After finishing their dinner, Llana and the rest were asked to go up to the rooftop. There, they saw JYP waiting for them, standing beside a whiteboard. In front of him, arranged diagonally, were tables and chairs, obviously prepared for them to sit on.
Llana raised her brow slightly at the sight.
What are they up to now?
"Annyeonghaseyo~," she greeted along with the others.
"Annyeong," JYP replied, gesturing lightly with his hand. "Please, take your seats."
They did as instructed. Once everyone had settled, JYP looked at them and asked, "Did you guys have fun today?" A small smile appeared on his face.
"Ne~"
"That's good. I'm glad to hear that," he said. "For the first time, you didn't have to worry about missions. You could just enjoy yourselves."
He paused briefly. "Why do you think we let you do that?"
"To get to know each other," Somi answered confidently.
"Yes, that's right." JYP nodded before turning to the whiteboard.
"When JYP Entertainment introduces our artists, we want them to be good people before they become good singers," he said.
"So then, what does our company think a good person is?"
Without waiting for a reply, he wrote on the board:
HONESTY
INTEGRITY
HUMILITY
Then, beside HONESTY, he added another phrase.
Swearing and cursing
"I'll start with something simple," JYP said, tapping the board lightly.
"The younger generation does this a lot."
He turned back to face them.
"Do you think I curse behind other people's backs? Do I swear?"
The rooftop fell silent.
Uncertain glances were exchanged between the participants. Some shifted in their seats, hesitating, before a few finally answered yes while others quietly said no.
Llana remained silent. But in her mind, the answer was also no.
It was simple. As a leader, you had to set the example. Swearing or cursing behind someone's back wasn't honesty. It was backstabbing. And more than that, it wasn't a good quality at all.
Swearing or cursing wasn't necessarily immoral, but it depended on how and where you used it. Some people used it to insult others; some used it to express strong emotions or as a release. Some studies also say it can act as a short-term coping mechanism for emotional stress and may even increase pain tolerance.
Llana didn't really know if that was true because she didn't swear or curse, neither now nor even in her past life. To her, those words might sound cool to others, but not in her ears.
As an artist, they would have millions or thousands of individuals looking up to them. The word idol itself meant someone people admired, a role model. Habits like that could leave a bad influence, especially on kids.
So wouldn't he be a hypocrite if he swore?
"In the past, I did swear while drinking. I would use those words in those settings," JYP admitted. "But I stopped a decade ago. My mindset changed a lot. I haven't cursed at all since then."
"They say if you want to be a celebrity, you have to be careful with your words and actions. But if you're always trying to be careful, you'll eventually slip up. So instead of pretending, become someone who doesn't need to be careful. If you don't curse, you won't have to worry about it coming out accidentally, right? Be someone who doesn't have to pretend. Okay?"
"Ne~"
Llana nodded along with the others.
"Next is integrity," JYP continued, clapping his hands lightly.
"Your daily routines, exercise, dance lessons, singing lessons, academic studies, they're exhausting, right?"
"Ne," they answered.
"Those who push through every day, even when it's hard, are the ones who truly succeed. Some people don't follow this routines but still become successful because they have talent. But the problem is success without integrity doesn't last. It's only short term."
He paused, looking at all of them.
"Integrity means acting according to your principles, being honest and doing the right thing consistently, even when no one is watching. Talent is common, but without integrity, it can be used in ways that harm you. That kind of success fades quickly. So you have to think long term."
"Lastly, humility," JYP said calmly. "Humility is like your insurance. As you become more popular, you must keep that humbleness in your heart."
'Insurance…huh?' Llana mused.
She understood what he meant. Talent could open opportunities. Visuals could attract attention. Personality could win fans. But humility—that was what kept everything from collapsing. Humility was hard to retain, especially when you were already at the top.
What was even harder, though, was being arrogant before reaching the top.
Llana had seen this in her past life—there was even a security guard at a convenience store who acted so arrogant, as if he were a general.
People often said the poor were humble because they had nothing to be proud of, and the rich were arrogant simply because they had money.
But that wasn't true.
Not all poor people are humble, and not all rich people are arrogant. Humility isn't about money or status…
It's about who you truly are inside.
"These are the qualities JYPE is looking for in their artists. But that's not easy for us, because we can't always see how you behave off-camera. So we want you to help us figure out who among you truly has these qualities…" JYP continued, looking at them seriously.
"For this, you have the power to choose among yourselves who will become Major, without my opinion being added."
Llana's eyes widened at that.
What?!
Her heart began to pound as she heard that.
A bad premonition surged through her.
"I want you to pick someone with talent in singing, dancing, and also possess these 3 qualities to represent TWICE."
"Only recommend three members." With that JYP took his leave.
She had only been here for a short time—three months, not even a quarter of a year. The others had trained together far longer, they know each other better. They have an advantage, she doesn't. They didn't know her that much yet and she doesn't know them much.
'Would they vote for me?' Llana smiled bitterly. If she falls from major because of this then she can't do anything about it.
That's not within her power.
And since they could only pick three, it was inevitable that someone would end up hurt in the process.
"Llana-ssi, you're up first," a staff member called, gesturing for her to follow.
Llana nodded and followed the staff, leaving the others behind as they sank into their own dilemmas over who to vote for. Once downstairs, the staff pointed her in the right direction and explained that she would have to walk alone for the recording.
Stepping into the confession room, she heard the door click softly shut behind her. The space was dim, nearly pitch-dark, except for a single spotlight illuminating a lone table at the center.
On the table sat a large box, a stack of cards, and several neatly arranged pens. One card was divided into two columns and three rows. The first column was for the name, and the second was for the reason. The top row was for her first choice, worth three points, the second for two points, and the last for one.
"Oh, this is hard…" Llana murmured, "Should I put my name?"