hanbeean
is jiwoong graduating this year or no?

kjwng
Yes I am lol

gymbro6000
WHY DIDN'T U TELL US BRO WTF

kjwng
Lowkey I kind of forgot

taeraevision
JIWOONG

taeraevision
HOW DO U JUST FORGET

kjwng
Haven't experienced a graduation in a while

kjwng
Since I took a lot of time off before actually choosing to go to school again

fartmaster1000
OHHH THAT'S WHY UR 24

fartmaster1000
it was confusing me 🤕🤕

alvinthechipmunk
LMAO YUJIN

alvinthechipmunk
U COULD'VE JUST ASKED

fartmaster1000
STOP!!! i was scared to

die100
jiwoong is the last person u should be scared of

ihoardsnacks5
TRUE

ihoardsnacks5
when he gets mad at u he just calls u ur full name and that's it

kjwng
He's right

kjwng
You guys are annoying

kjwng
But you're endearingly annoying

kjwng
So I can't get mad at you 😣

gymbro6000
AWWWW

gymbro6000
love u jiwoong ❤️

gymbro6000
i hope u know i'm gonna scream when u graduate

hanbeean
are you trying to embarrass him 😭😭

taeraevision
NO we're just supportive

ihoardsnacks5
we'll be screaming at the top of our lungs ❤️

hanbeean
whatever you want i guess!

gymbro6000
i'm also preparing to scream for everyone's performances

hanbeean
okay but that's different because you're supposed to be screaming 😭

fartmaster1000
just say that ur no fun and go 😒😒😒

hanbeean
NO FUN???

hanbeean
i'm SO much fun

hanbeean
just you wait

hanbeean
i'll see you guys later

die100
damn

die100
u guys broke him

fartmaster1000
oopsies!!!

—

The final showcase was in about two hours by then, and everyone was starting to get ready. The dance, vocal, acting, instrumental, and art acts were all split into different dressing rooms for more efficiency; it didn't stop Gunwook and Gyuvin from migrating between rooms, though.

"Is it lonely here?" asked Gyuvin as he entered the art dressing room, eyeing Ricky as he tucked his shirt in.

Ricky nodded, reaching out to Gyuvin to hold his hands. "Yeah, I don't know anyone, to be honest."

"Can we kidnap you into our room or something?" suggested the younger with a laugh as he pulled Ricky into a hug, nuzzling his face in his lover's blonde hair.

Ricky chuckled, giving Gyuvin a squeeze. "Don't be stupid," he says, his grin audible through his words.

"Gyuvin," another voice says, causing him to jump out of Ricky's arms. Gyuvin turns around to see one of the art professors. "Stop wandering around and go get ready."

"Okay," Gyuvin says dejectedly. "I'll see you later," he adds, waving goodbye to Ricky before running off.

Gyuvin meets up with Gunwook, who was visiting the vocalist dressing room that was in the room next door.

"Dude," Gunwook said as he and Gyuvin walked down the hall. "That guy, Jay? His voice is so beautiful. Like an angel that descended from the heavens."

Gyuvin nods enthusiastically at his friend's comment. "For real!" he exclaims. "That team is no joke."

The dancers' dressing room was chaotic, to say the least. Keita, who was known for being pretty good at makeup, teamed up with Hanbin to get through as many people as they could.

"Gunwook, Gyuvin!" shouted Keita, eyes unmoving from Yujin's face as he blended out the younger's eyeshadow with his finger. "Sit down, please. We need to do your makeup next."

The dressing room for the vocalists was just as, if not more, intense. Most people were warming their voices up, so there was never going to be even a second of silence.

Taerae hummed softly as he carefully worked on Matthew's makeup. "I'm not that good at this, but I'm trying," he warns while drawing a small wing with eyeliner, eliciting a laugh from Matthew.

"As long as I don't look like the troll from under the bridge or something, then it's all good," Matthew replies, laughing harder once Taerae tries to stifle a giggle, having to stop due to his hand trembling.

Suddenly feeling a presence, Taerae turns to the side, noticing Jay, who was staring a little too intently at Matthew's face. "What is this?" Taerae asked, his gaze shifting from Jay, to Matthew, then to Jay again.

"Nothing," Jay said, a smile on his face. "I just wanted to see what you were up to."

Taerae frowned. "Well, come look later. I need to focus!" He shooed Jay away with his hand, him blowing a raspberry at Taerae as he walked away.

The instrumental, acting, and arts dressing rooms ended up merging due to the lack of people in each room, uniting Jiwoong, Ricky, and Hao.

Ricky, relieved, immediately rushed to Jiwoong's side, with Hao following soon after. "I've never been so happy to see you guys."

"Did you miss me that bad?" Jiwoong asked with a smile, nudging Ricky with his elbow.

Ricky made a face at the older, nudging him back but with more force. "Shut up, it was just awkward here 'cause I'm not friends with any painters."

"But shouldn't this be the time to make some?" Hao chimes in, receiving a nod of agreement from Jiwoong.

"No thanks," Ricky replied. "I don't need to."

"No," Hao says, grabbing Ricky by the wrist. "Come with me."

The three walk up to some random girl who was adding the most particular finishing touches to her painting with a thin brush.

"Hello!" Hao greets with a smile, causing the girl to turn around and look at him. "We think your painting is very pretty! What's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, thank you!" The girl smiles shyly. "I'm Jaehee."

Hao nods and gestures to Ricky. "This is Ricky, he's part of the painting department, but he doesn't have any friends from there, so here we are."

Jaehee laughs, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yeah, no, I get that. I don't have many friends, either." She pauses for a moment. "Ricky, I've seen you in class before, you're kind of hard to miss. I like your paintings!"

"What?" Ricky asks, surprised. He turns to Jiwoong, who encourages him to expand on the conversation. "Thanks, appreciate it."

By then, Hao and Jiwoong slowly distance themselves from the two, watching Ricky interact with another person as if they were two proud parents.

die100
i hope jiwoong and zhang hao DIE

alvinthechipmunk
omg what happened

alvinthechipmunk
this is the first time you've wished death upon them - taerae

hanbeean
why is taerae sending messages through you

alvinthechipmunk
he's doing seungeon's makeup so he's telling me what he wants to say ❤️

hanbeean
aw that's actually cute

kjwng
Ricky's being bitter because we made him socialize

kjwng
He's glaring at us from across the room as we speak

jjanghao
he made a friend guys!!!

ihoardsnacks5
omg

ihoardsnacks5
this is a milestone that should be celebrated ❤️

ihoardsnacks5
babe i'm coming over later

die100
ok

die100
u literally show up uninvited every time

jjanghao
u should invite ur new friend over!!

die100
SHE'S NOT MY FRIEND

die100
this is why i'm not talking to u or jiwoong .

gymbro6000
SHE⁉️⁉️⁉️

alvinthechipmunk
ricky's first time talking to a girl - taerae

die100
DOES TAERAE ALSO WANT TO DIE????

ihoardsnacks5
nvm this is not a milestone

ihoardsnacks5
STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!!

fartmaster1000
GUYS SHUT UP

fartmaster1000
WE'RE STARTING ‼️‼️

gymbro6000
OH SHIT BRO

hanbeean
good luck guys ❤️ i know you're gonna do amazing

alvinthechipmunk
FLY HIGH GUYS - TAERAE

kjwng
Break a leg!!

ihoardsnacks5
i hope nobody actually breaks something 🤕