Chapter Text
January 5th, Myung Jaehyun sat at his desk, the clicking of his mouse and keyboard the only noises in the room.
Review & Submit, Pay Now, Confirm Payment…
The final submit button appeared, and Jaehyun took a deep breath.
Submit .
Confetti exploded on his screen, words of congratulations appeared. Jaehyun sunk back in his chair, he was done, the last university application submitted.
Now, all there is to do is wait.
“Bye Jaehyun! Have a nice day!”
“Bye!” Jaehyun waved to a columnist in the school newspaper he was talking to. Newspaper club meeting just ended, and as chief editor, Jaehyun was the last to leave the club room. “Alright, Leehan, let’s go–”
Jaehyun cut off at the sight of Taesan beside Leehan, who had been waiting for Jaehyun to go to the cafeteria together. Leehan simply nodded, and started a conversation about the chemistry lab they had this morning. Taesan stayed silent, walking along them. It put Jaehyun on edge, why had Taesan randomly come to pick them up from the club meeting?
Woonhak, Riwoo, and Sungho were already at their usual table waiting for them, and Jaehyun took his usual seat between Woonhak and Sungho.
“Happy March guys!” Woonhak announced.
“We all know what that means,” Taesan said dryly.
“It’s decisions month,” Riwoo groaned.
“26 days until Ivy Day,” Jaehyun agreed grimly.
March, the month where all the universities start releasing their decisions. Jaehyun’s daily routine now consisted of scrolling r/ApplyingToCollege on Reddit and reading shitposts on Wednesdays.
Woonhak sighed, “I’m so jealous of Sungho.”
They all turned to the said boy. Sungho was accepted early into his first choice university, so he’s been free from the stress of university applications since December. The rest of them were all still waiting on their decisions to come in.
As students of KOZ Academy, a school widely regarded as practically a feeder school for the elite universities of the country, the pressure of university applications was high for all seniors. Every year dozens of KOZ students attend top universities, and this year was expected to be no different. And as the student council president, Jaehyun had the highest of expectations for himself.
Student council president, newspaper chief editor, piles of writing competition awards he’s won over the years…Jaehyun was the academy’s resident golden child. The epitome of a perfect student. The highest GPA of everyone in their grade in freshman and sophomore years.
As for junior year…
Jaeyun’s gaze drifted to a certain Han Taesan sitting diagonally from him, calmly sipping his drink. Jaehyun didn’t know when it started, but at some point through the years, he and Taesan distinguished themselves from the rest of their peers. The two of them were the top of their year, always ranking first and second for the end of year awards, and rivaling each other even in their extracurriculars. While Jaehyun was applauded for his writing talent, Tasesan busied himself with winning math competitions, even getting invited to the prestigious national training camp. Hell, they were the current student council president and vice president.
It turned into a competition between the two, racing to be the best in their year. Lunchtime was often filled with arguments of the most recent assignments, disagreements about a student council policy, or taunting words about an upcoming test. By their senior year, tensions were at an all time high due to university applications, but the rest of their friends no longer bat an eye at any of their fights.
Jaehyun was glad that the only class they shared this semester was AP Language, which meant he didn’t have to hear Taesan’s annoying voice and even worse opinions in the rest of his classes. It was just a pity that it happened to be AP Lang, a class Jaehyun tended to enjoy. The two sat at the same table group, but rarely spoke to each other unless to bicker about one of the inclass discussions. Other times, Jaehyun either chatted with other friends or focused on writing his essays during work periods. Today, Taesan walked into class behind Jaehyun, and surprisingly sat down right beside the other boy.
Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, “Your seat is over there.”
Taesan waved off the comment, “It’s March 1st.”
“I’m capable of reading the calendar.”
“Yes but it’s March 1st .”
Jaehyun stared blankly at the other boy, why was he acting even weirder than normal? “It certainly is the first day of the third month of the year.”
Taesan sighed exasperatedly, “Myung Jaehyun, it’s valedictorian announcement day.”
Oh.
Oh.
Right. Every year on March 1st, the principal comes onto the PA system at the end of the school day and announces the valedictorian of the graduating class. AP Lang was the last period of the day, meaning in less than an hour, the valedictorian and salutatorian would be announced. Or, Jaehyun and Tasesan’s competition would finally come to an end, first place decided for good.
So that’s why Taesan had been acting weird all day.
“Better start writing that salutatorian speech,” Taesan smirked when he saw the realization click within Jaehyun.
“Don’t get too cocky now,” Jaehyun rolled his eyes, “You might not even be selected at all.”
The other boy scoffed, “Yeah right, as if that’s possible.”
With all the excitement of university decisions in the coming month, valedictorian had temporarily slipped Jaehyun’s mind. But now that Taesan reminded him, it was all he could think about for the remainder of the period. Their senior year first term grades had already been released, and Jaehyun had done pretty well in his opinion, he only hoped that Taesan with all his advanced math courses wouldn’t outweigh his GPA. By the end of the period, the word count of the essay opened on Jaehyun’s screen barely increased, and his leg was bouncing with nerves underneath the table.
Five minutes before the final bell was supposed to ring, the PA system crackled to life. The principal’s voice rang through the classrooms and halls, greeting the student body and giving a brief introduction about being the valedictorian. Jaehyun’s heartbeat increased with each additional sentence that came out of the principal, if only he could just say the name already.
“The staff committee along with myself reviewed dozens of top students in the year, spending time verifying each and every grade and accomplishment,” a pause, causing more jittering from Jaehyun. Taesan beside him was tapping his fingers against the desk.
“The excellence of each graduating class continues to impress me, and although many of you achieved success throughout the years, only two will be selected as valedictorian and salutatorian, receiving the honour of delivering the opening and closing speeches at the commencement ceremony.”
Yes yes everyone knows what a valedictorian and salutatorian are, can they just announce the name already.
“While reviewing the top students of this year’s class, the committee and I very quickly agreed on who the two selected students will be.”
Myung Jaehyun and Han Taesan.
“But then we encountered a problem. And while we have full confidence that either of the two students will present a well written speech suitable for that of a valedictorian, how do we decide when they are seemingly tied for first?”
What?
“Finally, after multiple meetings and discussions with the board, we have finally reached a decision. Please, join me in congratulating…”
Jaehyun’s heart leaped to his throat.
“Myung Jaehyun and Han Taesan in becoming co-valedictorians!”
Huh?
Someone in the class whistled, and a round of applause started for the two. Jaehyun was too dumbfounded to react, instead turning to Taesan beside him. The other boy was already looking at him, looking equally confused. The principal droned on about what an honour it is to be selected to speak at commencement, but Jaehyun tuned him out, instead mind racing about being co-valedictorian.
How would that even work? Do they deliver the speeches together chanting in sync?
When the bell rang, Jaehyun didn’t immediately follow the rest of his classmates in rushing out the door. He packed his bag slowly, still bewildered from the announcement.
“So, co-valedictorians?” Taesan stood beside him, backpack slung over one shoulder.
“Co-valedictorians,” Jaehyun repeated, “Who would've thought you would finally catch up to me?”
“Don’t know what they saw in you to put you on par with me but it is what it is,” Taesan shrugged, causing Jaehyun to shoot him a glare, “Let’s go, the others are waiting.”
It’s weird being in the same friend group as your biggest rival in school. After squabbling all day in classes, they still ate at the same table everyday and showed up to hangouts together. They also had a shared adopted child named Woonhak, who squealed with glee when he saw the two approaching.
“Jaehyun! Taesan! Co-valedictorians!” Woonhak ran straight into Jaehyun, wrapping him in a hug. Jaehyun laughed and hugged him back.
“Thank god the school let them tie, or else we’d never have heard the end of the gloating,” Riwoo commented.
“So are you two delivering the speeches together?” Leehan asked.
“I sincerely hope not,” Taesan muttered, while Jaehyun only shrugged.
“We’re proud of you guys, congrats!” Sungho patted both of them on the back, “Ice cream together to celebrate?”
“Yeah! Let’s go!” Woonhak was even more enthusiastic than both Taesan and Jaehyun.
Taesan doesn’t even like ice cream , Jaehyun thought. The said boy still went regardless, and ordered a smoothie before sitting down with them at a table.
Despite university applications being over, there were still assignments to complete and upcoming AP exams to study for. After all, they need to make sure their grades didn’t slip too much to get rescinded from whatever university they’ll commit to. Like most of the rest of them, Jaehyun pulled out his calculus homework, and started working his way through it. Meanwhile, Taesan was across the table casually making sketches in his sketchbook. Of course he had finished AP Calculus BC in sophomore year already and of course he’s done with their high school math courses. Of course he’s taking dual enrollment classes at a local community college instead just because he’s Han Taesan. Taesan raised his head at that exact moment, making eye contact with Jaehyun. Jaehyun immediately lowered his gaze and started scribbling about integrals in his notes.