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Jihoon is never new to public speaking. His name has been known as one of the best party hosts back in their college years, even some journalists wanted him to be a public speaker. The attention he's getting by speaking in front of a big crowd or on the massive stadium, is nothing compared to this moment he had been planning to do since he heard that his brother is finally getting married.
Standing in front of his old friends, college blockmates and family, Jihoon cleared his throat while holding the mic. His friends from the area where sound system is waves at him their thumbs, smiling. Jihoon nodded before looking at the familiar faces, finally speaking on the mic.
“Hey,” just like that, the attention is his to enjoy or to be nervous about. “I have something to say, I'm really happy to see you all tonight but can you all give me your ears for some minutes?”
Jihoon heard answers of approval, and some jokes. He looked at Jeongwoo's way and rose a brow attempting to joke back. “Oh, yes! Junkyu, you can tear your ear and lend it to me if you want.”
The room started to be noisy because of the laughs, before it tone down when Jihoon sighed in nervousness. They all stared at him while he waits for his words to be spoken, he have so many faces to stare at but chose to look at the some direction far from the mini stage.
Where a man wearing his black suit can be seen anticipating what he's about to say.
It made him feel relieved at some point, so he spome.
“I remembered how much I almost block every dream my parents wanted me to achieve at 7.” His eyes darted to his right where his family is smiling at him in their most sincere way.
“The ones I never even thought about when I looked up at the starry nights of my childhood, or even the ones I never prayed to be when the night falls.” He mutters on the mic, it echoes.
“I thought of being a teacher when I was 9,” he continues. “Dreamt to be a doctor at 11. Ended up reading things about Astronomy at 13. At 16, I realized math intrigues me so I thought of being an engineer. In my 19th year, I ran out of dreams because I saw how the world works. How I cannot be everything that I wanted to be if I don't work hard enough to achieve them, even grabbing the opportunities to be a successful son underlies a big uncertainty.”
It seems like the whole reception place has been drawn to his words, or is it because it's the first time they heard Jihoon talked in his serious tone? No one cares, anyway. They're so invested with the scene.
“I thought the world surrounding me was a changed one. A clone, or even a disguised one only to realize that I only have the freedom to hope back when I was in my teen days. That unfamiliarity and obliviousness is a certain blissful non-coincidental thing when you're a kid.” Looking to his left wherein his nieces waves at him before turning them the smiles they gave.
He cleared his throat, letting a heavy sigh before smiling nervously.
“Now, I'm 27. I have dreamt to be a doctor, an astronaut, teacher and even an engineer.”
“But at 19, I wanted to be good friend.” Finally, his eyes trailed back to the man across the room wearing his nervous smile when he saw Jihoon looked at him.
He remembered the time when he tries his best to change his behavior, and be good to anybody because of a certain boy from his college. When he was first year, right. First year.
“At 24, I chased everything just to be a happy partner,” the flashes of images comes across his face and saw his old self improving his self-growth just to have that one guy in his happiest days.
“At 26, I remembered how I wished to be a loving lover.”
The fountain inside their old school knows how many times he wished that he is enough for that man to celebrate his joyful days. Or greet everything with a bliss, together. Oh, how can he forget?
He let out another sigh before smiling brightly to the same direction.
“So, at 27, the only certain dream I'd probably wanted to live for the rest of my life is... to be that someone who can drive you home after a family reunion, Choi Hyunsuk.”
Eyes darted on the man sitting at the farthest right of the reception, whose eyes are widened when he heard his name mentioned by the man he's been with since his sophomore year in college. His black suit, and glowy earrings seemed to lose it's intimidating appearance when the mentioned man started to feel himself tearing up when Jihoon smiled at him.
Jihoon didn't take his eyes off the man, not minding the shock eyes and proud stares from their colleagues. “At 28, I want you to have my surname.”
Their eyes locked to each other's as they can feel the red strings of their love dancing in the wind, gracefully in love.
“At 30, I want to be the one to tuck you to sleep when I get home late,” he continues, being chuckling. “It's not like I'm gonna get home late always, Suk. I just want to watch you sleep, don't be upset, okay?”
The place were filled with laughs after Jihoon's remarks, making the smaller guy in suit laugh after hearing his man's giggles. He nodded before squinting his eyes jokingly.
“At 32—no, whenever you want, we can be anything at any age as long as we explore the unfamiliarity that comes along with bliss. We can be everything as long as we're together, in any age or for how many decades, cheesy as it may sound but name it.”
Jihoon paused, doe eyes staring back to the teary ones across the room.
“That's why, Choi Hyunsuk, I mentioned how unfamiliarity is a bliss, right?” The sigh were heard in the room and somehow made the guests laugh as well as Hyunsuk. Jihoon rolled his eyes jokingly before smiling at his man with his eyes forming crescents in its brightest.
Hyunsuk nods, smiling.
Jihoon spoke in joy.
“Are you willing to explore that unfamiliarity for the rest of our lives?”
Right. Cheesy as it may sound, Jihoon have already made his name when it comes to being cheesy, only for the guy named Choi Hyunsuk.
Because he's always the exception he'd never rue, drop, or anything that'll hurt the smaller man.
His smaller man.
So when he saw the man's face being a mess because of the happy tears strolling down his cheeks before nodding excitedly, it grew in Jihoon right in seconds.
He jumps up and down on the mini stage, making his friends laugh at his uncontrollable antics everytime he's happy. They just let them to have his happy moment be consumed with nothing but joyful tears, while running towards his man to hug him tightly.
“What is it again? Did I see a wrong gesture, Suk?”
“I said yes, idiot.”
Never knew that public-speaking will give him this moment of his life that'll he'd never hide inside his dungeon of memories just like he did when he wished at the fountain of their school 24, desperately waited outside Hyunsuk's house at 22, and ran a mile just to check his man if he got home safely.
Man, love is made known for him for a long time. He even dreamt of love, it was so pretty.
He looks at his man, and smiles.
But this is the first time it did really matter.
Look what love does to people. Scary.