The Idol: A TWICE Story

E1 : 1 to 10

A/N: Wow. First pre-chapter A/N in a new book. It feels nice.

Y'all have had enough of an introduction. I'll see you at the bottom.

The trainees were all chock-full of nerves, but as much was to be expected. They bowed graciously whenever someone introduced themselves, spoke in hushed, formal voices, and more often than not excused themselves to return to their tight little friend pods.

Mina wondered if she had been like that. She probably had; heck, she probably still was. She didn't find herself stumbling over her words as often these days, but the nerves still got to her. She had only just debuted, and Mina wasn't sure she'd ever get over people recognizing her in the streets and screaming her name.

The trainees had gathered in a packed cluster once JYP began speaking to them on the microphone, quivering in place terrified. But one of them... one of them was different. He was standing at the very end, but his head was held up high. His hands were in fists at his sides, and he was nodding along to PD-nim's words.

"This event signifies a new era," said JYP. "The end of the slave contract. No more exploiting these young minds. Trainees are our future, and we can't in good conscience treat them as another business expense. That's why we've asked every trainee here with us at JYPE to renew their outdated contracts. From now on, limited contracts. Three years, no more, no less. No more crippling debt. No more fear. We're past that as an industry. We need to evolve.

"You know," he continued, "getting here isn't easy. It isn't. You've all done something incredible, just by being here. But I'm sorry to say, it's only the beginning. They should know well," he said, pointing to the nine girls standing in neat formation towards the back of the room.

Everyone laughed, but what came from Mina was more of a nervous whimper. It seemed she hadn't gotten over those nerves, after all.

"You know the caliber of work we expect here," JYP continued. "I'm not going to rehash that. You got into this knowing what it entails. Instead... I'll give some invaluable advice."

The confident boy stood up straighter, if that was even possible. He looked like a soldier standing at attention.

"The people are what matter. There will always be times you forget choreo, forget lyrics. You need to make sure you do something. Anything. The audience responds to improvisation, too. You need to pull them, make them malleable like putty. If you control the audience, you control the stage."

The boy bowed 90 degrees. "Yes, sir!"

People couldn't help but laugh, including JYP. "What's your name, young man?" he asked.