It was crazy. Absolutely crazy. How could something like this happen? Jungkook was stunned. He couldn't look away from the empty podium from where the announcements has just come.

They were here for school?! That's what this big meeting was? They were being forced, legally forced, to attend this college. And they had to do well!

“Hyung, can you believe this?!”. He asked without turning.

This was gonna be a nightmare! 'Ahhh, and I just graduated too...’

Jungkook was so consumed with his thoughts, he didn't notice the room clear out behind him.

“Jungkook-ah! Come on man!” Jin’s voice finally pulled him out of his own head and he turned to see the room mostly empty.

“Ah…”

****

Taeyeon walked wide eyed. Her and her members both expressed their surprise at the sudden requirements the Korean government was setting them. It was a little abrupt but she didn't mind too much. Studying was never something she enjoyed but it was manageable. Just a new part of her idol life.

“Unni, crazy right~?” Tiffany whispered loudly to her.

“Yeah, it's pretty different.” Taeyeon nodded, following the members out of the hall they had been waiting in. “Though this is going to force me out of the house…”. Tiffany and her laughed lightly and made their way to the western block.

****

The enrollment section was over pretty quickly. Each group lined up within a small hall, and filled in some details before being given a small pin and a card. Jungkook looked over his card and could see some small engravings on it. The pin was similarly cut but again rather blandly. Beyond that there was nothing on it or the pin that was particularly stand out. Both were dull shades of white and  blended into background when worn.

'Strange.’

When the last few idols had enrolled, a small woman took to the stand and began addressing the room.

“Thank you idols, for your cooperation and considerate behaviour. You have now been officially enrolled within the Idol Educational College and I would like to express my congratulations.

Now, from this point on, what you do and what you say will not be held against you beyond immediate consequence.” The woman paused excessively.

Jungkook was thrown. What was the woman saying?

“What I mean by that is that this facility is a sealed state. Within its walls, press and cameras are expressly banned. Capturing media with the intent to share is against our rules, and any attempt to distribute media will face prosecution. This is to promote an environment of anonymity and freedom.”

“Hyung?” He asked.

“You won't be expected to keep up appearances. She's saying we're free to be ourselves while we're here at the college.” Suga explained quickly, before the woman continued her speech.

“We require nothing of you except that you commit to this facility to the best of your abilities…”

'What does that mean? Why are they so eager to do this to all of us? It's basically like returning to a regular life while here.’ Jungkook pondered the college’s intentions.

“Now, that will be all for today.” The woman continued. “You are free to go home or return to schedules. We will be sending out full rules and regulations packets before the end of the week. Please take care reading them… That's everything then. Your first day will be next week Monday.”

The members looked to each other, all a little bewildered. Namjoon spoke first.

“Well this is crazy.”

****

Taeyeon was surprised to hear about the prohibited media presence. That was very different to what she expected at first. When she saw more of the building, she thought that this would be a public display. A building this nice suggested the need for a view. Something pretty to look at, something to be admired. It had convinced her that her theory has been correct. That this entire college was a show that the government would put on with the nation’s idols. She imagined cameras and constant attention would be normal. That there would be media interviews and daily updates, and very little privacy.

The introductory speech had talked about the poor education among idols and this would no doubt be an issue for the government. If not already, then in the future as the results became more clear. There would be outrage from the general public. To prevent that outcome, they were choosing to act and show themselves to be caring. Willing to compromise their own goals to help the individuals to better themselves. That would be the smart thing to do. The expected thing to do. It would lose them some freedom yes, but would maintain the system for many more years to come. Meanwhile, by marketing the college to the public, a new form of entertainment would be created. It would mean money for the companies and behind the cameras there would be no weight on actually learning and becoming more educated.

'It should be fake…’ Taeyeon thought, her eyes wide at what she was hearing. 'She’s saying that we have to be regular students. Everyday people, striving to improve their minds and social skills… How is that possible?’ She looked around and her members seemed equally surprised. In all their years as idols, they'd never hear of something like this.

****

“Aish, what are we going to do guys?” Hoseok asked no one in particular. “...Huh?” No one seemed to be able to give an answer. Jungkook stayed silent, shocked at the trouble they were facing during such a busy period for them.

“Yah, really, we can't do anything? Nothing at all??” Hoseok asked again, less fire in his voice this time. A feeling of despair was spreading through the room.

Jungkook recalled the conversation with their managers and Bang PD vividly.

“It's 100%. There's no way to get out of the mandatory attendance.”

“That’s impossible, how can they force something like this?”

“It's coming from the Department of Education itself. ‘The need to improve further education standards among idols is great.’ Nothing we can do.”

“16 hours a week! It's two full days!”

“Seriously, that’s so much time!”

“We can't skip anything either or they'll stop our activity. And we just recently realised You Never Walk Alone too.”

“What about our world tour, we can't cancel it now!”

…..

“We’ll have to apply for the extended absence. It will mean we can do the tour but afterwards were going to struggle to have time for other activities.” Namjoon resolutely spoke.

“We’ll be forced to take a break at least for a while, but this might be a good thing right?” Jimin finally said.

“Yeah, we’re around so many of our friends at least.” Taehyung chimed in. It was nice talk but he truth was clear to Jungkook. This had the potential to be a career killer. No matter the success they were having as Bangtan, it could vanish by the time they were able to promote again.

“We can use the time off to get some writing done. Get an even better album ready and an even bigger comeback.” Yoongi suggested. This relaxed the group a little.

“What are we looking at when we come back? How is the tour going to affect us at HanYang?” Jungkook asked lastly. It was clear that they would be expected to make up lost time, but how much was still unclear and the law had many specifics that needed to looked at.

“...Let's just get through these two months first.”

****