Anyone But Him | JJK ✔️ (Completed)

Chapter 12

I zoned away throughout the whole of my father's speech.

When I'd came to my senses, my father was already concluding it. "...I look forward to the rest of the celebration, and I hope that Escomix Electrics will continue to flourish."

My father flashed another one of his toothy smiles as the crowd erupted into applause, Lisa clapping enthusiastically next to me and Mr. Jeon nodding approvingly.

"Now, before I end my speech, I would like to invite my daughter up onto the stage to give a short thank you speech too."

My heart nearly stopped when I heard what he'd said. Me... giving a speech? I gulped as all eyes turned on me. Lisa placed a hand on my shoulder encouragingly. Mr. Jeon clapped my back.

I swallowed as my father beckoned me onto stage with his hand. "Chaewon?"

The crowd cheered. "Yes, yes, I'm coming," I said nervously, standing up with much difficulty. Since when did he mention I'd be giving a speech too?

My father passed me the mic. "Just do your best. Chaewon. Everybody likes you, so they would not think too poorly of you even if you mess up. But try not to..." he said in a hushed voice so that no one would hear.

I hesitated for a while before opening my mouth to speak. "I am thankful to see all the interested guests here. I am also joyous on my father's behalf that the company succeeded until its fifth anniversary, and it's mostly due to your support. I hope the company will continue to grow and reach its peak soon. Thank you."

There was no less applause after my short and extemporaneous speech. Lisa gave me a pat on the back in congratulations. "Well done, Chaewon. You managed to do a speech completely unrehearsed!"

I shrugged. "It's nothing to boast about. That was just luck." I looked down at my hands.

"You are a humble and good-natured young lady, Chaewon. I just wish my son was like you too." Mr. Jeon gave me a sad smile, giving me a glance and then looking back at the stage. "Maybe..." He stroked his chin, evidently thinking something over.

I didn't press, thinking it wasn't my place to do so. "I'm just... me. There's nothing special about me. I'm just one of the billions of seventeen-year-old girls in the world."

Mr. Jeon's gaze returned back to me. "You are seventeen? My son is, too!" He laughed merrily, and I had to admit, I was relieved to have made someone laugh.

Now that I thought about it, Jungkook is seventeen, too, and his surname is also Jeon, which is the same as Mr. Jeon's! Could there be any chance that Mr. Jeon is Jungkook's father?

Aniyo, definitely not. There were too many people in Korea with the surname Jeon. The world is simply too big, and I couldn't assume things without prove first.

Forcing the thought into a mental box labelled For worrying later, I crossed my arms and leaned back as the emcee started talking about the contents of the evening.

***

I caught sight of my father walking down the stairs of the stage at the side.

"You did good, Chaewon," he said, nodding solemnly. That was him; he almost never smiled when it came to praising me. I'd gotten pretty used to that, but seeing other kids getting spoken highly of by their father with a wide grin just felt like a slap to the face.

"Thank you, abeoji. You did good too. Your speech was very moving."

I meant to sound sarcastic, but apparently, none Gen Z people did not get sarcasm. My father nodded, clearly content with the eulogy.