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𝘎𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘻𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢’𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵.
𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘠𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘹 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢? 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘤, 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
Years had passed. They had finally debuted. Not everyone made it, some dreams were left behind, some names never called. As selfish as it might sound, Joshua was happy he was part of the group. But more than that, he was relieved that Jeonghan was there with him, that he, too, had made it, at some point he really would not mind if Jeonghan alone made it. Because Jeonghan is a star everyone deserves to see, everyone is meant to praise.
“𝘑𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥,” 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘬𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘮’𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭. 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.
𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝.
𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.
𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘑𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.
“𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘢-𝘺𝘢,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺, “𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳
“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵.”
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.
Joshua was pulled from his thoughts when Seungkwan nudged him gently. They had arrived at the filming location for today’s GOING SEVENTEEN shoot. “Hyung, did you eat lunch already?” Seungkwan asked.
“Yes,” Joshua replied with a soft smile. But the truth was he hadn’t.
He and Jeonghan were supposed to meet earlier than the call time to have lunch together. That was the plan. But Jeonghan had forgotten. Still, Joshua didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to worry Seungkwan. He knew how the younger one would react and how he'd end up scolding Jeonghan, because this wasn’t the first time it had happened. But for Joshua, it was okay. He understood.
Jeonghan was one of the most in-demand members. His schedule barely allowed him to rest. Maybe, Joshua thought, Jeonghan had simply forgotten because he was exhausted. This was the phrase he kept on reminding himself of the past months, whenever jeonghan will forget their plan.
Today’s content was CATCH STOCK #1, a special episode inspired by stock trading. The members were all dressed in suits. As expected, the energy was high, laughter echoing through the room, especially with Seungkwan taking the lead as the host. His exaggerated explanations and dramatic gestures had everyone laughing, members and staff alike.
Joshua was genuinely enjoying himself. He sat in the middle row, between Vernon and DK. after the introduction, they were asked to form a group, Jun and Mingyu were chosen as the group leaders. Without hesitation, Jun called out Jeonghan’s name first, while Mingyu picked Joshua as his first choice. Jeonghan, in turn, recommended Cheol to Jun, a strategic move that had the rest of the members groaning in mock protest. “Power and brains in one team?” someone jokingly complained “That’s unfair!”. Still, Cheol and Jeonghan ended up on the same team once again. It wasn’t unusual. Whenever there was a chance to choose teams, they always seemed to gravitate toward each other. Whether it was fate or habit, they always ended up side by side.
As the game unfolded, it initially seemed like Mingyu’s team had the upper hand. But GOING SEVENTEEN wouldn’t be GOING SEVENTEEN without an unexpected twist. In the end, victory once again went to Jeonghan’s team. Joshua didn’t mind. He wasn’t the type to pull every trick just to win. He was simply happy to be there, to laugh with the members, to share the moment. That was enough. After filming wrapped, someone suggested they eat out at a BBQ place they often went to, with the prize money they’d won from that day’s shoot. The mood was light, laughter still echoing as they packed up their things.
Joshua was just about to approach Jeonghan, planning to ask if he wanted to come over to his apartment later, maybe spend the night, like they used to. But he paused mid-step when he saw Jeonghan already heading in Seungcheol’s direction, the two falling easily into step beside each other. Maybe later, Joshua thought, swallowing back the hesitation as he lowered his hand.
“Me, Cheollie, Hoshi, and Seungkwan will share the car!” Jeonghan shouted playfully, waving toward the rest of the group.
Joshua stopped for a beat, then quietly made his way toward the remaining members, scanning for a ride to share. Before he could ask, an arm slung casually over his shoulder.
“Shua-hyung, go with us,” Wonwoo offered with a small smile. Joshua nodded, smiling back. “Sure.”
Inside the car, The members were scrolling through their phones, searching for photos to post. Mingyu, dramatic as always, was whining about how cunning the other team had been
He rested his head on Joshua’s shoulder, phone in hand, still scrolling through his gallery. “Hyung, how about you?” Mingyu asked, glancing up at him. “Aren’t you going to post a pic?”
Joshua shook his head with a faint smile. “No, I don’t have any pictures... and I don’t really look that good today.”
Almost instantly, the other members protested.
“What are you talking about?”
“You looked great during the shoot!”
“Hyung, seriously? You always look good.”
His members' voices overlapped in a chorus of honest praise, but Joshua just laughed softly, brushing it off. Compliments were always harder to believe when the doubts in his head spoke louder. Still, moments like this surrounded by his members love, made it easier to breathe. Even just a little. Joshua always believed that debuting would be the finish line. That once they stepped onto the stage, everything would finally fall into place. He was wrong.
Debuting wasn’t the end, it was just the beginning. With it came more eyes, more pressure, and a heavier burden to remain relevant. Consistency wasn’t just encouraged, it was demanded. In an industry where being forgotten could happen overnight, every performance had to be perfect, and every word measured. Lately, Joshua had been receiving a lot of hate comments. Of course, many fans still adored him, he knew that. He saw the love, the thoughtful messages, the kind words. But hostility clung to him like a leech, refusing to let go. At every fansign event, without fail, there would be at least two or three so-called fans who made sure to remind him of how much they disliked him. Whether through cold stares, passive-aggressive remarks, or direct jabs cloaked in smiles it always found its way to him.
And social media wasn’t much better.
For every kind message, there was a comment meant to wound. No matter how hard he tried to ignore them, the cruel words always found a way in louder, sharper, harder to forget.
He didn’t want to let it affect him, but it did. It always did. It pulled him back again and again like a reminder whispered in the dark: You’ll never be enough. And some days, he believed it.
And this is what he did not want Jeonghan to know, The ugly part. The broken part. The side of him that felt small, insecure, undeserving. The version of Joshua that flinched at words typed by strangers and internalized them like truths.
He kept it buried, tucked behind smiles and soft laughter, behind the quiet calm everyone had come to expect from him.
He didn’t want Jeonghan to love him out of pity.
He didn’t want to be held out of guilt, or looked at out of obligation.
He wanted to be seen as an equal.
To be loved not because he was fragile, not because he needed saving, but simply because he was him. His joshuji
So he stayed silent.
Carrying the weight alone. Smiling, even when it hurts.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Joshua’s car pulled in before Jeonghan’s. The manager called a few minutes later, saying their group had stopped by the convenience store to pick up a few things and would be there soon. Joshua took a seat beside Wonwoo, who settled in comfortably next to him. Without saying a word, Joshua gently motioned to the empty seat on his other side, quietly reserving it for Jeonghan. He didn’t need to say it aloud. Between him and Jeonghan, that kind of understanding didn’t require words. In silence, in stillness that was enough for Joshua.
Very few members knew they were together way before they debuted, only Cheol, Seungkwan, Mingyu, and Wonwoo, but that was okay. For Joshua, even if no one knew, even if it stayed hidden forever, it was enough for him. He didn’t need Jeonghan to shout it to the world. He didn’t need grand gestures or public declarations. Even in secret even in the quiet corners of shared glances and unspoken promises it was enough. Joshua didn’t need to be shown off. He just needed to be chosen.
“My Joshuji, are you tired?” Jeonghan asked softly, his hand gently caressing Joshua’s thigh under the table. It was already past three in the morning. Most of the members were drunk by now, laughter spilling freely, voices growing louder with every round. There was no shoot scheduled for tomorrow, so no one was holding back.
“A little” Joshua replied with a small, tired smile.
“Aww, my baby’s tired already,” Jeonghan teased, pinching his cheek affectionately before intertwining their fingers beneath the table.
Then, without hesitation, he stood up, still holding Joshua’s hand.
“We’ll head home first,” Jeonghan announced casually, waving a bit to the others.
No one questioned it, most of them were too tipsy to notice, too caught up in their own conversations. And even if they did notice, no one said a word.