The Idol: A TWICE Story

E11: Bring It Back

A/N: Yeah, I know, I'm late. Are you even surprised?

I'm uploading four chapters today, so I'll lay off the author's notes until Episode 14. See you then!

Min-sik had needed to wait a day before the paperwork for his return went through. He spent most of his off day at the same hostel he'd stayed in before, reading Sang-il's old copy of Fellowship and interspersing it with walks around the block. He took some time before bed to check his messages and fill out some forms in the online portal all JYPE employees used.

He woke up refreshed the next morning. Min-sik was excited to return to performance camp, not just because he was back, but to see the reactions on people's faces. What he didn't expect was that nobody would be there when he arrived. The auditorium was entirely empty, save for a disgruntled janitor trying to take down the stacks of chairs against the wall.

"Excuse me?" Min-sik asked. "Where's the performance camp?"

"That? It got moved," he said. "Hey, could you give me a hand?"

"Uh, give me a moment." Min-sik pulled out his phone and checked his email. Among the gazillion official emails about his reinstatement and probation, there was one from Miss Son that held a different address not too far away.

Min-sik looked apologetically at the janitor. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll let the receptionist know that you need some help in here."

"Thanks," said the janitor glumly, turning back to the chairs.

Min-sik found that the address was walking distance from the old one. The building looked inconspicuous; covered in glass, in blended in with those around it. But upon looking a little closer, Min-sik could tell that, aside from the reception area, the entire first and second floor were largely hidden behind white walls.

Min-sik tried opening the door with no lock. There was an RFID scanner on the wall beside him. Min-sik scanned his ID—still no luck. He waved frantically at the receptionist. "Hey!" he called, holding his ID up to the glass. "I can't get in!"

The receptionist looked down at his computer and pressed a few keys. A speaker below the card reader crackled to life. "How can I help you?" said the receptionist.

"Hey, I've been recently reassigned to Performance Class 1A. My name is Han Min-sik."

"Yes, I was told you'd be joining today. Your ID probably hasn't been revalidated with the system, so you might have some trouble getting into places with it for the next few days. If you need to get in here, just press the button under the speaker to talk to someone," said the receptionist.