. trust yourself" he said and stayed silent for a few seconds again "then, i hope everyone has an amazing summer, i'll miss you all but i really have to use the bathroom now"