As the search teams deployed across Seoul, the media firestorm grew alarmingly. Fans with image-processing skills that would impress government intelligence agencies had enhanced, analyzed, and dissected the original, blurry photo. Close-up comparisons of ear shapes, walking strides, and hand positions spread across social media platforms, accompanied by increasingly elaborate theories about C7's dating lives.
Meanwhile, James remained blissfully unaware of the chaos erupting around him.
Tucked away in a small, private dance studio on the outskirts of Seoul, he was focused entirely on perfecting a contemporary dance sequence he planned to show Muse during their next scheduled lesson. His phone lay forgotten in his bag, airplane mode activated to prevent interruptions during his practice session.
When Jake finally tracked him down, bribing three studio receptionists and following a trail of admiring dance students who had noticed "that talented guy who moves like water," James was surprised to find his younger bandmate looking like he'd run a marathon in a formal business suit.
"What happened to you?" James asked, pausing mid-routine.
Jake bent over, hands on knees, catching his breath. "Emergency... meeting... photos... dating scandal... Director Blake... one hour..."
James stared at him in confusion. "Are you having a stroke? Should I call an ambulance?"
Finally recovering enough oxygen to form a complete sentence, Jake straightened up. "A photo of you holding hands with Muse in Yeouido Park is circulating online. It's gone viral. Director Blake has called an emergency meeting at headquarters. Everyone's looking for you."
"But I haven't been to Yeouido Park with Muse," James replied, his confusion growing. "We've been carefully avoiding public places to prevent this scenario."
Realization dawned on both their faces simultaneously.
"Evan," they said in unison.
James scrambled for his phone, his stomach dropping as he deactivated airplane mode and watched notifications flooding his screen. Seventeen missed calls from Julian alone, twenty-three text messages in all caps that grew increasingly frantic and incoherent, multiple warnings from their security team, and one ominously brief message from Director Blake: "Conference Room B. One hour. No excuses."
"How bad is it?" James asked, already knowing the answer.
Jake's expression said everything. "On a scale of one to apocalyptic? Let's say Manager Kando's left eye is twitching again."
"The eye twitch," James groaned. "That's never a good sign."
As they rushed toward headquarters, James desperately tried to reach his twin brother, only to discover that Evan, too, had gone mysteriously unreachable. His anxiety spiked with each unanswered ring, scenarios of increasing disaster playing through his mind like a particularly bleak music video.
At the company headquarters, security guards escorted them through a private entrance to bypass the small crowd of photographers gathered at the main doors. The tension in the elevator as they rose to the conference level was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"What exactly am I walking into?" James asked Jake as he prepared himself.
"I don't know," Jake admitted. "I was sent to find you before getting any details. But Vic texted that Manager Kando is stress-eating Jon's emergency chocolate stash, which is never a positive indicator."
The elevator doors opened to reveal Manager Kando pacing the hallway, his phone pressed to his ear, and his free hand making increasingly distressed gestures.
"Don't care what kind of statement you've prepared, we need a comprehensive crisis management strategy, not a band-aid for a bullet wound! Director Blake wants options, and he wants them five minutes ago!"
Spotting James, Manager Kando's expression cycled through relief, frustration, and resigned despair in rapid succession. "He's here. We'll be in shortly," he said on the phone before ending the call.
"Nice of you to join us during this minor CAREER EXTINCTION EVENT," Manager Kando greeted James, his calm tone belied by the vein visibly pulsing in his forehead.
"Please tell me you have some explanation that will magically transform this disaster into a minor inconvenience."
"I think it's Evan in the photo, not me," James offered weakly.
"Yes, we've established that particular quantum uncertainty," Manager Kando sighed. "Which creates the delightful choice between revealing your twin's existence and your... complicated arrangements or allowing the world to believe you're dating Muse, which, although technically true in intent if not current reality, violates approximately seventeen clauses in your contract."
James glanced at the summary. "When you put it that way, it sounds terrible."
"Bad?" Manager Kando's voice rose an octave. "James, 'bad' is wearing the wrong brand during a sponsor event. This is somewhere beyond catastrophic and approaching extinction-level public relations."
He took a deep breath, visibly trying to compose himself. "Everyone's waiting inside. Director Blake has given us exactly fifty-seven minutes to develop a management strategy before the company board meeting, where he will somehow have to explain why C7 appears to be having some collective Romantic awakening during what was supposed to be a carefully controlled break period."
As Manager Kando ushered them toward the conference room, James's phone finally buzzed with a message from Evan: "Just saw the news. With Muse. Coming to headquarters now. I'm so sorry."
At least one mystery was solved, though it did little to mitigate the looming crisis. James squared his shoulders, preparing to face whatever awaited him behind the conference room door.
As a global superstar, he had weathered countless challenges, from grueling performance schedules to cultural misunderstandings abroad.
But somehow, nothing in his extensive idol training had prepared him to explain to Director Blake why his identical twin brother had been photographed holding hands with the kindergarten teacher they were both potentially interested in, creating a dating scandal that threatened C7's carefully maintained public image.