Jiah had never been as surprised as she was when she was accepted to train as Stray Kids by Chan but this moment was a close second.
After her elimination, she put trained vigorously. Day in and day out, she was in the practice rooms. Of course, she checked in with what her newfound family were doing and cheered them on and it wasn't long before she was joined by Minho. She cried whilst watching the show and went to leave to go see him but was instructed to stay so she waited for him to go where she was. She brought him into a hug when she saw him. She felt so bad he was eliminated but in the end, she was glad to have him by her side once more. Once they calmed down, they began to practice.
A couple of days later Felix was next to join their crew. They welcomed him with open arms and the three of them vowed that they would go to each other whenever they lost their confidence.
Felix had been with them a few days when JYP asked them to his office. They complied and waited anxiously to hear what he was to say. 'I heard that after your elimination, you have been practising extra hard.' He gazed around at the three of them, his gaze lingering on Jiah whom he had seen asleep on the floor more times than he can count due to her constant practice. They all nodded in agreement. 'It must have been hard.' They agreed once more and held each other's hand.
'The reason I have called you in today is that I have been thinking. After you left, it somehow feels different with when you guys worked together as 10, because up until then, you all have prepared and spent quite a lot of time practising together. I have decided I want to have the chance to watch you again, so before I can give my final decision, I think it will be better to see a 10 member stage and give my decision afterwards.'
Jiah froze, her grip on Minho's hand loosened and she had to prevent her jaw from dropping in shock as JYP continued. 'In some way, this can be another chance that I am giving you but at the same time, you might suffer the same consequence as before so I have made this decision carefully. It feels better to have another chance, right?'
Jiah didn't attempt to play it cool and nodded enthusiastically whilst her older counterparts just agreed. Once they were dismissed, Jiah got 5 steps out before her knees buckled and she burst out crying from pure joy. She could perform with her family once more. Minho dropped to her side and tugged her into his side to shield her if people got nosy and Felix rubbed her back. When she had calmed down, she stood up and thanked the boys before heading to the practice room.
They continued to watch the show as they practised and soon the day came when they would return. They had to wait for JYP to open the door after breaking the news to everyone. She leant close to the door and eavesdropped the conversation.
'-so Jiah, Minho and Felix, I called them here.' Jiah heard the quiet and waited anxiously. Her head was still pressed against the door but Minho yanked her away in time for her not to fall as JYP opened the door. They walked through the threshold and JIah beamed as she felt home once more. She saw the smiles of the others and her smile widened.
JYP spoke once more. 'We have to do this so that we can all do this without any lingering regret in our hearts again. So I hope you can all do your best and prepare for the performance once more.' Jiah didn't reply when the others did, she was in slight shock as seeing the people she never thought she would see again. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Chan before she slowly took in everyone else's faces. She jolted when JYP said, 'BUT!' and she began to pay attention once more.
'In order for me to make an accurate decision, I need you to prepare this stage for 7 and prepare the stage for all 10 together. I will watch the performances and then decide on the number of members to debut. It will be a precious thing for the 10 of you to do the final mission with full fighting spirit together. Prepare it well, I hope there will be a good result from it, understood?' They all nodded at his words
Before he left he said for them to do well and once the door had shut, Jisung was the first to properly welcome them back. Jiah noticed Jeongin and Chan at the sidelines whilst the others welcomed Felix and Minho so she went to hug them first. Chan held her so tightly and she cried. She was so grateful for Chan. Once he went to greet Felix, Jiah was almost taken down with the force of the hug Jeongin tackled her into. He sobbed on her shoulder and held each other close as he mumbled .'Please don't ever leave again.' She nodded in agreement and wiped his tears away. They had been shielded from the camera luckily by the others so no-one saw their moment of weakness. Jiah helped Jeongin up and they gathered everyone into a group hug. The lost family had returned.
