Twins Entwined

5

Wonyoung was still curled under the sheets when the door burst open.

“WONYOUNG!! WAKE UP!!”

She jolted upright, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest. Liz was standing by the door, face pale, clutching her phone like it was on fire.

“What?” Wonyoung croaked, voice groggy. “Liz, what’s going on?”

Liz stormed in, flinging the phone into her lap. “Read this. Right now!”

Wonyoung blinked at the screen. Her stomach dropped.

HEADLINE: “Top Models of the Jang Family Spotted on a Secret Date with the Twin Ahn CEOs? Late-Night Drama in Gangnam Restaurant Turns Violent!”

There were grainy, poorly angled paparazzi shots of them at the restaurant. One showed Liz recoiling slightly from the tall man beside her, another caught Yujin mid-step beside Wonyoung, his hand half-raised as if shielding her. The next photo showed Ryujin’s fist clashing with the other man’s jaw, blood already smearing his mouth.

Wonyoung's breath caught. “No… no, this is all twisted.”

Liz dropped onto the bed beside her, fuming. “They made it look like we were out on a double date and caused a public scene. They’re even dragging our names through the mud. And—get this—they called me ‘the daring older twin with a provocative reputation.’”

“That’s not even—!” Wonyoung couldn’t finish. Her jaw clenched. “This could ruin our reputation. Our careers…”

Before either of them could speak again, the door slammed open.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Mr. Jang stood there, face like thunder, phone in one hand, glaring at both of them. “You two were fighting in public with men?! With CEOs? Are you trying to humiliate this family?”

“Appa, it wasn’t like that,” Wonyoung started, already rising from the bed, but he cut her off.

“Don't give me excuses! This is on every major portal—netizens are going insane! I already got three calls from investors questioning our family's image!”

Liz stood her ground. “We didn’t do anything wrong. Some creeps sat down at our table—uninvited. Yujin and Ryujin just stepped in to protect us.”

“They were helping us, appa,” Wonyoung added urgently. “We didn’t even know we were being photographed. It wasn’t a date. It wasn’t anything like what they’re saying!”

But Mr. Jang wasn't listening—he was already answering his buzzing phone again, eyes dark with fury.

“What?!” he snapped. “Do you have any idea what this looks like? My daughters—”

His face shifted slightly.

“…Yujin?”

Wonyoung and Liz froze.

“Yes, I saw the damn articles,” Mr. Jang gritted out. “They’re all over the internet.”

On the other end of the line, Yujin’s calm voice came through, slightly crackling over speaker.

“Mr. Jang. I want to sincerely apologize for everything that happened last night.”

Mr. Jang frowned. “Apologize? You think that’s going to make this go away?”

“I don’t expect it to,” Yujin replied evenly. “Which is why I’m not stopping at an apology. Ryujin and I have already deployed our legal and PR teams. Every false article and blog post has been taken down. The media outlets who published them will issue corrections by noon.”