Six years ago: Sapporo, Japan
Y/N’s POV
I forgot how chaotic backstage gets during concerts like this.
It was the first time Mina and I were both back in full TWICE operations mode.
The new Japanese release &TWICE was huge here, reigniting their setlist for this leg of the tour. Mina’s surprise return to the stage was happening tonight.
I kept myself busy to calm the nerves.
Coffee runs. Headset checks. Walking cables offstage so no one tripped.
Just another cog in the TWICE machine.
“Y/N! Clear that walkway, the girls are about to come out!”
I moved instantly.
The dressing room door opened and they started filtering out—full stage makeup, costumes, the version of them the world actually knew.
They looked incredible.
All the managers lined the edge of the stage like we always did, forming a corridor between reality and performance.
Then she appeared.
Mina came out last, just behind Nayeon.
Her body looked tense—too tense. Like she was holding herself together by force alone.
They lined up just off stage beside us.
Nayeon passed me with a quick wink and a knowing smile.
Of course she noticed.
Mina stood next to me as the arena lights dropped.
The screens went black.
The intro track started to swell through the speakers.
Thousands of fans screaming somewhere beyond the curtain.
And Mina just… froze. Not fully. Not visibly.
But I could feel it—the split second where she was deciding whether to run or step forward.
That old fear trying to pull her back.
I leaned in slightly, close enough that only she could hear me.
“Mitan… you’re ready. Go out there and show them what you worked for.”
Her eyes flicked to mine.
Something in her softened.
Like my voice had reached a place the noise couldn’t.
She reached out and lightly held onto my sleeve—just for a second.
Not enough to be seen.
Just enough to ground herself.
“Thank you, Oppa.”
And then she let go.
And she was gone.
I stayed just off stage. Watching.
Mina stepped into the light like she had never left.
Her voice hit clean—steady, controlled, alive.
Every movement sharp with purpose, every line landing exactly where it should.
TWICE’s black swan.
And the crowd… responded like she had been there all along.
I should’ve felt proud. That’s what I told myself. But something else was building instead.
Not pride. Not relief. Something quieter. Stranger. A realization I couldn’t shake. I wasn’t just watching her come back.
I was watching her become whole again. Without me holding her together.
And for the first time… I wasn’t sure where that left me.
The stage lights shifted, washing the arena in color.
The sound hit harder. Fuller now. Like everything had locked into place.
Mina didn’t hesitate anymore. She moved like she belonged there. Like she had never left.
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