Missing Joshua | SEVENTEEN ✓

1 - Trainees

I can remember the first time I met him as if it was yesterday. I remember seeing his face and hearing his voice. I'd never seen anyone like him before. In the depths of my heart, I could tell - I could feel - that he was special.

It was 8:00pm on a Friday. My friend and fellow trainee, Eun Seo, had arranged a small gathering with a few trainees from other companies. It was the one day in months that I had time off - even if just for a couple of hours. Eun Seo kept in contact with many trainees in the area, and was friends with most of them. I didn't know any of these people, since I spent nearly every waking hour of my time studying for school and working on my dance and vocals at the SM trainee practice room. There was no time for socialising.

I was almost feeling a little reluctant as Eun Seo tugged on my hand and led me into the little restaurant. It was quiet inside, with only a couple of old ahjussi sitting in one corner. There was a long table at the back of the restaurant marked as "reserved," and Eun Seo led me over to it.

The YG trainees arrived first. There were a lot of them, mostly guys, and I could tell they were quite full of themselves. I started to fidget with my hands, awkwardly. I don't really hold up well in social situations, and I was planning on letting Eun Seo do most of the talking.

We all sat down, and they immediately started talking about how positive they were that they were going to debut soon. A few of my fellow SM trainees came in at that point, and then an argument started up between them all on who had been training the longest, and who deserved to debut first, and which company was better.

Two other guys joined our table shortly after, and sat across from me and Eun Seo. We all welcomed them, before Mr. YG continued his debate. Apparently they were Pledis trainees.

It was at that moment that I felt my mind go blank, and my heart beat a little faster.

Eun Seo had told me a couple of trainees from Pledis would show up. I heard they were making some news as part of one of Pledis' little projects, and they were set to debut soon. I was surprised to see one of the boys wasn't Korean - he looked and sounded very American, and was young too. He introduced himself as Hansol, and politely bowed his head. He had messy, wavy hair, parted in the middle, and a big grin.

The other boy was obviously very shy and quiet, but introduced himself straight after as Jisoo. He hid behind his fringe a little, his calm eyes peering out at his surroundings. The two trainees sat down on the other side of the table, next to the YG guys, and soon became attentive and joined in with the conversation.

I couldn't help but notice that Jisoo looked a little nervous. He shot a quick glance at me, smiled, and shyly looked away again.

It was at that point that something in me cracked. Not in a bad way - but like something had gently taken hold of my heart, and then proceeded to persistently tug it across the table. A sudden realisation came over me.

He was actually the most beautiful person I'd ever laid my eyes on. Ever.

Unable to help myself, I found myself staring at him. Amy what are you doing? He's just another trainee. I mentally brought myself back to reality as my mind started drifting away. Still, I couldn't focus on any of the conversation going on, all I could do was fight the urge to stare at him, and try to remain casual. Why is my heart racing this fast? You don't even know him.

Our ramen was served, and it smelled delicious. Suddenly, even trying to casually hold my chopsticks became difficult. I usually gulp down my food. My favorite part of the day is when food hits my stomach, but now I was monitoring every mouthful I took, as if a million cameras were suddenly on me.